WWE 2K22, out now, has garnered a positive reception from game critics and fans alike. In addition to rebuilding the reversal system, reincorporating GM mode, and creating both men’s and women’s career modes with multiple storylines, 2K did an excellent job of digitally scanning the active roster.
“It’s wild to see what goes into it, and they really do capture your facial expressions,” WWE Superstar Rhea Ripley says in a statement to Complex. “They [in-game characters] really look like the Superstars they’re supposed to be.”
The “uncanny valley”—that modern phenomenon where attempting realism creates characters that are unsettling, creepy or “off”—is a common obstacle for visual artists. There are different ways to overcome this problem. The first is to do away with strict realism and exaggerate the facial characteristics, to create a broader, more caricatured appearance. The second, more difficult way is to dig down–get even more granular, precise, and realistic—until the difference between reality and CGI is indistinguishable.
We’re not there yet. But it’s getting closer, by inches and increments.