The official reveal trailer for MLB The Show 25 has landed, along with a ton of details surrounding its features. Based on what we learned on Tuesday, almost everything I wrote about a few weeks ago proved to be accurate.
At least two of the legends I’d heard about were confirmed, and we’re hopeful to see more. Road to the Show was indeed given some much-needed love, and we’re also seeing some under-the-hood improvements to Franchise Mode.
Here is a breakdown of what’s new, but let’s start with the three legends confirmed for the game.
MLB The Show 25: 3 New Legends Confirmed
As you can see from the image above, Boston Red Sox legend Manny Ramirez has been added as an official legend.
In the trailer, which you can see below, Red Sox, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, and Houston Astros legend Roger Clemens is also being added.
Ramirez and Clemens’ inclusion is huge for legends from the segment of baseball often referred to as the Steroid Era. Both Ramirez and Clemens had not been included in the game for years.
With their inclusion—along with Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire in MLB The Show 23—there is hope we’ll see Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Canseco, and Nomar Garciaparra in as well.
In addition to Clemens and Ramirez, Negro League legend James “Cool Papa” Bell was also confirmed, though many who are unfamiliar with him may not have recognized the brief cameo at the end of the trailer.
These three new legends will add value to Diamond Dynasty and offline modes, but it feels like this is just the beginning of the new classic players added to the game.
MLB The Show 25 Feature Updates
Here’s a breakdown of each feature per the game’s official page on PlayStation.com along with a touch of commentary on each.
Road To The Show
Begin your Road To The Show journey by playing two to three games in High School, and play three to four College games in The Amateur Years.
Build the Road To The Show ballplayer you want, the way you want to. Utilize a revamped attribute progression system for more control over your players development. Including craft Perks to your liking and utilize a revamped attribute progression system for full control of your player’s development.
Hear authentic High School and College audio – hear the clank of metal bats and the rattle of chain link fences!
RTTS/Player Lock will feature a variety of all new Impact Plays and Quick Time Events for all positions and baserunners.
It’s great to see The Show adding some depth to RTTS. Having your player start their journey in high school will allow users to become more attached to their ballplayers, enhancing the overall experience.
Hopefully, the narrative remains strong even after you make the minors and major leagues.
Franchise Mode
This year in the Franchise mode, choices matter, consequences are real, and time is precious as a revitalized Free Agency system adds risk/reward elements, strategy, and excitement to the pursuit of the top free agents each offseason.
The Franchise Mode bullet point isn’t extensive, but improvements to free agent logic are a huge deal. Hopefully, we will see other Franchise Mode improvements that didn’t make the back-of-the-box listings and can be further explored on February 25 during the feature’s deep dive.
Expanded Diamond Dynasty And More
Sets and Seasons will not be returning in MLB The Show 25!
Diamond Dynasty in MLB The Show 25 offers two new places to play: Diamond Quest, a risk-and-reward board game-like mode and a highly competitive multiplayer mode in Weekend Classic featuring some of the best rewards!
Speaking of rewards, fans will be able to earn top rewards in their favorite modes at various points in the year, and new Team Affinity Programs will be the go-to place for fans to unlock items and players unique to their favorite MLB team.
I checked out of Diamond Dynasty earlier this past year than I have since I started playing the mode. The elimination of Seasons will help, and I’m excited to see how Diamond Quest works. Will it simply replace Conquest, or will it be added to the overall feature set?
The Weekend Classic is also intriguing, as it could be delivering another ranked competitive option.
Gameplay Improvements And Expansion With ShowTech
Hundreds of new animations for extreme realism across the whole game, including all new Rob HR’s, Hot Shot catches, on the run catches and tags and much much more!
G.O.A.T. difficulty new this year will give you the ultimate challenge!
All-New ambush hitting for a more realistic “plan of attack” at the plate.
New Reaction Time System on defense.
The aspect of this that seems most interesting is the new user-controlled sliding animations. I will be watching to see how intuitive that part of the game is for users.
Negro Leagues Season 3
Celebrate baseball’s rich history with Storylines – play as famous and forgotten legends of the Negro Leagues while learning all about their incredible journeys. This season will be extra “Cool”!
Storylines Season 3 will once again be narrated by Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick with a whole new roster of “some of the greatest players you’ve likely never heard of.”
I love the Negro Leagues inclusion and hope it never goes away.
That said, I would like to see another layer added to the experience beyond simply bringing in new Storylines that function as they have the last two years.
Be on the lookout for more information on MLB The Show 25 as we move closer to launch and the various feature reveals before the release date, which is March 18 (or March 14 for early access).
