Every major sport has its own annual video game franchise, though some are certainly better than others. MLB The Show has been one of the most consistent and reliable sports game franchises available, with most entries earning strong reviews and some outright garnering critical acclaim. MLB The Show 25 is the latest in the long-running series and, as expected, it’s another solid entry. MLB The Show 25 doesn’t mark a significant evolution for the baseball sim, but it offers a polished, fully-featured game.
MLB The Show 25‘s core gameplay iterates on the near-perfect formula that San Diego Studio has refined over its many years of developing MLB The Show games. It’s hard to imagine a baseball sim playing much better than this, with players given a suite of options to tailor the experience to exactly how they want to play. Those looking for a casual baseball game can have that, while those wanting realism are covered as well. There are even dynamic difficulty options, so MLB The Show 25 automatically adjusts to player performance.
Players can go with an old-school batting system that uses face buttons for input, or they can use the stick-flick input that The Show has popularized. Basically, anything and everything in MLB The Show 25 can be tweaked or customized to better fit one’s playstyle, giving players near-full control over how the game plays. I dabbled in various options, but stuck with stick input for batting and dynamic difficulty for most of my time with MLB The Show 25.
After players get comfortable with whatever playstyle they want to go with, they are free to dive in to MLB The Show 25‘s extensive game modes, with a dizzying amount of content to check out. Most longtime fans will likely head straight to their tried-and-true favorites, and they can rest assured that the franchise’s most popular modes are back in full force.
MLB The Show 25 Brings Back the Franchise’s Best Modes
Since the original MLB The Show in 2006, the franchise’s signature game mode has been Road to the Show. The concept behind it is simple: players take charge of a single player and attempt to make them a Hall of Fame-worthy baseball star. MLB The Show 25 expands Road to the Show by starting players off in high school. This way, players live their baseball star’s career from the very beginning, making it an even more rewarding journey to the Majors.
Players are given total freedom when it comes to creating their character for MLB The Show 25‘s Road to the Show, from their gender, to the positions they play, to their starting stats. MLB The Show 25 features extensive character customization and even lets players scan in their own face if they want. Like with all face-scan tech, this can lead to some goofy-looking custom players, but after a few attempts, players should be able to get a result that’s pretty close to their likeness.
MLB The Show 25 injects RPG elements into the baseball sim through dialogue options, gear that can be equipped for stat boosts, and a leveling system. XP is earned through most positive actions in any given baseball game, but players can get bonus XP and tokens for completing challenges. Road to the Show in MLB The Show 25 is, as usual, a meaty, rewarding experience. It’s easy to get invested in one’s custom player, though the mode is not without its drawbacks. Road to the Show’s lack of voice acting is odd, and the written dialogue is often cheesy. Luckily, the focus of Road to the Show remains on the actual gameplay, and that’s as fun as ever. There’s even a new first-person mode for Road to the Show that offers an interesting twist on the formula, and while I personally stuck with the standard view, it would be great to see this feature expanded.
Road to the Show will keep players busy for hours on end, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. The other primary game mode that will likely take most players’ time is Diamond Dynasty. The obligatory trading card game mode that all sports games have nowadays, the goal of Diamond Dynasty is to collect player cards and build a formidable team. Diamond Dynasty this year ditches the restrictive seasons, which makes it a far more appealing prospect. While I personally still don’t care for these microtransaction-fueled game modes in sports games, MLB The Show has consistently done these in a less egregious way than other titles, and that continues for the latest entry. All the usual ways to play and earn rewards are back and accounted for in MLB The Show 25‘s take on the mode, with one notable new addition.
Diamond Quest is a new addition to the Diamond Dynasty lineup in MLB The Show 25. Players roll a die and move across a game board, taking on various challenges in exchange for rewards and to avoid penalties. It’s an intriguing roguelike-spin and a fun new addition to Diamond Dynasty’s extensive roster of game modes.
Of course, MLB The Show 25 players can focus solely on ball games if they want, with the latest entry in the long-running series featuring standard games against AI-controlled opponents, local multiplayer, and online multiplayer options. The core baseball gameplay is the heart of MLB The Show 25, and as mentioned previously, it’s still top-notch. The Show is basically the only baseball sim on the market, so it’s great for fans that it’s such a high-quality game year-in and year-out.
There’s Still Room for Improvement
Still, if there’s one big disappointment with MLB The Show 25, it’s the lack of a monumental new feature or game mode to make it truly worth it for those that have already spent extensive time with its predecessors. MLB The Show 25 is iterative, not transformative, and provides an experience that’s on par with past games without moving things forward in any significant way. And while the game looks fantastic in many ways, with realistic lighting, reflections on helmets, dirt getting kicked up as batters run the bases, and oftentimes flawless animations, MLB The Show 25 doesn’t seem to provide that much of an upgrade in the graphics department. Even though it skipped PS4 and Xbox One this year, it wouldn’t be outlandish to see this running on the older consoles, with oddities like hair clipping through heads and city backgrounds at stadiums looking especially underwhelming.
All annual sports game franchises have those entries that are more about polishing what came before than trying bold new things, and MLB The Show 25 fits into that category. Most everything here is great and will give baseball fans their money’s worth and then some, but those looking for something different may be disappointed. Still, the sheer amount of content MLB The Show 25 brings to the table is impressive, the core gameplay is a lot of fun, and it perfectly captures the essence of the MLB. MLB The Show 25 is more of the same, but when “the same” is this good, it’s hard to complain.
Reviewed on Xbox Series X
- Released
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March 18, 2025
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
- The same fantastic core gameplay the series is known for
- All fan favorite modes are back with tweaks and improvements
- Diamond Quest is a promising new addition to Diamond Dynasty
- Enough content to keep you busy until next year’s game
- Graphics don’t seem to take full advantage of current hardware
- Might be a little too similar to previous games for longtime fans
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