Baseball is more than just hitting a ball out of the arena. It’s about working with your teammates, anticipating the other team’s movements, and pushing yourself to your limits. Every baseball player is working hard to participate in the most prestigious tournaments in the world. That means training, improving, and figuring out which team can take you to the top. Never forget that other players are doing the same thing and are fighting with you for victory.

MLB The Show 25 fully immerses you in the baseball world by giving you first-hand experience of the sport’s realities. Unfortunately, you need baseball knowledge and experience from past games to truly succeed. There are also noticeable areas, like graphics that could use further improvement. But if you want to know what it’s like in the professional baseball world, you can’t find anything better than The Show.

Like many sports games, there isn’t a strict narrative you must follow. The most common way to play is choosing your favourite team, managing their players, and playing in tournaments. For this year’s iteration, you can experience what it’s like to begin your baseball career in high school. If team management is what you want, the franchise system has been updated for more dynamic systems where your decisions matter.

Playing as an aspiring high school student gives you a unique insight into the world of professional baseball. You learn how important it is for athletes to get noticed by college recruiters and scouts. When you play a game, every move matters and mistakes are dangerous. Success is sometimes beyond your grasp, but with the help of your team, you can turn the tides in your favour. It’s a grueling process, and your chances of success aren’t high.

Those odds immerse you in your players’ experience because you want to help them succeed. While there are corny moments when people never stop believing in you, success is not guaranteed. You will make mistakes while playing and the opposing team wants to win as well. If management doesn’t believe you are worth investing in, you may never get the chance to play in the big leagues.

There’s a lot to learn, but everything makes you a better player. Every game is different, and there are always factors to plan for to keep you on your toes. What you learn can go into competing against other players online or through the team management experience. If you want to push yourself, there are challenge modes like March-October or the unique Storyline missions. These slot you into different scenarios, and you must fulfill strict requirements to progress.

With several gameplay modes to keep you engaged, there’s always something to do. New improvements to systems like Ambush Hitting or Free Agency give you more factors to work with. This makes games more interesting and forces you to pay more attention. You can also adjust settings to make things simpler in case it’s too hard. These options let you customise your experience in The Show, ensuring you play how you like.

Unfortunately, MLB The Show 25 mostly appeals to baseball lovers or people who have an interest in baseball. If you aren’t interested in the sport at all, none of the modes or gameplay will drag you in. No matter how immersive the game is, you need knowledge of baseball terms and plays to be an effective player. It’s not easy to pick that up while playing the game, and you’re unlikely to become a fan just by playing.

Gameplay is also difficult with few opportunities to practice the skills that matter. For example, hitting the ball is difficult because you must time your strikes. But with a variety of pitches, you rely on instinct or immense practice to just hit the ball. It’s nearly impossible to revisit tutorials once they appear, and you only have regular practice sessions to help you master skills. Playing regular baseball might help you improve faster and would be less frustrating.

You also don’t know when specific events may happen or change. As another example, you throw balls to one of the basemen in a targeting mini-game. But at some points, it changes to a button-press mini-game without warning. Keeping track of everything is difficult, even for an experienced player. This game requires a huge time investment to learn and even more to master, which doesn’t appeal to everyone.

There are also noticeable visual glitches when textures don’t mesh properly or when you lose your character model. While this doesn’t override the experience or change anything, it’s hard to ignore. Shirts going through bodies, bats with glitching lines, or appearances not matching pictures snap you out of the immersion. It’s a shame because everything else is polished but the glitches are frequent enough that they do ruin the experience.

For anyone interested in baseball, MLB The Show 25 provides an unbeatable experience. Building your players from the ground up, reliving legendary moments, or managing your baseball dynasty is amazing. It’s not a perfect experience, and you must put in lots of time to learn and play properly. But once you hear the crisp sound of a bat hitting a ball out of the park, it’s worth every moment.