Game review: MLB The Show 24 (PS5)

I say this all the time, but it's sometimes hard to review the same sports games every year because not many new features are added in a short amount of time. The only thing that really changes is the roster because new players enter and exit the league every year. 

However, one of the best new features from MLB The Show 23 was the Negro Leagues. Since African American men and women weren't allowed to play with white people, they created their own baseball leagues in the early 20th century, and many legends were born. 

Much like last year's version of the Negro Leagues, you get a history lesson of some of the players, and you need to complete a certain number of objectives to pass an episode. Some objectives can be hard because you may need to hit a home run, but the AI pitcher isn't very kind and may want to throw a literal curveball at you. 

The Negro Leagues isn't as lengthy as WWE 2K's Showcase mode, but it's a great mode to play if you're like me and know nothing about baseball history. Before last year, I didn't even know this league existed, so it's nice to learn more about forgotten baseball history. 

The Negro Leagues isn't the only history lesson you get in MLB The Show 24 this year, either. This year, you get to play through the career of Derek Jeter, and some people may know him as one of the best New York Yankee players of all time. I didn't watch too much baseball on TV growing up, but I do remember Derek Jeter was one of my brother's favourite baseball players of all time. 

Derek Jeter himself talks through his own mode and reminiscences about his Hall of Fame level MLB career. This mode is pretty cool because you play through many of his best moments. It starts off with him being a 20-year-old rookie, to him winning multiple different World Series. 

Much like the Negro Leagues, the difficulty can be annoying sometimes, depending on the type of objective that you are currently doing. I remember being stuck trying to get an extra-base hit because I kept fouling the ball every time. I have to say again, the pitcher is never your friend and always throws difficult balls at you. 

Even though I liked playing through both the Negro Leagues and Derek Jeter's modes, there is one thing I didn't like about them. For some reason, you can only play these modes if you are connected online! It makes no sense why I need to be online for these two single-player modes. 

The constant online connectivity only bothered me because the servers weren't working consistently during the game's launch week. One night, I'd play through the modes with ease, and then a minute later, I'd be booted out. I hope in the future that these modes get patched so you don't need to be connected online to play through them. 

Another big mode in MLB The Show 24 is the annual 'Road to the Show' mode. It is here you create your own rookie and guide them through their professional baseball career in the MLB. Much like in real life, you get drafted into a team, and you're able to get traded in the future if you get unhappy. 

It's worth mentioning that in this mode, you are only taking control of one player and not the whole team. When I first played this mode, I was a fielder, but it got boring really quickly. Nowadays, I choose to be a pitcher because you get a chance to play through the game more. Occasionally, you also get a chance to bat. 

The only negative thing I can say about 'Road to the Show' is that it doesn't have an interesting story like the career modes in NBA 2K and WWE 2K video games. Not to mention this mode lacks any voiceovers so the atmosphere gets boring too. 

Despite this, Road to the Show does do something different this year, and it's a franchise first. For the first time in MLB The Show history, you can play through this mode as a female player! This new mode is called Road to the Show: Women Pave the Way. 

The other two big modes in MLB The Show 14 are Franchise mode and Diamond Dynasty. In Franchise mode, you can guide your favourite team in hopes of them winning the elusive annual World Series. 

Diamond Dynasty is the usual card-building mode where you get random players from a deck of cards. You cannot play as your favourite player because attaining cards is absolutely random. I usually don't like playing these sorts of modes because you have to grind a lot to get the best cards. Not to mention, you can pay real money if you want to skip the grind, although this is totally optional.

In terms of gameplay and graphics, I didn't notice too many differences between MLB The Show 23 and MLB The Show 24. While the visuals are still nice, they aren't as realistic as the NBA 2K series. Batting and pitching are similar, too, although you can change the settings to control the player to your liking. 

Overall, MLB The Show 24 is great if you are a fan of Derek Jeter and want to play as a female player for the very first time. Aside from that, MLB The Show 24 is still a small upgrade if you already played MLB The Show 23 last year. 

Verdict: 7.5/10