NBA 2K25 Review - A Dunk in the Right Direction
My love/hate relationship with the NBA 2K franchise is pretty well known. After being a true blue 2K addict for most of my adult life, my love started to wane over recent seasons, to the point that I hardly played last year’s entry at all. Why? Well, it isn’t because the actual basketball is bad, because it isn’t. The gameplay has always been constantly top-notch. No, it has been the introduction of the City hub world, the focus on culture as opposed to basketball and the dive to push players into purchasing in-game currency (VC) that has soured my love. So does 2K25 change that downward momentum? Does it rekindle the passion? Well, I have to say, it is certainly heading in the right direction.
NBA 2K25 gave me a great first impression, allowing me to dive right into a game of basketball without struggling through poor storytelling or weird cutscenes. It was simply creating my player and then diving right in. It was the first sign to me that the focus this year was squarely on why most of us are here, the basketball. That theme has continued throughout the game, with more and more of the focus on the actual gameplay and not shoe deals, crowd interactions or creating crappy rap songs. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. This then leads to another major improvement, one that is likely to make franchise fans around the world cheer with joy and that is VC.
VC has been the bane of NBA 2K since its inception and the constant drive to push players into using real-world money to buy this fake currency has been relentless. In 2K25 however, things have taken a big turn for the better. The RPG-like quests in the career mode almost always offer VC as a reward and the vast majority of these quests can be completed by playing games of basketball. There are also a tonne of these quests, with new ones popping up daily so the flow of VC is significantly higher than it has been in the last 5 years. As a result, the game feels much fairer to players and really encourages people to just play the game as opposed to doing stupid non-basketball quests or even worse, opening their wallets just to earn VC.
The City has also been vastly improved in both its design and functionality. Gone are the vast streets of nothingness and in its place is a well-thought-out City that doesn’t become a drag to navigate. Getting around the city has also been improved with the various modes of transport all feeling much more responsive. There is also a lot more to do for single-player-minded folks this time around, with the Streetball boss battles being the highlight. There are three streetball courts in the City and each has 9 “boss” characters that players can challenge in a game of three-on-three. If you beat the boss, he can then join your team for further matches. It is a fun little side mode that revels in its more arcade-like systems creating a nice break from the seriousness of the NBA modes.
Speaking of, the basketball itself, especially in the NBA matches seems better than ever. I am a good player, but hardly an expert, so a lot of the time the fine-tuning and subtle differences aren’t immediately apparent to me, but in 2K25 it was obvious right from the outset that this was a refined experience. A lot of the animation issues seem to have been ironed out, players move across the court with a lot more fluidity and both defence and offence have a smoother flow to them. Making 3-point shots feels harder than before, but not in a way that feels unfair, more the game accurately represents that making 3s is not an easy thing to do.
Perhaps the biggest excitement for me is that finally the PC has received the current-gen version of the game and not the PS4/Xbox One version. It always baffled me why this was occurring and struck me as pure laziness on 2K’s behalf. But now humble PC players like myself have the full experience and I am pleased to say it works wonderfully. On both my high-end rig and my Rog Ally X I had no issues at all, with smooth gameplay and a glitch-free experience all the way. In fact, I would say my favourite way to play 2K25 was on my Ally, jumping in for a quick game of ball lends itself nicely to a portable experience. This does bring up my biggest issue with the game however, the constant need for an online connection.
I am constantly baffled by the need for single player modes requiring an online connection and it is no different here. There is no reason why career modes and the like can’t be played offline, but 2K insists on a constant and stable connection. It has been the bane of my existence. I have been playing this while travelling overseas and would really have loved to be able to play on some seriously long flights, but alas it wasn’t to be. There are some other issues in the game, it hasn’t completely pushed the VC-hungry tendencies away, some of the old gameplay issues like reach-in fouls still exist and sometimes teammate AI is dumber than a sack of rocks. None of this has me down on the game at all, it is just frustrating that these are all problems that have existed for years now.
That said, this is easily the best that NBA 2K has been in recent memory. A shift in focus to the actual game of basketball away from the culture crap that had crept in is the biggest takeaway, but improvements in the City and in-game also significantly add to the experience. It is a 2K game, so the shadow of VC will always be there, but it doesn’t feel as ominous this year. In all, I am happy to say that my love for NBA 2K is well on its way to mending and while I am not quite ready to head to the alter, I am certainly keen on at least a few more dates. Let’s hope this upward trend continues in the years to come.
NBA 2K25 was reviewed on PC with code kindly supplied by 2K Australia
