Out of the Park Baseball 20 review: Team control without the suit and tie
Out of the Park Baseball 20 continues the long-running series, and the latest edition’s depth is quite rich and may have nailed the strike zone with a darted fastball.
Title: Out of the Park Baseball 20
Developer: Out of the Park Developments
Publisher: Out of the Park Developments
Platform: PC
Release Date: March 22, 2019
Out of the Park Baseball 20 is out of the box and is on computer screens with the latest installment of the longtime series. The OOTP games have always been known for their depth, but this season’s game is deeper than expected.
You can play through a regular season, historical season, or you can play in Perfect Team 2.0, which is a relatively fresh mode that was introduced late last year. When playing through a modern season, one of the unique new features is the ability to use “Live Start.”
Live Feed
White Cleat Beat
Turning on Live Start allows players to start a season with the current, real-world rosters and records for all MLB teams. I found this to be a fairly simple, yet cool feature that helps make each game more organic and realistic. Even injuries are included in Live Start mode. All of these things help bring a fantasy sports element to Out of the Park Baseball 20.
One of the incredible things is the depth of the rosters, as every minor league system is up to date with the current players. You can choose to be the GM, Manager or both for either of the 30 MLB teams including the minor league squads with the authentic rosters.
Being a GM (or combination of GM and Manager), you have control over everything for your team such as making trades and signing free agents ($430 million contracts not included). Although this is part of the general OOTPB experience, Live Start smoothens things out by essentially making the transactions for you based on real-world happenings.
Something like this is why I love the depth of Out of the Park Baseball 20. The fact that you can have so much control over a modern MLB roster, while still including, live, in-world action, helps make this edition a wild ride to baseball strategy city.
Other than managing and playing with current teams, you can play with historic squads as well. Amazingly, the rosters go as far back as 1871 where dudes like Levi Meyerle walked the earth, striking fear into the souls of opposing pitchers.
Becoming the GM and Manager of the Chicago White Stockings is a pretty cool feeling to have in a video game. Not only are the little things such as team names on point, but even the logos are decent replicas, with the Philadelphia Athletics having its actual logo.
Teams and players from the Negro Leagues are also featured. This adds to the depth of the game which was already borderline ridiculous. You can even change the logo and names of the historic teams. This is an interesting way to change the fate of history.
Hopping back in the time machine to the 2019 season, I took a look at my goals for the new year as I hoped to rebuild my team to be a contender. One of the goals said “don’t suck completely in 2019,” and the keyword here is “completely” so at least the owner expects us to be stinky.
Playing through a game in Out of the Park Baseball 20 is a smooth and fairly fast-paced gaming experience. One of the strongest aspects I saw with gameplay, was how much better the animations look.
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The pitching motions are pure, and striking out batters feels satisfying when making the right choice to either throw in the zone or around the hitter. You can see everything beautifully, from arm movement and even the leg kicks. Every part of each pitch is on-point.
When batting, you can see the hitter take a perfect swing, and although you see the game from a higher point, you can still see the swings clearly. And the sounds that the bat makes hitting is immensely satisfying when you got it good.
The audio of each hit varies based on how hard the ball was hit. So, immediately, when you hear a good, strong ‘crack,’ then you know you hit it well. Fielding also is well done, with solid throwing motions and catching animations. There are even times where you’ll see a player dive for the ball.
The defensive motions are most impressive because there are so many elements to it compared to pitching and hitting. There’s running, catching, throwing, diving, etc., and all of these things are incorporated solidly in Out of the Park Baseball 20.
Arguably the best mode in the game is Perfect Team 2.0 where you collect cards to build your dream team of baseball greats. It may sound like familiar territory, but Out of the Park Baseball 20’s unique depth, enhances the experience.
You can customize essentially every little detail down to a tee. You can choose from hundreds of logos, or you can upload your own. You can even choose the capacity of your stadium and adjust the weather patterns of the ballpark during each month. So essentially, you can have it rain for the entire month of April, but have no rain at all in May, or you can mix it up.
Once you’re done customizing your uniforms and stadium, you can start collecting cards to beef up your team to take on other Perfect Team squads. When your team is ready, the simulation process will begin.
Games will be played automatically, and games will be simulated every 30 minutes. Between that time, you can make tweaks to your lineup, rotation, and bullpen or add more cards in hopes of getting better players.
Once a game is completed via simulation, you can check the box score, view replays, and even watch key highlights from the game. It’s essentially like playing fantasy baseball, only, the amount of control you have in Out of the Park Baseball 20 is much greater.
There are two card packs you can get (for now): the standard and gold packs. The standards are what you’d expect; packs with a random assortment of players that may also include a gold player if you’re lucky. If you get a gold pack, then, yup you guessed it; you are guaranteed to get a gold card. Gold players typically have an overall rating between 85 and 89.
In total, there are five types of cards you can collect. These are Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond and Perfect. As you can imagine, it would likely take as long to grab a Perfect card as it would for me to lead the White Sox to the World Series in the game (which would be an eternity). The good thing about the Out of the Park Baseball 20 packs is that they are easy to get.
Cards from 2019 season can change due to the Live Start feature so this gives Perfect Team an authentic, fantasy sports feeling.
You can earn “Perfect Points” after each game that is simulated based on how your team played, and what achievements were completed. If you earn 1,000 Perfect Points, then you’ll have enough to score a pack. If you need quick loot, then you sell or auction off one of your cards. This is another easy way to pile up the card collection.
Also, if you have cards of current players, their ratings can rise or drop based on how they perform in real life. Cards from 2019 season can change due to the Live Start feature so this gives Perfect Team an authentic, fantasy sports feeling.
Although you can’t actually play in a game in Perfect Team 2.0, I find it very enjoyable and the most strategic mode in the game. I say this because, it’s all about preparation, and preparation is a form of strategy.
As the clock is ticking for that next game, you may be scrambling to try and figure out how you want your squad to look like for that particular game. The fate of how good your team can be is in your hands as you watch from afar, and it’s rewarding.
8. <em>Out of the Park Baseball 20</em> is one of deepest baseball games I’ve played. From the power of Live Start and historical teams to the creativity of Perfect Team 2.0, the game is a solid, all-around sports strategical gem. Combine the rich depth and pre-game control with the smooth looking gameplay, and <em>Out of the Park Baseball 20</em> is a base hit in the gap for strategy enthusiasts.. Out of the Park Developments. . Out of the Park Baseball 20
A copy of this game was provided to App Trigger for the purpose of this review. All scores are ranked out of 10, with .5 increments. Click here to learn more about our Review Policy.