Super Mega Baseball 4

Genre: Sports (Baseball)

Players: 1-4 Team Competitive (Local / Online)

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Review:

Super Mega Baseball 4, released in 2023 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, is the first game in this cartoony Baseball franchise to see release after developer Metalhead Software was snatched up by publisher Electronic Arts. It is also the first release in the series since Sony’s celebrated Baseball franchise, MLB The Show, started to release on all platforms, including Nintendo Switch, making this the first year that both franchises would see a direct head-to-head battle. With the stakes high, what major changes are in store for this beloved underdog of a Baseball series?

Well, not much at all, really. This entry in the franchise does add cartoony versions of hundreds of real-life retired Major League Baseball players (though not their teams or jerseys), along with cartoony versions of various online influencers. There’s also a new trait system where every player can potentially excel (or underperform) in specific circumstances. And I’m sure there are multiple other new features and added content as well, but at its core, this still feels like much the same Baseball game series fans have grown accustomed to.

Of course, that’s not a bad thing – we are talking about a series that has consistently been one of the best baseball games on the market, a cartoony alter-ego to the MLB The Show series that nevertheless features every bit the same degree of quality, excellent options for team management, and yet still touting highly-accessible gameplay with enough depth that both novice and skilled players will find something to love here.

There are also nice little touches here, personality traits that shine for the individual players, comments by the announcer and umpire that both lend a lot of flavor to the game. However, I do have some complaints about the presentation – while the parks and players are all nicely-detailed and generally pretty polished, the Nintendo Switch version of Super Mega Baseball 4 suffers from some nasty aliasing, and on top of that the load times can be a bit much too.

Still, these are fairly minor complaints for a Baseball game series that is as good here as it ever was. Super Mega Baseball 4 is a game that largely plays things pretty safe and doesn’t mess with its winning formula. If you’re a series fan this may mean less reason to feel the need to upgrade to the latest game, but those looking for a quality ballgame on Nintendo Switch will find this to be one of the best choices they can make.

tl;dr – Super Mega Baseball 4 adds real-life retired pro players to its lineup, and makes a few other nice additions, but for the most part this is a game that doesn’t shake things up too much and simply provides us with yet another solid entry in a series known for its superb deep but accessible Baseball gameplay. The load times and aliasing on Nintendo Switch are disappointing, and those who own the prior game in the series may not find there to be quite enough new content here to make it worth an additional purchase, but players who want the best Baseball game on Nintendo Switch will nevertheless find this game to be a contender for that title.

Grade: A-

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2023 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Sports Game

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