La Major League Baseball announced on March 12 the postponement of the season with the blocking of activities due to the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Although many of you may not be interested in the news, there is a large group of fans in Italy also dedicated to following baseball. So here we come to the rescue of lovers of this sport! We had a chance to try and examine MLB The Show 20, the new title dedicated to the Major League, and the only official game in this league, licensed for team names and logos.
MLB The Show 20: a first approach
Major League Baseball The Show 20 is the new title dedicated to all lovers of baseball and above all of the "Serie A" of American baseball. A unique opportunity that will allow you to be the modern diamond gladiator [the baseball field], and hear the crowd cheer your name.
The Italian market is definitely not the best on which to experiment with such a title, both for culture and for media importance. For my part, as much as I know the rules of the sport and I enjoyed trying it on a couple of occasions [discovering that I am good at it, ed.], I am not at all used to a game of this type. I actually needed time to understand the details and mechanics, expecting a title very similar to the various "FIFA", with an intuitive and simple game interaction but all in all limited, while instead, also thanks to the fact that the roles to be played in baseball are many, I have clashed with different phases and rather challenging game modes.
The overall experience was enjoyable and it might even be a good title for some Twitch lives. In short, do not underestimate it and give it a chance: it really is much more than you can imagine.
Baseball in-depth appendix
For those unfamiliar with the subject, baseball is a sport in which two teams of 9 members each face each other for the duration of 9 innings (shots). In each round the teams alternate in the roles of attack and defense. The main roles in a baseball team are mainly of 3 categories:
- hitters
- pitchers
- bases (and external left)
The team in the defense phase has a diamond-shaped pitcher in the center of the pitch, "base" players in the dedicated areas of the pitch and a catcher. The attacking team has a batter at home plate in front of the catcher.
The pitcher throws the ball in the direction of the receiver, the batter has the job of hitting her in the best possible way to ensure that he has enough time to run, counterclockwise, and touch all the bases on the field one by one until he returns to home plate. If the batsman succeeds, he wins a point for his team (run). If, on the other hand, the pitcher manages to get 3 balls to the catcher, the batter will be out.
In the event that the various players on the court manage to retrieve the ball after the batter has rejected it, they must try to eliminate the batter by throwing it to the component closest to the base not yet touched by the batter, before it comes.
MLB The Show 20 review: from RPG to simulation with arcade additions
In order to really review this game and make sure that each of you can get an idea, you need to start from the beginning. MLB The Show 20 wants to be a title, within a now famous saga, which celebrates baseball by orienting itself towards aspects very simulation. The edition we have in our hands celebrates not only sport, but also the anniversary of the videogame saga which has in fact reached its fifteenth edition.
This aspect is quite important because the developers have tried to optimize quality, artificial intelligence and give the best possible experience to fans with particular care. They have worked hard to introduce new game modes compared to previous titles. Surely the main component in the game is an excellent consolidated gameplay system that develops in the attack and defense rounds through the various roles of the players:
- hitters
- pitchers
- basi
- left external
For practically each of these roles, during the early stages of the game, there is the possibility of setting a verticalization of the gameplay depending on how comfortable it is to manage the various actions. For each of the roles mentioned, the system leads us to choose between three different command modes, with the opportunity to test each mode several times. From the very first moments the perceived depth of play is remarkable.
Wilson, Baseball, Set da baseball Little League, Per...
- Little League baseball set for young baseball beginners
- Set consisting of 1 sturdy baseball bat, 1 children's glove (left) and 1 baseball
- Suitable for children up to 10 years
Career or Team, there are many ways
MLB The Show 20 offers numerous game modes divided into two macro categories:
Beginners
- Moments
- Road to the Show
Experts
- March to October
- Conquest
- Showdown
- Battle Royale
As for the beginner category, the modality Moments allows us to play as the most famous stars in baseball history, letting us participate in short games with micro objectives to be achieved. Road to the Show instead it allows us to pursue a career in the world of baseball from the ground up to become a sports star.
In the latter mode we will play only when our protagonist will be called to throw or beat.
