Super Mega Baseball 4 review

Major league ambitions are undermined by minor league performance. 

After three seasons in the indie leagues, Super Mega Baseball 4 is now in the majors, following the acquisition of Metalhead Studio by Electronic Arts two years ago. But the game’s launch week debut is tarnished by issues. I’ve witnessed the game crash on the loading screen, in the options menu, and when assembling a team from the game’s draft component. When a game can be started, performance issues are present, with line drive dropping the framerate into the 50s on the Steam Deck (where the game enjoys a ‘Verified’ status). That’s a curious situation since 2020’s Super Mega Baseball 3 can deliver a rocksteady 60fps output.

I’m not privy to the inner workings at Metalhead nor the publishing arm at Electronic Arts. But as a former QA Tester, I can safely say that the game was not properly play-tested adequately before release. Sure, the PC is a tough platform to code since there are a plethora of different hardware variations. But since I love the series, I also bought it on Switch and that version crashes intermittently as well. As such, Super Mega Baseball 4 can’t be recommended in its current state.

Post-Patch Potential?

At present, Super Mega Baseball 4 is less stable than its predecessor. But let’s imagine a best-case scenario where the launch bugs are eventually excised: a handful of new features and additions could make this year’s iteration a contender sometime down the road.

Electronic Arts likely wants the Super Mega Baseball franchise to peaceably co-exist alongside a potential professional baseball title, should Sony Interactive Entertainment ever drop the exclusivity deal with Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). As such, Super Mega Baseball doesn’t have licensed teams, logos, or any current rosters. But a bit of star power is found in the game’s collection of 240+ legends.

Less than Legendary Performance from Legends

Stretching across multiple eras, you can have cartoonish recreations of luminaries like Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, or Vladimir Guerrero in your line-up. Available as additions to your Pennant Race team rooster, on era-specific teams, in online leagues, or as part of the series’ new Shuffle Draft feature, Mega Baseball doesn’t lock the stars away into a single mode.

But here’s the bad news: you’d think having the Bambino on your team would radically increase your team’s scoring. But in both play and simulation, the Sultan of Swat probably won’t hit more homers than comically named nobodies like Boomer Plattune and Hammer Longballo. That’s hardly the only glitch when heading through a season. I’ve seen pitchers inexplicably fluctuate between a 5.5 and 1.5 ERA and legends with a batting average so low, they’d probably be sent to the minors. Although Willie Mays was known for his speed, he’s frustratingly sluggish here.

Every Day I’m Shufflin’

Venturing into the game’s Shuffle Draft reveals a component with promise and a bit of depth. Here, you’re able to quickly create leagues and teams. The former constituent lets you assign teams to different diversions in a conference, using Legends, Super Mega athletes, or even a bunch of sports-related content creators. If you’ve never heard of any of the folks in the latter collection, fear not. However, you can make a team of Markiplier clones in your own custom league. Personally, I enjoyed drafting from the pool of Legends. Each round you’ll get to select one card from a selection of eight, recreating some of the excitement associated with opening a pack of Topps baseball cards. Pleasingly, there’s even a free-agent pool to

Dropping down to the team creation is rather absorbing as well, with each player able to have up to two traits like ‘magic hands’ or ‘rbi hitter’. Yes, traits were present in the last game, but now there are 75 different attributes as well as chemistry types. It’s no Out of the Park Baseball, but there are enough micro-managerial duties to satisfy double-A statisticians. Obviously, a larger pool of ex-MLBers could sweeten drafts and it would be great to see Metalhead swell the retro rosters.

Everything but the Watered-Down Beer

When it comes to gameplay, the fourth version makes several subtle improvements. AI has been noticeably improved, and it’s easier to get the CPU to swing at some of those outside pitches. Bullpens have been upgraded, adding a bit more complexity to your throwing game. Unsurprisingly, the Ego system returns, allowing for an entire spectrum of difficulty settings. The only thing that remains absent is a variable challenge setting, that would dynamically alter EGO based on your performance, like MLB The Show does.

When I was able to get into a game, it was evident that Metalhead has attempted to improve the game’s visual delivery. Six new stadiums bring the number of venues to 20 and it’s evident the art team has strived to make each park distinctive. From towering rollercoasters, giant geodesic domes, to horizons dotted with skyscrapers, the locales offer just as much personality as any in-game athlete. But the downside of EA’s acquisition is evident in the new marketing approach, where some ballparks are locked away in a pricier edition.

New animations and camera angles inject a bit of energy into each game whether it’s the five fives, team celebrations, or capturing the frustration of a batter whiffing for a third strike. Sonically, Super Mega Baseball 4 offers the kind of varied soundtrack you’d expect from an EA game. While you might not know most of the tracks, there are several earworms on the playlist. However, the developer’s decision to add sound effects that accompany key plays as well as some annoying umpire voicework was imprudent. Just because the players look like they are from a cartoon, doesn’t mean games must sound like one, too. Metalhead, please give us the option to turn that off.

Same Solid Play

As with previous entries, take the mound and you’ll be presented with mechanics that allow virtual hurlers to quickly draw from an array of different throws. Execution involves using the right stick to select specific pitches from your players’ arsenal and moving the left stick to select a target, with a button press putting the player into motion. Before release, there’s a shrinking ring that determines the power of your throw, while aiming using the stick to position a cursor on a target simulates accuracy. Importantly, Super Mega Baseball’s pitching game finds an admirable balance between game speed, approachability, and nuance. Within a few innings, confidence will likely emerge, permitting players to focus on the classic duel between pitcher and batter.

Likewise, stepping up the plate is just as polished. Here, the batter has a targeting cursor and the ability to swing or bunt. Most importantly, Super Mega’s at-bat perspective proves beneficial for reading what’s being thrown, especially with additional data delivered through the targeting reticle. Occasionally, I’d struggle to follow the trajectory of a pitch as it travels a few scant inches down on a portable screen. But here, the speed and visual gap between batter and pitcher make contact with the ball consistently achievable. Sure, I still swung at stuff I shouldn’t have, but with Super Mega, I knew I was zealously chasing junk as the ball flew whizzed the batter’s box. If you aren’t facing off against the CPU, cross-platform play in the Pennant Race and Online League modes have the potential to escalate the number of online opponents.

Conclusion

Even after the benefit of a launch-day patch, Super Mega Baseball 4 commits too many inexcusable errors, habitually freezing up on the loading screen. Although this is more evident in the PC iteration, even the Switch version shows signs of inattentiveness. If you look beyond that, the additional and quality of life improvements are welcome, but they don’t justify a purchase if you already own Super Mega Baseball 3.

Super Mega Baseball 4 was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.