The 8th Inning Program recently launched, bringing 99 OVR Ken Griffey Jr. to Diamond Dynasty right as the Postseason is about to begin. Postseason content always feeds into Finest, which ends the year with a bang as the best 99 OVR cards are unleashed.
As October greets us in a few days, I found myself reflecting on this year in MLB The Show and what could be to come.
Turning the Tide
For me, MLB The Show 26 has been the most fun I've had with the franchise in many years. The gameplay if fun and feels more dynamic than ever, thanks to the ABS strike zone and complete defensive overhaul.
Defense actually feels like it matters for the first time. In years past, the big-bopping outfielders and corner infielders could make enough plays to justify their bats without penalty. Now, at least as far as I've experimented, I genuinely value defense in the outfield to the point that my roster construction has been more enjoyable than ever.
Pitching received a massive boost thanks to Bear Down and the ABS strike zone. Never again will a pitch clearly hitting the zone benefit the batter. This has radically changed the viability of control-focused pitchers, though velocity and stuff still reign supreme.
Content is still solid for the most part, with the best art in sports gaming combined with much improved program structure as the year went on.
All things considered, MLB The Show 26 has been the most fun I've had with the franchise and I'm not particularly bored of playing yet. The addition of 9-inning Mini Seasons games has allowed me to have a constant slow-grind in the background, with 9-inning games on Legend continuing to be a highlight of my time with the game.
Soft Spots
Many of the issues that have plagued MLB The Show over the last several years remain. While I haven't had issues with connectivity like years past, I've seen frames drop considerably anytime a player with dreads is in view.
This has made it impossible to enjoy using Manny Ramirez's recent Milestone card, despite great attributes and an amazing swing. The game becomes less enjoyable, even if Manny is just on the bases after reaching.
Andrew McCutchen was the featured Cornerstone player for the 8th Inning, and I can't even pretend to want to use this card due to the dropped frames from the player model.
At a time when PC gaming is a buzz thanks to DLSS 5 bringing visuals to a shockingly photorealistic level, MLB The Show continues to lag behind franchises like Madden and NBA 2K in the graphical fidelity department.
It's not that MLB The Show 26 looks bad, it just looks bland because the game fundamentally looks identical to every previous year for the last decade. There's noticeable improvements to jersey textures and lighting the last couple of years, and there are moments where the game looks stunning.
However, the frame rate drops are more disappointing for me than anything else visually. There's just a lot of staleness, as you can go back a decade and animations and graphical elements are difficult to differentiate.
Does that make the game worse? I don't think so, but when you stretch the staleness into content and the cyclical nature of content - it points to MLB The Show's biggest flaw.
Lack of innovation.
Captain Jeter vs Subway Series Jeter
Captains have been one of the best additions in recent years, and are practically unusable this year. Theme teams have never been stronger, yet we're stuck with the original Jolt Captains that haven't been updated or evolved in any meaningful. Some teams even received better versions of the original Captains, forcing a choice between the Captain boosts or the better OVR version of that player.
No Salary Cap mode in DD continues to haunt the series, as our binders are full of really interesting lower-rated cards that just never see the field. It's great to have them for collection fodder, but I'd love a genuine reason to use them.
It's part of the most frustrating part of the staleness. It's not like we're lacking cards or content, it's just meaningful ways to use them.
The extended Mini Seasons have been great fun this year, and being able to customize length of games and seasons has helped squeeze some re-playability out of the game.
The Parallel System getting Parallel Mods was another great addition, and would really help a Salary Cap or Limited mode shine, which adds to the weight of "nothing newness."
Getting 99 OVR Ken Griffey Jr. is always a good time, but this is the time of year that Diamond Dynasty feels like it's stuck in quicksand.
With most collections and Chase cards being premium switch-hitters, even that element of DD has been unexciting. On the flip side, I've had more fun doing collections by saving the Deluxe, Premier, and Ultra Choice Packs and opening them with each new premium set release. So while collections continue to feel more expensive and harder to complete, there's at least a new experience along the way.
Franchise and Road to the Show have also been lacking any real love over the last few years. With the next generation of consoles looming, and console gaming inching closer to PC-levels of hardware, MLB The Show is holding its own with a solid offering. However, the obvious room for improvement in the same areas year-over-year still leaves a bit of a bummed out feeling as we head into the true "endgame" phase of Diamond Dynasty content.
How has your time with MLB The Show 26 been this year? Let us know in the comments!