As for the expert mode instead we will have:
- March to October which allows us to take control of an entire team, and we will be able to choose between the official teams of the Major League. The gameplay is also deepened by the possibility of making business choices that will influence the result of the championship.
- Conquest instead it makes us face the challenges in the form of a board game, in which we will participate in single matches that will decide the winner by making us conquer territories held by other teams of the MLB.
- Showdown allows you to create a team by selecting special skills in a challenge that will lead us to face a sort of "end-of-level boss" and obtain prizes as well as achievements.
- Last but not least, the modality Battle Royale. This version is the multiplayer part that sees us involved in games in which we will face opposing teams of our online friends who will entitle us to the best prizes that you can find in game, if we win.
MLB The Show 20: Road to the Show is the mode par excellence
If we address the title in this version, we immediately notice that the depth of gameplay is not only what we have examined so far. We have the opportunity to customize our avatar in two stages: the psychological creation of the character that will make us choose between behavioral styles that will affect our career and the choices we are going to make by favoring the team or us as an individual. THEgraphic editor instead gives us the possibility to customize our character from an aesthetic point of view, not in depth that's for sure! However, it is an option that deserves a note of attention and my personal applause as, considering that the title was born as a simulation game, it is sufficiently rich in details.
Like being in a real stadium, sounds, climate and atmosphere
The graphic sector is well finished and immerses us in a typically American atmosphere, from a cultural point of view of the Bel Paese I would dare to say “film atmosphere”. This is precisely how the experience becomes engaging, the reporter with the idioms and the intonation of the voice brings us back to American sensational commentary, while the crowd, like a modern Roman judge, cheers or condemns the actions of the players on the pitch. Very good graphic details that translate into those micro expressions and animations typical of American baseball players. There is also nothing to object to as regards the sound aspect, echoes, effects, news is the whole thing to be in its place. Always considering that it professes itself as "THE" simulative par excellence of this sport, the care and quality reserved for these aspects is commendable and certainly worth mentioning.
The climate and the day-night cycle are well done, to the point that the animations are also customized according to the climate. In fact, in hot weather, it is not unusual for players to present animations such as wiping sweat from their foreheads or adjusting their cap.. A fact, among other things, that it is necessary to keep under control, precisely because of its consequences. The stamina of our protagonist is limited therefore in warmer periods his concentration may fail. Ultimately then, make the players feel good, or the player depending on the mode, high temperatures can deconcentrate. Noteworthy once again, and I would like to point it out, it is the involvement that comes from the reporters: the product was conceived almost exclusively for the American market, therefore the Italian localization or even a simple translation or subtitling is totally absent. This is probably his worst achilles heel, however thanks to the mastery with which the sound sector was managed, and to the wonderful commentary, the developers have managed to work around the problem, especially if you understand English.
If you want to learn more, here is a compendium to better enjoy the game
He takes some strikes but wins nine innings
One of the major flaws is the verticalization of the sector. For titles like Fifa or Pes, the well-known videogames dedicated to the football world, simulation is important but the arcade component is the master. This makes the games very accessible to an audience that, even culturally, is not so accustomed to the world of football. Furthermore, further team management dynamics, very similar to a management system, integrate gameplay that would otherwise be too shallow. MLB instead points directly to a niche market that is used to eating bread and baseballs, partially discriminating against those who are new to the sector. Although the commands to manage are simple, thanks to the initial customization, the gameplay and the user experience are really very thorough, perhaps too much! So much so that it takes some practice and time to get used to managing the interface. Loads between stages are slow and it's not uncommon to hear the poor console fan groan. To remember also the complete absence of localization or subtitling in Italian, a flaw that for many could sanction a negative verdict in terms of gameplay and fun.
Personally? If you like sport and you are a lover of the American league, it is an UNMISSABLE title, in case you like sport but you are not used to it, give it a chance it will certainly surprise you. If, on the other hand, you fall into the last category of those who have never been attracted to the genre, am I curious to bring it as streaming content and see if I can entertain you for more than an hour?
MLB The Show 20
Pro 
- Extraordinary depth of play
- Well-finished graphics and sound
- Guaranteed immersion
- An excellent simulative
Cons 
- A niche title
- Localization is missing
- Slow uploads
