Review: Total Extreme Wrestling 2020
It’s bizarre to think that I have been playing wrestling simulators now for nearly twenty years. Whether it was Promotion Wars back in the early-2000’s, Extreme Warfare Revenge, or Total Extreme Wrestling, I’ve been armchair booking since before Vince McMahon bought WCW. Without really thinking about it, the TEW franchise has become the game that I’ve invested the most hours into over the course of my life. I can’t even speculate on how many hours that would be. While my approach to playing these games hasn’t changed much over the years – start a game, make some moves, get bored with your save, quit until a new update is released, repeat – the games sure have. TEW 2020 is the newest entry into Grey Dog Software’s popular franchise, and it’s the first release since TEW 2016. Is the new game something that new fans should dive into immediately, or should they stick with their previous version?
For as popular as the TEW franchise is within the wrestling community, I’m constantly surprised by the number of people that don’t even know that it exists. In short: TEW is a wrestling simulator that puts you in the role of an owner (or booker) of a wrestling organization and gives you full control over how the company operates. The detail included here is staggering. You’re not just choosing who is on your roster and who is winning the matches; that’s actually a very small part of it. Picking venues, negotiating with television broadcasters, balancing merchandise sales and ticket prices, managing your budget, you’ll find that TEW is a dream come true for those that have ever dreamt of having a wrestling promotion of their own. The most valuable part of TEW — and the thing that has helped maintain its relevance for so long — is the passionate mod scene. At its core, the base TEW game simply provides the tools to make all this work, the fanbase is what fleshes it out. Because of obvious copyright and IP restrictions, Grey Dog Software cannot include actual wrestling organizations or performers. Mods are what make that possible. These mods are widely available, free, and very easy to install. Whether you’re wanting to dip your toes into the current wrestling landscape with AEW, WWE, New Japan or an independent company like Black Label Pro, there’s a real-world mod that allows you to do so, and most of them are constantly updated to keep up with the current product. Perhaps you’re wanting to play during the Monday Night Wars of WCW and WWF, well, there’s a mod for that too. Want to book the Golden Era and build your company around Bastion Booger instead of Hulk Hogan? There’s a mod that will do that, too. These mods aren’t just names accompanied by an algorithm, they have gimmicks, relationships (both good and bad) with other performers, preferences on how to do business, personal demons, and a personality. When it comes time to put on a show, it’s a timely and stressful process that will make you have a new respect for even the worst wrestling bookers. Who is in the match? Who is winning? How long is the match going? What’s the finish? Who is the agent for the match? Who is announcing the show? Is there a title on the line? What’s the goal of this match? There are just so many options.
Okay, so that wasn’t as short as I was expecting, but if you aren’t familiar with TEW, hopefully that catches you up to speed.
When TEW 2016 was released, I remember thinking that there was never going to be a need for another version of the game. That game had everything. But, somehow, the wrestling industry is always changing, and TEW’s creator, Adam Ryland, has done a really good job at keeping the game updated to address those changes. In that respect, TEW 2020 is no different. Rather than trying to reinvent something that has been working for decades, Ryland’s latest title is an update that provides features that even further enhance the emotional investment of the player.
The biggest difference that TEW 2020 players will see right out of the gate is the ability to play as developmental companies. In the past, if you wanted to play as NXT or FCW, you would have to play around with the database and spin those companies off as their own entity. It was never ideal. This version of the game allows you to do that, and actually offers the benefits and challenges that you might expect that a real developmental company must deal with. While you don’t have to worry about the finances as much since the parent organization is funding it, you are at their mercy when it comes to personnel. In my NXT game the other night, I had the WWE tell me that they’re taking Finn Balor away from me in the midst of the push that I was giving him, and they also told me that they hired Bill Alfonzo (for some reason) and that they were sending him to me. What the hell am I going to do with Bill Alfonzo in 2020? (Answer: Make him a referee so that he can call it right down the middle, daddy.)
You can also now talk to workers, which is far more interesting than I would have thought that it would be. You can tell Adam Cole that he needs to lose weight. You can tell Nick Gage that you want him to change his style. You can even try to persuade someone to take steroids so that they’ll improve their ‘Superstar Look’ trait. In my game, I had signed Chris Hero as a wrestler, but I noticed that his ring psychology trait was really high. This is usually a sign that someone would be a good road agent. So, I start a conversation with Chris Hero, and I ask him if he would be an agent for me. Without hesitation, he agrees. Just something as minor as that adds a whole new dynamic to this game. With Hero, I had a 40-year-old wrestler that was in the twilight of his career. But now I have a road agent with excellent psychology, great relationships with his peers, and that is well respected around the world in the infancy of a new role that he could do for another 20+ years.
This review would be endless if I were to sit here and write about all the new features. But I would like to point out that brand splits, contract negotiations, gimmick changes, and angle booking have all had wonderful improvements made to them. After a rough phase of beta testing that had a lot of TEW players worried, this retail release works well, has an improved UI, and will be everything that you could possibly want out of a simulator once a few more bugs are wiped out.
So, back to our original question: Should you upgrade to TEW 2020 or stick with TEW 2016? Well, that will depend on your situation. TEW 2020 isn’t perfect. With the game being released just this last week, bugs are popping up and that is to be expected. If you have TEW 2016 and you’re happy with it, I would suggest sticking with it. At least for the time being. That said, Ryland has a great track record when it comes to patches, and if you wait to upgrade to 2020 later on, you’ll probably have a better experience than those that have bought it day one. But if the additions sound appealing to you – or if you have never played the TEW series and want to start – I would highly recommend TEW 2020. When all is said and done the best just got better.
