I was first introduced to the world of baseball, be it virtual or otherwise, three years ago, when I first reviewd MLB The Show 21. It didn’t make fall in love for the sport like how EA Sports’ NHL games did, but I was impressed with the quality in display, as well as the novelty factor of playing a game published by Sony on an Xbox system. I missed out on some of its yearly sequels, and I guess that was for the best. I’m not saying they were bad games, but I was able to dive into MLB The Show 24 and enjoy its main features even more.

There are lots of elements that have been kept intact, most notably the things that made MLB The Show, as a franchise, stand out. Being able to fully customize the level of complexity and immersion within each step of the game (you can just bat if you want, you can make pitching a lot more complex and strategic, you can run through bases automatically) is still amazing, as it lets each player create a playstyle of their own. The game is still impressive in terms of its performance, and its presentation has been improved a little bit.

Granted, some questionable elements are still here, such as MLB The Show 24‘s equivalent to FIFA‘s (or EA Sports FC, I still need time to process this change) Ultimate Team mode. I get it, it’s how you make some extra money, it’s how you grab people’s attention, that ain’t gonna change any time soon. Loading times are also quite long, especially when you consider the fact this was being played on a system with an SSD. This was something that was already quite noticeable in MLB The Show 21, and I’d say it has even gotten worse in this version, given the increased amount of detail and content at your disposal.

Content – this is where this game shines. Pick up a minor league team if you want to. Go play as the Seattle Mariners in order to play as Nintendo’s team on an Playstation-developed game available on Xbox, completing the console war peace accord trifecta. Choose one of the professional women’s teams, or even play as a custom professional woman player if you so choose. Lots of modes are available right from the getgo, but there’s a specific mode that won me over almost immediately: Storylines.

Storylines is exactly that: it recreates games and conditions from some of the most important events in the game’s history. There are basically two kinds of stories in this mode. One of them is completely dedicated to Derek Jeter, complete with full interviews, FMV cutscenes, historical footage, the whole thing. For New York Yankees fans, I can only assume MLB The Show 24 is worth the admission ticket for this mode alone.

But let’s talk about the really impressive part, and something that caught me off guard, as I’m utterly ignorant to the sport: the Negro Leagues. In essence, I got to play as some iconic African-American players from back when there was severe segregation, when black players had to play in a separate league from white players. The stories behind their careers, accomplishments, and struggles against racism, were quite impressive. Baseball is not big where I live, so I did not grow up knowing these stories. The way SIE San Diego Studio managed to tell important historical events whilst linking them with entertaining gaming challenges is something I fell in love with.

MLB The Show 24 might be, in theory, more of the same if you’ve been playing all previous iterations of the game, but the handful of inclusions in this particular version were enough to justify its existence. Its Storylines mode impressed the hell out of me, not only with how detailed it managed to tell Derek Jeter’s career, but with how it managed to educate (and educate at the same time) someone not into the sport with all the importance behind the Negro Leagues. Add in the good presentation and excellent gameplay, and what you have here is more of the same, but also more of the GOOD same.

Graphics: 7.5 A bit more detailed than previous iterations of the franchise. It still runs flawlessly. There are tons of FMV cutscenes featuring Derek Jeter and other personalities. Whilst noticeably compressed, they also look quite good	Gameplay: 9.0 No need to fix what wasn’t broken, right? Tons of different control schemes for each action you can perform, resulting in players being able to fully customize their own experiences.
Sound: 8.0 ZZ Top and A Tribe Called Quest are some of the highlights which are played durin gameplay. One of the most varied soundtracks in modern sports games.	Fun Factor: 8.0 The historical modes are a phenomenal highlight for veterans and people new to the sport. Tons of other modes (as well as a lame Ultimate Team-esque section) complete this impressive package.
Final Verdict: 8.0

MLB The Show 24 is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X and Switch.

Reviewed on Xbox Series S.

A copy of MLB The Show 24 was provided by the publisher.