PlayStation 4
Released in 2015 by Sony Computer Entertainment
Grade: C–
Just about every version of The Show is really good and most are excellent. Sony has honed baseball gameplay to be intuitive but deep, with simple controls but complex logic under the hood. This version, sadly, comes with a fatal flaw: system performance issues, little hiccups and bits of lag that pop up several times a game.
Where it falls in the series
The series started on PS1 with MLB Pennant Race and called itself “The Show” since 2006. The series jumped to PS4 in 2014.
Praises and gripes
I love The Show, but it’s become the most boring game to review, because it’s largely the same from year to year, with some slight graphical improvements and perhaps a few new features.
All the basics are solid. The pitching system is great, with a little meter that swings back and forth. Batting is simple and uses a perfect behind-the-catcher viewpoint. Baserunning and fielding are also nice and simple. And the most crucial piece of The Show is its deep pitching/batting logic, resulting in strategic battles that have realistic results.
Compared to previous versions, the screens are a bit less cluttered with displays, but you can easily access helpful information like hot-cold zones, diagrams of pitch locations, and the pitcher’s confidence in individual pitch types.
The whole scene is stunning — day games look more vibrant and colorful than real life! Combined with realistic sounds, you feel like you’re in the ballpark. The play-by-play keeps up, but I find it annoying because Matt Vasgersian never shuts up.
Unfortunately, it’s all wasted by those damn hiccups. Out of nowhere, the pitching meter will stutter, ruining the precision on your pitch. While you’re batting, intensely watching the ball come at you, it suddenly teleports past you. In a game that hinges on quick reflexes and exact timing, this can be infuriating.
I researched this and some folks online suggested cutting off your internet connection to avoid these issues, but it didn’t fix it completely. Even in a basic local game against the CPU, I got at least five or ten hiccups per game.
Long story short, buy another version of The Show.