While it’s been quite disappointing for all sports fans as there is no baseball on TV due to the COVID-19 pandemic, San Diego Studio’s MLB: The Show 20 has been able to fill the void by giving sports gamers the opportunity to swing for the fences with their newest addition to the series. Seeing as this is as close we’ll get to baseball for the foreseeable future, there’s no better time to buy into the series than now. While there haven’t been any major changes to the franchise, aside from updated rosters, there have been some much-needed tweaks to the game modes we all love.

San Diego Studios always makes a note of overhauling the gameplay and AI. One of the more noticeable gameplay tweaks this year is the Perfect Perfect, a combination of when your swing timing and contact placement is in sync, resulting in a perfect at-bat. This rewards the batter with higher quality contact, which leads to more line drives and home runs. This gives batters an extra advantage on the plate. As they continue to nail the timing, they get rewarded with increased results.

Related: MLB: The Show 19 Review

With a variety of new challenges, rewards, and decisions added to arguably their most-prized game mode, Road to the Show mode, a fresh feel is instilled. It never gets old creating a pro, getting drafted, and working your way up to the big leagues from your minor-league affiliate. To this day, there are no sports games that mimic the real-life struggle athletes face when trying to crack the major-league lineup.

One of The Show 20’s fan-favourite modes, Franchise mode, where you’re the manager of your own team still pleases fans. Unfortunately, very little was changed this year. You’re still able to manage every aspect of your team or allow the computer to do it for you. The only major improvement to this mode is that, for the first time, you’re able to have your team customization carry over from Diamond Dynasty – which is a great addition – but it would still be amazing if you were able to create a stadium that your team plays in.

With MLB: The Show 21 set to come to Xbox and Nintendo Switch, you can expect some major changes coming to the series to welcome the baseball franchise to rival consoles. Perhaps the next game mode they’ll consider adding is “Bang the Bucket” for those Astros’ fans seeking to relive those extremely controversial playoff runs. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t play against the Astros and hit Jose Altuve with a fastball … in fact, the over-under on Astros batters getting hit by pitches this upcoming season is 83.5. If I were you, I’d hammer the over.

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MLB: The Show 20 is available now, exclusively for PlayStation 4. PlayStation Canada provided Okay, Cool with a game code for coverage purposes.