MLB The Show 21: Best Improvements Explained

Baseball gaming has returned with MLB The Show 21, which is releasing on PlayStation and Xbox with many welcome improvements. This will be the debut year for The Show franchise on Xbox, and the biggest audience available to date for San Diego Studios. Sports games that release annually have high expectations to improve with each iteration, but they don’t always meet that mark. However, The Show has a reputation of providing a yearly evolving baseball simulation game, and this year is no different.

The Road to the Show is one of the best sports-story modes in video games today. The Show consistently delivers a quality single-player mode with yearly improvements. There are many big changes noticed right away, including the draft process. There are no more exhibition games to be played or scouting to be done, since RTTS rushes right into the start of the season. Another big change is the ability to be a two-way player. Being able to play as both a fielder and a pitcher has been a requested feature ever since Shohei Ohtani joined the league in 2018, so it’s great that it’s finally included in the game.

RTTS now has player loadouts, which can be customized with different equipment, perks, and pitches. These loadouts can be picked before each game based on what position the character is playing, or really any other factor. This is also the first year it is possible for a Road to the Show character to be on a Diamond Dynasty team. This combines two of the most popular modes in The Show. A fun improvement to RTTS comes from the updated audio. When in the clubhouse, audio from MLB news podcasts can be heard with unique and relevant voice lines, adding to the immersive experience.

MLB The Show’s 21 Proves The Series Keeps Getting Better

PinPoint Pitching is a new mechanic for The Show series as well. Pitching mechanics have not been reworked in a long time, but this unique (and optional) feature makes pitching feel very different than before. PinPoint Pitching uses a system similar to the old MLB 2K games where each pitch had a unique analog input needed in order to throw effectively. Precise analog movement and timing is required or the ball will go awry. This mechanic is challenging to master, but very rewarding when done successfully. A nice change of pace for the pitching mechanic in MLB The Show 21 is the unique movements required for different pitch types. Now, throwing a fastball down the middle feels a lot different than throwing a slider. Pitching in past MLB The Show games had a tendency to grow burdensome over time, but this new system makes pitching fun again.

Other modes like March to October have been reworked and Diamond Dynasty has been updated, as it does every year, to offer different ways to collect some of baseball’s greats. Every year of MLB The Show is different and the series is known for taking risks when it comes to improvements. They don’t always hit it out of the park, but the consistent differences are typically a welcome change. MLB The Show 21 is another great example of a franchise that continues to grow and change every year for the better.

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