MLB The Show 26: The Kotaku Review

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MLB The Show 26 is a mirror of the 2026 Philadelphia Phillies.

(I imagine many of you who are familiar with me and my “brand” expected the Phillies to prominently feature in this review, and I’d hate to disappoint, but hear me out on this.)

The Phillies made a run to the World Series in 2022, thanks to a core of key players like Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Zack Wheeler, and Aaron Nola. They ultimately lost to the Houston Astros, but the future was bright.

Since then, my hometown team hasn’t returned to the Fall Classic, despite running out the same or, at the very least, an awfully similar roster. The core has gotten older and rougher around the edges, and while a few new faces have emerged–Cy Young runner-up Christopher Sanchez chief among them–the 2026 squad will take the field with essentially the same makeup, once again trying to ride the same ol’ gunslingers to a title, even when change seems to be sorely needed.

MLB The Show 26 finds itself in a similar situation. The foundation of this year’s baseball simulation is as good as it ever was; the core baseball mechanics still impress, and the “feel” of going to a baseball game, or watching one on TV, permeates through every pitch. However, as with most sports games of the current era, the lack of real competition seems to have inspired more stagnation than innovation this time around. This year’s Show is more of a rerun than a new episode, though at least it’s a rerun that still holds up pretty well.

Taking the mound

A typical game of baseball, no matter who’s playing or where, can be broken down into three tenets: batting, pitching, and fielding. Sony San Diego nailed the formula for each of these years ago, and not much has changed in MLB The Show 26.

Pitching has me the most engaged, and I think it’s because of how much more active I feel than in the other core aspects. When I’m on the mound, I have to choose the pitch, aim it in the strike zone, and then release the pitch, over and over again. Every pitch has a different strategy, ergo a different choice to make. I’m fully engaged when it’s my turn to pitch, and the tension builds nicely as a game progresses.

Batting has its own way of engaging me thanks to zone-based aiming and the way it allows me to swing for contact or for power. However, battling is inherently more passive; I’m waiting for the opposing pitcher to throw the ball, then waiting for the ball to approach the plate before timing my button press to swing. Even if I nail that timing, I could still hit a weak grounder or pop fly and get called out. It’s strange really, as long-drive home runs are some of my favorite moments in a baseball game, but actually batting in this simulation doesn’t hook me as much.

Fielding is more of a situational thing in most cases—I only need to field a ball that’s hit, after all—but in modes like Road to the Show, if I choose for my player to be a fielder, I then must play out in the field. This is, easily, the worst part of the playing experience; entire innings can go by without a single ball hit my way. While it’s a point in favor of realism, it doesn’t make for engaging gameplay, and it’s not how I’d recommend experiencing The Show.

Peanuts and Cracker Jacks

From a presentation point of view, The Show is as good as it ever was, with each pitch and swing of the bat mirroring the real on-field experience incredibly well. The way players on the field react when a batter makes contact, from the jolt of energy that comes with the sound of the bat to the way they approach the ball in order to field it, routinely impresses me. It feels like there’s an accurate animation sequence for every possible outcome I can imagine, which is wild considering just how many different variables require attention whenever a batter makes contact.

That reactive authenticity applies to the crowd watching the games too. Whenever a ball is hit into the stands, I can see the crowd near the landing zone stand, extend their arms, and try to catch a new souvenir. Some duck out of the way, some are oblivious to their surroundings (real), and the lucky digital fan who gets the ball triumphantly shows it to their pals. It feels so authentic, in fact, that I’ve shown it to a few family members in passing, and they thought I was actually watching baseball rather than playing The Show. We’ve come a long way from the days of RBI Baseball on the NES.

Back-of-the-box quote:

"Take me out to the (same) ballgame (as last year)."
Developer:

Sony San Diego
Type of Game:

Baseball simulation/sports.
Liked:

Fundamentally sound mechanics, Negro League storylines, Road to the Show with female players.

Disliked:

No real innovation from last year, fielding is unavoidably boring at times.
Platform:

PlayStation 5 (played), Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Release Date:

March 12, 2026
Played:

~12 hours.

The most impressive part of the presentation, incredibly, is the commentary team. The way The Show blends voice lines together to create near-seamless commentary that accurately describes what’s going on in the game is wild to me. It’s not without its hiccups, the occasional repeated phrase or incorrect name, but I’m hard pressed to think of any sports sims on the market that do it better.

Past and future

Where MLB The Show 26 truly shines is in its windows into both the past and potential future of the game of baseball. That starts with Storylines mode, which once again profiles a few of the key figures from the Negro Leagues of the first half of the 1900s. Each individual storyline tells the story of one star player from that era, while allowing me to recreate a few of that player’s best moments on the field. I love how I’m transported back to a bygone era of baseball in this mode. The fans in the stands are wearing period clothing, the equipment reflects the look of the equipment in that era, and the stadiums are beautifully recreated to look like the genuine article.

Admittedly, it’s not an entirely authentic return to the past; I felt immediately pulled out of the immersion once the in-game soundtrack started shouting “MYSTICAL, MAGICAL, OH BABY” through my speakers while players from the 1920s came to bat. I don’t think Benson Boone was around 100 years ago, timeless as his music may be to his fanbase.

It also helps that the players The Show profiles are amazing; I’d never heard of Mule Suttles before this, but now I’m genuinely sad I wasn’t alive to see him play. He routinely hit home runs out of the parks he was playing in. He even had his own chant, Kick Mule Kick!, that’s been stuck in my head ever since I learned his story.

Each of these retellings also highlights that, even though the leagues were separated, the Negro League players absolutely could have made the same impact in the major leagues. For example, when Major League Baseball integrated Negro League statistics into their official record books in 2024, Mule Suttles instantly became the fourth-best slugger in baseball history, with only Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Lou Gehrig ahead of him, and he did it with only about a third of the plate appearances. Man, Mule Suttles rules.

As for the potential future of the game, Road to the Show allows me to choose a female player for my run to the major leagues. This isn’t new, of course; female players debuted in The Show 24 with the Women Pave Their Way mode, but it continues to be a novel inclusion, especially in the current state of the world.

I love how the leagues in this version of Road to the Show are co-ed from the jump; each game I play as the ace pitcher Charlotte Fanelli (who may or may not be named after one of my daughters) sees me face male and female batters alike, and it treats this as a completely normal part of its world. This rules, frankly, and it makes me wonder if that would ever be possible in real life, whether under the MLB banner or through another adjacent league. Maybe someday, a woman from that hypothetical adjacent league will see her stats added to official Major League records like Mule Suttles, and she’ll reach similarly lofty heights.

MLB The Show 26 fields the same features and experiences the series has been leaning on for years now, and while nothing revolutionizes the game, it’s still a very good baseball simulation. Firing up The Show and playing a few games gets me pumped for the upcoming baseball season, which I realize is the entire point. The lack of competition from other baseball games has created some stagnation, but when the parts are working together well, it’s less noticeable than it seems on the surface.

Now, all I can do is hope that my comparison to the ’26 Phillies at the beginning of this piece holds up, and the Phils see the same kind of success that MLB The Show 26 achieves. If not, well, at least The Show can let me dream.

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