Just like the very wrestlers that ply their trade between the ropes, WWE video games have seen a range of champions and jobbers over the years. Trying to work out the best is often a practice of separating the gems from the sludge that surrounds it.
But we're feeling brave, so we gave it our all and emerged with the 5 best WWE games of all time.
What classic WWF/WWE wrestling games are worth playing now? Quite a few, actually.
WCW/NWO World Tour and Wrestlemania 2000 were peak wrestling games. Back when wrestling was at the top of pop culture, everyone in school would watch. The gameplay is phenomenal and create your own characters opened up the door to WCW vs WWF. What a time!
The best wrestling games range from all-time classics on the N64 all the way up to some surprising new hitters you should check out.
I was always partial to the arcade wrestling games like Saturday night slam masters, wwf superstars, wrestlefest, wrestlemania, wrestle war and then a NES classic... pro wrestling. By the time the N64 era of wrestling games happened, I wasnt into wrestling much anymore (tv & games).
Virtual Pro Wrestling 1 & 2 > Most games on that list.
Also, WCW/NWO Revenge should be #2 minimum.
WWE 2k13 thanks to the WWE Attitude Mode. Followed by WWE Attitude and ECW Hardcore Evolution.
also: ECW! ECW! ECW!
The year is 2003, a simpler time where both wrestling and the games it spawned were at their absolute peak, and no wrestling game came as close to perfection as SmackDown! Here Comes The Pain did.
Ngl, that was the last good wrestling game and is still objectively the best one. The roster was missing almost no one and this game was one of the first to properly incorporate rpg-like stats back near the start of every game involving rpg elements. Oldschool undertaker (93) > brock lesnar (91) > goldberg (90).
The AEW Dynamite game is made by the creators of Here Comes The Pain, Yukes, with the head director of No Mercy. It's a return to both No Mercy and HCTP style gameplay. Google footage of the game. The graphics have a stylized look similar to the Def Jam games. I think it will be the game we've all been waiting for. With the best and biggest roster in all of professional wrestling.
I have a childhood soft spot for the earlier SvR games too but they're not wrong, HctP was the top of the PlayStation wrestling titles whilst No Mercy was right up there on N64.
I enjoy the Smackdown games a lot, and still play Smackdown 1 and 2 on my PSP and PS Vita often. its true that Here Comes the Pain was the last really good game in the series, I bought the first SvsR and I just couldn't get into it. The new grapple system wasn't what I was used to, and I shelved the game almost immediately.
That said, I love the N64 AKI games even more, and I've been playing No Mercy frequently. Last night I got 74 eliminations in Survival mode, a new record for me. Hoping that the new AEW game will actually be the first compelling wrestling game in almost 20 years.
Just like the WWE show has sunk to new lows, so has the WWE games sunk to new lows. What a shame.
My experience with wrestling growing up was mostly games since I didn't had cable tv until I was 16 to watch WWE. SmackDown 2 on the ps1 was such a big part of my childhood. Then my best friend got HctP for the ps2 and we were hooked. It had everything i loved from my game and more. Last one I've played was 2K14 so you can imagine how much I'm craving for a good new game (and hopefully AEW's game is it)