I’m more than a day into my evaluation of MLB The Show 25, and one of the biggest things that has jumped out at me is the new Diamond Dynasty mode, Diamond Quest.
DQ is a rogue-like feature that accomplishes what every development studio aims for: it blends existing concepts into a package that delivers a new, but still familiar experience for the user.
Diamond Quest is Conquest mixed with Showdown and Moments wrapped in a simplistic and charming visual package that is heavily charged with nostalgic concepts.
There are mounds of rewards in the new feature, but there is also risk with real consequences for failure.
In short, you begin by choosing what you’re willing to chase during the quest. The better the reward, the stiffer the odds and challenge. Thankfully, it doesn’t cost any currency to enter, so there really is no gamble. The opening Quests offers three tiers of rewards:
- RARE: Silver (79) Juan Soto, Diamond (85) Matt Shaw and (85) Chase Burns, 2 Ballin is a Habit packs
- EPIC: Gold (81) Aaron Judge, Diamond (87) Noah Schultz and (87) Travis Bazzama, Diamond (87) Garrett Crochet and (87) Bryson Stott
As you progress through the board, you run into mini Showdowns, Moments challenges and the Stadium battles are like the strongholds from Conquest. Winning delivers rewards that can be used on your quests as well as some smaller ones that positively impact your overall Diamond Dynasty journey.
Losing puts you at risk of losing the things you’ve accumulated on the quests, and you’re also given outs where you can take what you’ve earned or press your luck/skill.
If I have one issue with the mode, it’s the fact that you have no way to back out of a challenge, Showdown or Stadium challenge without forfeiting. I understand not being able to quit once the action has started.
However, it feels unnecessarily confining to not have the option to back out of the initiative in the menu stage. I went searching to see what others are saying about DQ.
One X user called it “easily my favorite new mode in years,” highlighting its simplicity as a roguelike paired with “amazing rewards” and the bonus of stats tracking in shorter games. Another mentioned the “retro vibes” it evokes, likening it to old Nintendo or Sega Genesis days, appreciating the risk-reward dynamic where you can lose everything but still feel the thrill of big plays on high difficulties like the new GOAT setting.
The reward system tied to difficulty levels is a big talking point. Players have noted that choosing higher difficulties increases the odds of rare or epic rewards, such as exclusive packs or Diamond player items, which has some calling it a game-changer for offline play. One X post from early March hyped this up, saying “offline grinding could finally be fun this year,” a sentiment echoed by others who’ve tired of repetitive modes like Conquest.
Players who usually play online aren’t as fired up about DQ.
Some are still figuring out how to approach it strategically, with one Reddit thread asking about the best way to tackle tough encounters (like the “baseball thing” boss) and whether to uncover every tile before hitting strongholds.
A few players on Reddit have compared it to Conquest but with a twist, noting it’s “pretty much Conquest but different challenges,” while others hope it doesn’t replace their beloved Conquest entirely due to its replayability and solid rewards.
Like most sports video games that cater to multiple audiences, DQ’s appeal is split by playstyle. Offline players love it—especially those burned out on online competition—with comments like “I’m going to be spending a lot of time on DQ this year” popping up.
But some online-focused players are less impressed, with one X user saying it’s fun but “way harder than expected,” and others on Reddit admitting they’d rather stick to multiplayer modes since CPU games don’t excite them as much.
Quite honestly, that’s not a terrible sentiment coming from someone evaluating a feature that wasn’t really designed for them. I count is a win for the feature overall.
It’s awesome to see how good DQ already is considering it’s still in the first year.
I’m excited to see if there will be any post-launch updates, and even more, what it will look like in Year 2. Be on the lookout for my full scored MLB The Show 25 review as well as more tips for gameplay.
