Sony San Diego Studios has released its annual MLB: The Show game recently, and it is getting a mix of reviews amongst its players.

The game released on March 17, and since then, has gotten multiple 8/10 ratings from game critics such as GameSpot and IGN. The game features many new game modes, and many that are improved. This includes a totally revamped version of March to October, which was introduced in the 2019 version of the game. This year, the game mode goes hand in hand with the games main mode, Diamond Dynasty, more than ever. Rewards for Diamond Dynasty are earned easier and more frequently through March to October than ever before. 

Diamond Dynasty got a revamp this year as well, as it has many of the years prior. Many new player rights were purchased by the game, giving SDS the ability to add them to the game. This includes hall of famers like Mariano Rivera, John Smoltz, and Greg Maddux. A new feature within Diamond Dynasty was added as well, called Showdown. In this mode, players draft a team one game at a time, and compete against the CPU for rewards that are used in regular Diamond Dynasty play.

The games career mode, Road to the Show, also got revamped for 2020. The repetitive storyline that follows the career of your custom player was enhanced, as well as the way your player interacts with his teammates, and rival players. On top of this, a new way to train and better your custom player comes to the mode, making it much more user friendly and less confusing as a whole. 

On top of this, the game’s graphics and sound effects also got a small boost towards each in this year’s version of The Show. 

However, not all is good with the game’s newest release. Some game modes saw little to no improvement. This includes Franchise, which has not seen an upgrade in multiple years. The mode got a small adjustment, as teams could be rebranded this season, but a create-a-stadium addition, or an expansion team feature that many fans have called for over recent releases has yet to be added. 

The gameplay itself has also been a weak point at times. In-game defense is very rough, as outfielders frequently drop fly balls and infielders take peculiar routes to ground balls. The games hitting physics are a little different this year as well, making it slightly more difficult to time up pitches. Pitching does not get an escape either, however, as its very difficult to spot pitches in online play, which is obviously critical to success. However, the goods news with this for players, is that the ingame bugs can be fixed within the weekly updates the game releases.

MLB The Show: 20 is still available for purchase for $60 anywhere games can be purchased, thought it is important to keep in mind that the game is only out on PlayStation.