Gilding the baseball lily — Out of the Park Baseball 19 review

Out of the Park Baseball is the kind of game where changes are best kept very small in scope and number. The game has a reputation for its high level of simulation accuracy and vast database of baseball leagues, players, and historic events. The potential downside of this is that the game becomes redundant and doesn’t evoke the same routine drive to re-up every new baseball season.

So, after a few releases that mostly kept the same structure and flow of the previous Out of the Park games, Out of the Park Baseball 19 seeks to make more sweeping changes to keep the game modern, while retaining all of the expected quality of its past. New 3D stadium and player models with full action sequences during games tops a list of good but incomplete updates to the OOTP series.

Out of the Park Baseball 19 is a full access baseball simulator that allows you to assume control of a team in a massive number of real life leagues across the world, including the MLB. The game has an incredibly accurate roster of players across all leagues and gives you complete control of a fully custom league as an option as well.

The idea is to not perform in-game, but manage the team from the long term farm system down to the individual at-bats and everything in between. The game is easy to navigate and operate, but requires at least an intermediate knowledge of baseball to fully understand and enjoy.

While not fully restrictive, this combined with the lack of action can be a steep curve to take for a lot of players. Those dedicated to the game, or new converts that want to learn more about the sport, will find a lot of bang for their buck in the incredible depths of control and customization.

Overall the game itself is unchanged. There are numerous small updates to the user interface, AI and ratings system that are nice but only slightly noticeable. The biggest change is the fact that there are now full 3D models of players and stadiums, playing out the action of the game as you manage.

The game includes the standard mode, a historical mode, and a custom mode where you can create your own league using the optional collection of over 800 logos. The historical mode plays out MLB seasons back to the 1800s and is impressive in its scope, from the players down to the optional inclusion of scripted real-world events.

However, one big glaring omission is a promised “Perfect Team” mode that is as of yet still unavailable. The mode, in a beta at this time, appears to be an “Ultimate Team” clone where you build teams using cards. How it will play, and how it will flow is still in the air.

Microtransactions would be an unwelcome inclusion, but seems to be a natural reason to create such a mode in a a game where you can already fully customize a team to be any group of players you want. If included, their relegation to Perfect Team mode would be appreciated.

This is the most modern Out of the Park Baseball release by a mile in terms of aesthetics and UI design. The menus, fonts, and interface have all been updated to a sleek and glossy look. This combined with the overhaul on the game’s 3D game display makes for an impressive looking OOTP for perhaps the first time ever.

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