MLB The Show 24 Season 1 Recap
MLB The Show 24 is winding down its first season of Diamond Dynasty with Season 2 kicking off June 7th at 3 pm EST. As the season winds down this allows me to view how MLB The Show has kicked off its latest game cycle with Gameplay, Content, and more.
Gameplay
From day one the game has felt the same just as in previous years with the lack of a new engine to push the game into the new era of gaming. I am having fun this season despite gameplay setbacks. Giving credit to San Diego Studios for lowering the rate of online “freeze-offs” in my experience. On the other side issues like an obnoxious amount of foul balls have ruined the flow of the game. Especially with many of said foul balls being a result of bad input, making it impossible to get batters out at times.
Home plate umpires in-game are putting on an Angel Hernandez masterclass. The umpires are repeatedly failing to call pitches on the edges of the strike zone as strikes. The game rewards players for freezing at home plate. Having an issue with the officiating in a video game was not on my bingo card for this year. However, it has been too glaring to not address how it has impacted my experience playing MLB The Show 24.
Content
The return of the power creep in Diamond Dynasty has been a welcome sight. Not having to anticipate an entire roster of 99 overalls a few hours in makes for a more fun experience. The evolution of your Diamond Dynasty team is a key part of what makes the mode what it is. Players have noted that, although there has been a decent balance between content drops. Many of the good cards are within packs rather than being available through programs.
The problem lies with the game not offering players the reward of a free pack within these programs for those who are playing the game instead of just buying packs. The “season awards” series within MLB The Show is the biggest culprit of this issue. The pack is updated every week to reflect player milestones throughout the MLB season. There is a program that follows along however some cards Ketel Marte, Aaron Judge, and O’Neil Cruz were only available in packs. In previous years the game would allow for the pack to be in the program. Although the chances were slim players appreciated that they could at least work to get one free pack, instead of immediately taking a gamble.
A gamble that becomes less and less worth it as the season goes on. This has been something that has been somewhat addressed in subsequent programs nearing season 2. Also, it is important to note that SDS gives free packs in the store although more often than not it may be a player that would’ve been useful a few weeks prior or a pack with little to be excited about.
Team Affinity and other programs are enjoyable but the fact remains the same with the better cards being in packs. While you can still build a good team with team affinity throughout season 1 SDS made the grind for the packs more tedious to complete by forcing players to play other modes in Diamond Dynasty mainly offline to gain progress instead of making it more about letting players play and earn rewards their way.
Recap
MLB The Show 24 Season 1 seemed like a trial run or a precursor for how the rest of the year may turn out. The game does some things well with the return to the power creep, free packs, and weekly updates.
I hope season 2 addresses the problems of gameplay with foul balls and an inconsistent strike zone. As well as tune the content model more so the progression for players becomes more noticeable and achievable because if it was not for the massive free packs as well as XP in the “recap” program many players would have fallen way short of getting those end season rewards.
Although I anticipated some issues with the new game Season 2 is shaping up to be a step in the right direction. Let’s hope Season 1 was just the first step.
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