MLB Tap Sports Baseball 2023 Review

The Nation’s Past Time in Your Pocket

EA Sports draws on its massive experience to bring the excitement of major league baseball to mobile players. With few exceptions (I’m looking at you Retro Bowl), this specific genre has been plagued with more stinkers than a cow field. So it was with a skeptical eye that I did a hearty tailgate and jumped into MLB Tap Sports Baseball 2023.

Play Ball?

Full disclosure: I am not a big baseball fan. I enjoy it, but I do not know who plays on my favorite team until they start playing well. As a Brewers fan, that’s a rare occurrence. It is with an eye as a game critic that I shall critique this title. Ironically, the game of baseball seems to get in the way.

First off, the tutorial to teach you the menu system is just as confusing as the menu system itself. Most sports gamers just want to take their favorite team on a deep run that reality denies. EA tries its hand at leading you through a slew of mini games and events before even unlocking season play. Strike one…

The Infamous Loot Box

The freemium model plays right into EA Sports style. Famous for introducing the loot box, EA hands them out freely at first and for meeting certain conditions. Most contain different types of currency and a genius baseball card style unlocking of players. Of course, new and legendary players as well as different currencies are available for exorbitant prices.

The availability of new players and the ability to level them up sounds great in practice, but it was executed poorly. By the time I was able to take my Brewers to season play, I only had three original players left on my team. I capped out all of my players and I was crushing my opponents. The only game I lost was when I auto played the innings. Strike two…

He Goes Down Swinging!

Now for the elephant in the room. In a brave attempt to make the game more mobile friendly, the developer completely removed defense from the title. Even though pitching is shown in the Google Play trailer, I never found it. In a more complicated game like football this may work well, but pitching seems like something that could have been added or unlocked earlier at the very least. While I understand their decision, I feel robbed. Like cake with no frosting.

I know I have been beating up this title, but there are some nice things. Swinging the bat is a blast and the title is beautiful. You will get plenty of time to enjoy those great visuals when you play deep into the 14^th inning though. It’s still baseball.

Baseball simulations just don’t work well on a mobile platform. It takes too long to load a game, play said game, and manage your team. Especially when the only thing that is done well is the swinging and the selling. I really wanted to like this game, but after a week of play, I honestly don’t even want to play it. Strike three! You’re outta here!