A Final MLB The Show 24 Review

Almost universally, MLB The Show 24 was one of the least celebrated games in the franchise's history. It was the second year of the now-dead Sets and Seasons content model, Franchise and Road to the Show received minimal improvements and the user interface looked like a flash bang went off in your living room.

Is it fair to call MLB The Show 24 the worst installment in the game's history? Probably not. But it's not at the top, either.

With MLB The Show 25 just about a month away, it's time to give MLB The Show 24 a final review.

OFFLINE MODES

SDS touted significant narrative changes to Road to the Show, though these were largely focused on the addition of women ballplayers. And adding women into the game is a good thing. The narrative changes, though, didn't add a ton of life into the mode like many hoped it would.

The progression system was still lacking, making RTTS a monotonous slog much of the time.

As for Franchise, there were positive changes to celebrate. The ability to use Custom Game Entry in order to customize when you enter games was a massive addition for those who love Franchise but don't necessarily want to play every single pitch of a season — let alone franchises that extend beyond one year.

Franchise, though, still lacks much of the charm it so desperately needs. MLB The Show fans want to be able to customize everything. Normally that's a ridiculous ask, but not in this case.

I want to be able to se the prices of hot dogs and chicken buckets. I want to manage corporate partnerships. I WANT TO THREE-TEAM TRADE. None of this should be too much to ask for.

DIAMOND DYNASTY

Seeing as MLB The Show 24 was the final straw for Sets and Seasons, that tells you just about everything you need to know about Diamond Dynasty.

Content was ... boring. Combine that with the stale bones of Diamond Dynasty (meaning no new game modes), and that made the entire experience repetitive. This was probably the least I've played Diamond Dynasty in my lifetime.

While SDS deserves a hat tip for coming up with Sets and Seasons and taking a massive risk by using it for two years, the fallout of that content style created little reason to jump on for every content drop. Why would I grind for a 99 that I can't use in a month? Or even this: Why would I rearrange my personal life to grind for a 99 when there will be another 99 next week?

That's why the power creep model works well for ultimate team modes. It provides incentive to play. Diamond Dynasty had little incentive to play this year.

OTHER STUFF

Just a few other odds and ends worth addressing:

• The user interface was really way too bright
• The Diamond Dynasty lineup screen was a travesty
• I'm in the minority in disliking Captains, I know. But can we talk about the switch-hitting captain?
• There still aren't enough legends available for 75 percent of MLB teams

VERDICT

If we're being fair and saying a "solid" game is a 6 out of 10, I would say MLB The Show 24 is a 4.5 out of 10. MLB The Show 23 is a 5, for context.

Let's hope MLB The Show 25 gets us back on the right track.