MLB The Show 25 review: Homer hose

The 2025 Major League Baseball season has begun and just a couple of weeks ago we got the latest installment in San Diego Studio’s baseball sim series. MLB The Show 25 not only continues the Negro Leagues for a third straight game, but it also makes meaningful improvements to Diamond Dynasty and Road to the Show.

Leadoff

MLB The Show 25’s first batch of significant changes comes to Road to the Show, the game’s career mode. This year, players begin their journey in high school, playing through a tournament before heading off to college. Your performance in the tournament determines which schools will offer you scholarships, and each school is rated by how much exposure you’ll get by playing there. There is an early incentive to perform well, and a solid opportunity to rack up offers throughout the tournament. There are only 8 available colleges, which feels a bit limiting, but is still a step up from last year’s offerings.

Once you go to college, you may also be drafted by an MLB team after participating in the combine (you can select the team that drafts you or let your performance decide). Once this happens, you can choose whether or not you want to go straight to the Minor League and grind your way up, or spend some time in college, with the hopes of fast-tracking your way to the Majors. There’s no wrong answer, but it adds another fun layer of variables as you navigate your career. I was initially drafted by the Kansas City Royals, decided to play college ball at Tennessee, and ended up getting selected by the Marlins once I finished school.

Outside of those early changes, Road to the Show remains largely the same as you’d expect. You can upgrade your attributes by allocating tokens that you earn in game, and boost your stats with perks that are unlocked through specific accomplishments.

There is also a new first-person camera that can be toggled when playing a fielding position. It’s an immersive way to ratchet up the tension when trying to make a tight play, though I found myself switching back to the standard third-person camera so that I could have a proper view of everything around me. Still, it’s a neat addition that’s fun to toggle for a play or two every now and then.

A baseball empire

Arguably the most notable change in MLB The Show 25 is the decision to remove sets and seasons from Diamond Dynasty, the series’ card-collecting fantasy mode. Previously, certain cards would be released and playable only during specific seasons, forcing players to rebuild their lineup every time a new season would begin. It’s the exact kind of FOMO that’s made me hate playing these kinds of modes in sports games, and MLB The Show 25 just gave me an antidote.

Now, I feel less stress to grind for the newest hottest thing, or make the most out of a specific card before it’s no longer eligible. Of course, there are still timed events, but it’s a much more casual, player-friendly mode than it was a year ago.

Diamond Dynasty has also added a new single player mode with Diamond Quest. It’s essentially a roguelike mode where you navigate a game board, looking to escape with the most amount of rewards as possible. Every tile has the chance of holding a surprise perk, hindrance, or challenge. These challenges could be something simple, like get on base, or end an inning without allowing a run. Succeeding in them will provide perks, while failing will give some sort of negative affliction.

Where this mode really gets interesting is in its Stadiums. Stadiums feature shortened 3-inning games against the CPU, where players can choose whatever difficulty they want. The higher the difficulty, the greater the chances of receiving a valuable pack or card as a reward. The game is transparent about these percentages and how the difficulty affects them. The catch is, if you lose a Stadium match, your run is over. All rewards are lost and you’re tossed back to the menu. Each Diamond Quest has more than one stadium, so you have to weigh the risk vs reward when it comes to venturing on, or calling it a run after one Stadium victory.

Still got the fastball

Outside of the major changes to its core modes, MLB The Show 25 retains solid gameplay and a suite of features to tailor the experience. The Negro Leagues returns for a 3rd season, further educating players on important baseball history and properly honoring legends of the game.

I spent more time in online matches testing my skills against other players, mainly to take advantage of that sweet Orioles roster and get a better understanding of the game outside of the modes I usually play. This was all great, but there were a couple of odd bugs that grew annoying over time. For one, it’s essentially a coin-toss whether or not the game actually recognizes the stadium you select for a game. More often than not, it would default to the All-Star field at the Atlanta Braves stadium. My buddy and I were excited to tour through some of baseball’s historic stadiums, but it didn't work half the time. There was also noticeable lag that would often trigger right after the bat made contact with the ball, even when using an ethernet cable and playing against different opponents online.

Moneyball

I have for years held the opinion that MLB The Show is the best of the annualized sport sim franchises. While it’s not without its faults, it’s pound-for-pound the best simulation of its real-life counterpart, while hosting a bevy of modes that feel thoroughly fleshed out and supported. It’s the most hours I’ve sunk into a new MLB The Show game in years, and it’ll probably be my go-to sports game for many months to come.

This review is based on an Xbox Series X code provided by PlayStation Studios. MLB The Show 25 is available now for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_