With so much turmoil going on with the real MLB right now, it’s been a breath of fresh air just getting to play the MLB The Show 22 tech test over the last couple days while putting together some impressions and thoughts. The MLB lockout has not diminished my excitement for the latest Show, and while there is some turmoil within the Show community as well as it relates to franchise mode, that also has not stopped me from looking forward to this year’s game.
After racking up over 800 hours in last year’s game, I was looking forward to what this tech test had to offer. While the tech test doesn’t provide the full MLB The Show 22 experience, it did give me a chance to see what is new both superficially and under the hood. For those who did not try out the tech test, SDS gave us an early look at the graphical enhancements, new difficulty levels, co-op mode, and online and offline play.
With so many hours logged in MLB The Show 21, I was ready to experience ’22 and what it had to offer between the chalk lines. With that in mind, what has changed at this point, and have those things changed for the better? Let’s talk about that.
MLB The Show 22 Tech Test Impressions
Ball Physics
Much like last year’s tech test, the very first thing I did was jump into practice mode and see what the batting and pitching mechanics had in store for me. For those who have tried the test, I assume most would agree that while it feels very much like ’21, there are definitely some changes in both the batter box and on the mound.
In the box, everything felt similar with the exception of the weight of the ball coming off the bat, which now feels heavier, but in a realistic way. There were also subtle changes in the way the ball reacts to the bat, the flight path coming off of the bat, and the amount of power in each swing that now seems to rely more on the actual hitter and one’s ability to properly square up the ball.
Are these changes drastic? Absolutely not, but the changes are enough to notice, and over the course of a season they will come into play in regards to pinch hitting, platoon systems, and wind direction. So, while small changes, I do believe each of these small nuanced changes will have an impact over the long haul.
On The Mound
The delivery and release points feel very much like last year, but one area that I did take notice was the ball flight path coming out of the hand. This seems to vary based off of the pitch type. Whether it be a two-seamer, a knuckle curve, a slider, or a simple changeup, there is more movement here now.
There is a connectivity between the new ball movement out of the hand and the batter at the plate. What I noticed myself was really having to be more aware of the count, the pitcher’s repertoire, and what pitches he would typically use in certain counts. While the changes are not as pronounced as the weight of the ball or the flight path off the bat, there is something extremely cool watching the ball path now have more variety coming out of the pitcher’s hand.
Lastly, with the new ball path coming from the pitchers, I am hoping to see a few more “strikeouts looking” because of the last-second movement that finds the ball moving back over the plate.
Stadium Details And Depth
As exciting as I found some changes to the minutia of the pitcher and batter interaction, I was more impressed by the new look of the stadiums.
Please keep in mind I am playing on a PS5 and an 8K television, so my experience may differ than that of others. That said, unlike the ball physics and flight paths, the new details in the stadiums and their surroundings hit me instantly. They also continued to have an impact each time I fired up the tech test to play.
What was most noticeable were the new details, and the details now being highlighted during games and even practice mode. What I mean are things like the bricks in the buildings sitting outside Yankee Stadium to even the bricks in the building at Petco down the left field line. There was substance to them and really to all the stadiums in almost every way.
Not only did the depth and details stick out, all the little details within the stadium seem to really pop out now. I’m not sure if this is due to a refinement in the graphics engine or changes to the lighting system, but everything in all five stadiums seemed to have depth and substance. In MLB The Show 21, the developers built out the surrounding neighborhoods of each stadium, and this year it seems like they have addressed that a bit more.
Is this a huge deal? Probably not, and it won’t come into play often during a game. It is more about the immersion over the course of a season when those little details do make an appearance and make me go “man, that was really cool.”
Animations
Lastly, during some of my time playing exhibition games, I noticed a few new animations sprinkled into the mix. These came in the form of infielders snatching up a ball, turning a double play, or an outfielder’s approach to fly balls or scooping up a single that was laced into the outfield.
The new animations are always going to be less impactful in a scenario like this with a tech test because many of the new additions will be tied to specific plays and players, so they will be more noticeable in the full game. Either way, the ones I did see were fluid and realistic, and they made me anxious to get my hands on the final build and see them in full.
Bottom Line
While the tech test is close to the final build, it’s still early enough that specific tweaks will be made over the next few weeks before the latest title in a storied franchise goes gold. I was worried that playing MLB The Show 21 for over 800 hours and up until the release of this tech test would make ’22 feel stale, but my excitement overall grew with each passing game.
MLB The Show 22 releases April 4, but special editions will give you access three days earlier. This year the game will be on the PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and the Nintendo Switch.
