The best time of the year is finally upon us! A new NBA 2K game is here, and a new NBA season is just around the corner. Wow, what a great time to be a basketball fan!
That would be something I’d have said back in 2015 or 2016, and while the NBA is undoubtedly more interesting right now, the same can’t be said about NBA 2K.
The saying, ‘You never know how good you have it till it’s gone,’ rings true for the NBA 2K franchise. A decade ago, 2K was a trailblazer with NBA 2K; now, it’s a shadow of its former self, marred by the relentless push of VC.
It’s not the developers’ fault, but it’s hard not to feel disappointed. NBA 2K25 had the potential to be a fantastic sports game, but the issue of microtransactions has overshadowed it.
In video games, like in any industry, cash is king. Unfortunately, because of that, companies try to monetize their products as much as possible, especially when it comes to sports games. At least on that front, NBA 2K is leading the way.
NBA 2K25 could have been a great game, perhaps one of the best of the franchise in the past decade. Unfortunately, microtransactions and other niggles prevented that from happening.
Let’s find out why that is in our NBA 2K25 review.
The Light at the End of the Tunnel
I want to start this review positively since I will have many negative things to point out later.
The NBA 2K25 gameplay feels fantastic, delivering the most authentic basketball experience ever. Player movement looks realistic, the AI is much smarter on both sides of the court and makes better decisions, shooting was vastly improved, and dribbling also feels better.
Signature Go-To Shots were a great addition, making the gameplay more immersive and enjoyable.
The 5 new shot timing choices, primarily based on actual participant %, low, regular, and excessive threat/reward, enable gamers to decide on the very best shot profile. The choices cater to each new and veteran gamers.
As talked about above, the AI was improved, with gamers having higher ground spacing, being fast to react to switches and double groups, and being higher at creating their shoots.
Moreover, the AI issue stage was additionally improved, and the AI will do all of the issues talked about above sooner and higher at greater issue ranges.
This makes the offline gameplay expertise in NBA 2K25 the very best it has been in a very long time. Lastly, enjoying in opposition to the CPU in MyNBA, MyCAREER, or some other offline mode is definitely enjoyable.
A Pay-to-Win Profession
As stunning as it might sound, this 12 months’s MyCAREER mode has some enhancements. The storyline is a lot better than final 12 months’s, with extra lifelike interactions between characters, well-crafted dialogue, and nice voice performing.
Sadly, that is the place the nice factors finish. MyCAREER continues to be a pay-to-win mode, the place if you aren’t getting VC to improve your character attributes, you’ll battle in offline and on-line video games.
Enjoying as a 60 total within the NBA is extraordinarily onerous, and it is nearly inconceivable within the park, as nobody will need to play with you. Excessive total gamers would like to play in opposition to three 60 characters within the park; it is a simple win and a solution to pad their stats.
Incomes VC is extraordinarily gradual and painful. You want at the very least 190K VC to improve to an 85 OVR, and it’ll take an insane quantity of hours grinding to get to that quantity with out spending precise cash on VC.
What’s worst is that while you lastly accumulate sufficient VC to improve to 85 OVR, most gamers will have already got a 90+ score, so no-money-spent gamers will at all times be at a substantial drawback. However attributes aren’t the one factor gamers must spend VC on. Gamers additionally must spend VC to have sure animations, akin to dribble strikes.
It isn’t honest, nor does it make sense, that gamers must spend $50 or extra on high of shopping for the sport to improve their characters and be aggressive on-line.
This predatory tactic is designed to “power gamers” to get their bank cards out to be aggressive within the park and benefit from the full potential of the MyPLAYER construct they created.
The Metropolis is smaller, and that is nice, because it makes navigating simpler. New modes, like Proving Grounds, enable gamers to compete.
Nevertheless, all of this feels meaningless since microtransactions nonetheless dominate the mode, and sadly, that appears unlikely to vary anytime quickly.
MyCASINO
If MyCAREER is a microtransactions-reliant mode, I do not know easy methods to describe MyTEAM. Effectively, I do. It is MyCasino, and it is truly on the header above, so I am transferring on.
MyCasino, sorry, MyTEAM introduces some entertaining modes this 12 months. Showdown lets gamers compete for rewards, whereas Breakout is a brand new recreation mode for offline gamers, the place they’ll earn rewards.
The holy grail of MyTEAM is the brand-new Triple Menace Park, the place you now have to attend for a spot to open if you wish to play a easy Triple Menace recreation.
However that is not all. Upon booting up Triple Menace Park, you possibly can go to the MyTEAM pack market to spend some VC but once more to enhance your lineup.
MyTEAM is all about spending as a lot VC as potential to open packs with ridiculously low odds, hoping to tug an excellent card that will probably be outdated in a single or two weeks. Then, merely repeat the circle when a brand new pack comes out.
Whereas LMFAO and Lil Jon say “photographs, photographs, photographs,” 2K says “packs, packs, packs.” MyTEAM is yet one more pay-to-win mode, the place gamers must spend cash for packs to improve their groups and be on an excellent footing with different gamers.
