WWE 2K20 hasn’t had the best of starts so far, but with the introduction of Originals that might be about to change.

The Bump in the Night DLC has been grabbing all the headlines because it will finally let you play ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt in the base game, you just have to unlock him first.

It’s not just him either, as this DLC pack will give you an ‘Unleashed’ Randy Orton, FrankenStrowman, Zombie Sami Zayn, and many more.

The surprising thing, though, is that it’s a whole lot better than I was expecting.

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How to Play

Once purchased, the content will unlock in the base game and you can access it from the WWE 2K20 Originals Menu. Bump in the Night can be played from there.

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So, before it all gets started, you get a fun intro video from The New Day who are doing their familiar and fun schtik, while also introducing the Originals concept to everyone.

Basically, the group are getting in the spirit for Halloween and they rely on ol’ Big E to tell them a ghostly story. As usual, he takes things too far, and goes to dark places to tell a spooky story about the Wyatt Compound.

The Originals Feature Showcase – The Demon Within – sees you play as Finn Balor, infiltrating the Wyatt Compound to get to Bray. Of course, that wily Bray is playing some mind games, and he forces Balor to go through different matches against unique forms of familiar superstars. Specifically, Aleister Black, Randy Orton, Braun Strowman, The Bludgeon Brothers, and eventually Bray Wyatt himself.

Interestingly, they’ve gone for old form Bray, and to really add to the immersion, Bray actually commentates on all the matches except his own! This is a really cool touch, and Wyatt absolutely smashes it, putting everyone over in his own unique way, especially Balor and Orton.

It’s not just that either, as you’re playing in an outdoor ring and arena with a zombified referee in charge of each contest. Match conditions will vary as well, from Last Man Standing Matches, to Extreme Rules.

And to add to the narrative, just like in the Women’s Evolution Showcase, you can perform different moves to pace the match out in a certain way, like performing top rope planchas or hitting an enemy with a sledgehammer. It all contributes to your final score.

It’s no narrative tour de force, but it’s a fun twist on a familiar formula and it works really well, especially as it ties in well with Bray’s old persona, and the quirkiness of New Day. Plus it gives you all kinds of cool character variations to use in-game, like a lizard-like Randy Orton, and a Swamp Thing Bray Wyatt.

But it’s The Fiend you want, I know, and to unlock him, you need to win a series of Brawls in the ‘Fear is Power’ Tower Challenge, going against classic supernatural wrestlers, like Papa Shango and The Undertaker. Set in a Crypt, you basically need to beat your enemies down until they’re knocked out.

It’s all a bit weird, though, as a couple of finishers seem to do the job easily, and likewise you can be hit only a handful of times by an enemy and be eliminated. Unfortunately, I think the matches do fall prey to some of the game’s horrific bugs.

But you can smash through the matches sharpish and then you can finally play as The Fiend in all forms of competition.

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How to play as The Fiend

You need to own the ‘Bump in the Night’ DLC and then once you beat the ‘Fear is Power’ Tower Challenge within the content, The Fiend will be unlocked. When playing in standard matches, you can find The Fiend listed under downloadable characters if you scroll across in character selection.

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The Fiend plays great, looks great, and as expected, the introduction is one of the best in the game. Except just like in real life, the commentary tends to ruin things just a little bit.

All the main beats are there, though, like the ‘Firefly Fun House’ section at the beginning, the dimming of the lights as ‘Let Me In’ appears on the screen, and yes, the lantern made out of Bray Wyatt’s head. Who said anything about that getting banned? It’s chilling, haunting, and awesome, though Code Orange’s incredible track can barely be heard over Cole and Saxton jabbering about horror movies and mind control.

The Fiend’s moveset is also perfect, with the horrific neck crank, and mandible claw. You can tell a ton of effort has gone into recreating The Fiend in game, which is kind of hilarious when you see the way some superstars have been treated. I mean, look at The Rock..

Mention also has to be made to the awesome Demon King Finn Balor, who’s entrance is full of fire and posing, and the chilling saunter of Swampfather Bray Wyatt. These are both pretty cool characters who you may never even play, though you should at least take the time to watch their intro through once.

But look, at £11.99, this isn’t cheap. Yes, there’s other challenges and superstars to encounter, a ton of content, loads of extras, and some cool narrative takes, but it can all be over pretty fast, and with the state of the game right now, if you didn’t already have the Deluxe Edition, this is going to be a tough sell.

Hopefully there’ll be a bunch of fixes in the coming weeks to get this game up to the necessary standard, but as fun as Originals is, I’m not quite sure it’s worth taking the plunge until 2K make those changes. Although, this is the only way to get The Fiend in the game, so that might be enough on its own to sell you the content.

The good news, however, is that Originals might just be the thing that saves 2K20 from being a complete washout. Actually, it might be one of the best features added to a WWE game in a few years. I’m impressed with what’s being built here, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing what other Originals WWE 2K20 has in store for us. Maybe something from the Firefly Funhouse next time? Yowie Wowie, that’d be fun!

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Pros

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Code kindly received from 2K