You even must pay for the Season Move since rewards are locked behind a paywall. The worst half is that you may pay to skip ranges, so even the Season Move is pay-to-complete. It is astonishing simply what number of microtransactions are on this mode.
However wait, there’s one good piece of stories: the Public sale Home is again! Sadly, the ten% tax continues to be in place, so I assume there are two issues sure in an NBA 2K recreation: microtransactions and taxes.
A New Mode that Delivers the Similar Outdated Expertise
MyGM returned in NBA 2K25, for current-gen at the very least. Whereas the adjustments seemed thrilling, particularly the addition of the MyGM constructing, the mode delivers the identical previous expertise.
Aside from the flexibility to stroll across the MyGM constructing and speak along with your star participant or your coach, every part else feels the identical. A few of the dialogue is stunning, to say the least.
For instance, my staff governor mentioned he had made a wager with the governor of a rival staff and that if we misplaced the season sequence to them, he would want to make an embarrassing video for social media.
Making a bet with a rival governor is smart, however one thing like “If we lose, I must pay for dinner each time we meet” would additionally really feel extra lifelike. The choice of forgetting the betting facet and having a easy “Please win; in any other case, I will not hear the top of it” additionally feels extra lifelike.
MyGM performs very very like MyNBA however with out the Eras function. It isn’t unhealthy, nevertheless it’s not nice. It is simply okay, which is disappointing because the mode is returning, and gamers had been anticipating one thing extra.
Talking of MyNBA, other than the addition of the Steph Period and a few minor presentation adjustments, the mode can also be similar to final 12 months. However that is not essentially unhealthy, as MyNBA continues to have the very best franchise mode in sports activities video games regardless of not being good.
Nevertheless, it is a disgrace that some essential gamers of the Steph Period, like Andre Iguodala, aren’t within the recreation, making the mode really feel much less immersive. It could even be nice to see 2K introduce some important options to the mode in future editions to make it really feel contemporary.
A Strong Mode That Continues to Be Appeared Down Upon
The W is a stable mode, however sadly, most new options, akin to voiced press conferences or the “Change into the GOAT” function, final 12 months’s MyCAREER theme, have been in MyCAREER for years.
The MyPLAYER builder in The W is nowhere close to pretty much as good as the brand new builder for MyCAREER. Nevertheless, having the choice to decide on your profession background, even when there are solely two choices, is an effective function and one thing that MyCAREER ought to implement.
Sadly, you continue to cannot use your The W character within the park, which is unnecessary. It’s one thing that 2K ought to have added to the sport by now.
The W continues to take steps in the best course and is an pleasing recreation mode.
Study 2K is Unbelievable
One of many foremost targets of NBA 2K25 was to be an accessible recreation, they usually managed to do exactly that with the introduction of the Study 2K mode.
I want to offer credit score the place credit score is due. Study 2K is a incredible manner to assist new gamers turn out to be accustomed to NBA 2K and basketball. It helps new gamers be taught all the sport’s fundamental mechanics and may also be useful for veterans who need to sharpen some areas of their recreation.
The very best factor is that Study 2K does all this whereas being enjoyable, with many mini-games that assist gamers be taught or grasp recreation mechanics whereas having a good time.
2K had carried out an excellent job with an identical mode in TopSpin 2K25, known as TopSpin Academy, and replicated that success with Study 2K.
Verdict
NBA 2K25 has wonderful gameplay and feels precisely like a sports activities simulation recreation ought to: lifelike but enjoyable. The W is a stable mode that delivers an thrilling and entertaining expertise, particularly if you’re a WNBA fan. Regardless of its flaws, MyNBA stays the very best franchise mode in sports activities video games.
Nevertheless, microtransactions play a large position within the recreation, particularly in on-line modes. It is inconceivable to really take pleasure in MyTEAM or MyCAREER with out spending cash. If you happen to do not buy VC, you’ll at all times be at a drawback, enjoying with a weak lineup on MyTEAM or a subpar character within the park.
The Season Move has rewards locked behind a paywall. The very best playing cards in MyTEAM can solely be earned in packs normally. To improve your MyPLAYER attributes, you might want to purchase VC or grind for an unreasonable period of time in a recreation mode that does not even encourage grinding because it’s pay-to-win.
Study 2K is a good function, nevertheless it would not rework the sport right into a masterpiece.
With out microtransactions and with some smaller changes, NBA 2K25 might have been a incredible recreation, possibly even take an enormous step into a brand new golden age of NBA 2K. As an alternative, it is simply one other sports activities recreation ruined by microtransactions and one other chapter at midnight age of the NBA 2K franchise.
NBA 2K25 delivers the best gameplay experience in the franchise in years but continues to be plagued by microtransactions. Offline modes received some small improvements, but online modes continue to be a microtransaction hell.
It’s a game with a lot of unfulfilled potential that will leave many NBA 2K fans wondering, “What if?” The NBA 2K formula has been clear for years, and only a drastic change can help 2K reach new heights.