NBA 2K25

An Easy Lay-Up

Throughout its 25-year legacy, the NBA 2K franchise has a long history of several ups and downs, and this year is no different. NBA 2K25 sees big improvements across the board and numerous important tweaks to existing modes, but it also sees the return of some long-standing issues.

Hitting an easy 3-pointer, NBA 2K25 looks and sounds better than ever, especially where it matters most; on the court. From the material physics to the lighting, to dynamic animations that make the movement and presentation soar, everything is substantially improved. This game is stunning on the court, and the squeaking sneakers on the hardwood has never sounded more authentic. Unfortunately, this level of presentation isn't quite the same off-court. During cutscenes for modes like MyGM, where you take control of a franchise, the supporting characters don’t quite have the same level of facial capture or quality to that of the licensed players elsewhere in the game. While this is somewhat to be expected from a customized player, or what you’ll upload from the mobile app, it would be nice to see more care put into the off-court personalities like Ronnie 2K, Shaq, or any of the team’s coaches, etc.

Luckily, the presentation on the court isn't the only area in which NBA 2K25 impresses. Gameplay is also significantly more fluid as a result of additional animations introduced to this year's game. The way you play hasn't really changed from previous years. Controls remain the same, but the extra detail brought to the forefront by 2K's PlayPro, a superb avenue of tech that allows the team to use real NBA footage to capture player dribbling, for example, making the gameplay so much more enjoyable and authentic, especially when you have certain top players handling the ball in their own unique way. I would say NBA 2K25 has the best on-court experience the franchise has seen in years.

Of course, MyPlayer will surely be the most played mode again this year. Thankfully, it has seen some meaningful changes and additions. Firstly, “The City”, which acts as your open-world hub area between different quests and item shops, is now much easier to navigate. Everything feels more interconnected. If I want to play a game in MyPlayer's career, I can get there in seconds, ensuring I am not spending my time in various menus and loading screens. Most of my time in The City was spent doing two things, customising MyCourt which sees a return to the franchise, giving me a great place to chill, practice my skills, or invite a friend for a one-on-one game. Secondly, is one thing I loved doing that wasn't even basketball-related; taking a trip to The Track, which is a karting mini-game where tracks will change from week to week, and you compete with other players to set the best time. The winner of these races each week will receive one million VC, but more on that in a minute. As for The Track, it is fairly simple: you can accelerate, drift around corners and have a boost that refills. While it won't compete with Mario Kart anytime soon, it felt like a worthwhile distraction.

I mentioned at the start of this review that NBA 2K25 continues to have a longstanding issue from year to year, and that is its microtransactions. While they continue to be a source of substantial income for 2K, they have begun to be so crucial to your progression across nearly all modes, making them feel almost required to avoid massive grinding or facing pay-to-win moments across its multiplayer. Yes, while you can earn VC through simply playing the game, the problem is that progress doesn’t feel paced in a way where your time is respected. Why would you invest a considerable amount of hours into short-term gains when you can go to the store and spend money on VC for instant progress. As mentioned, this can become a pay-to-win issue when facing other players online. 2K has tried to introduce some systems over the years to help combat this pay-to-win nature, like capping how much your player can progress until they do certain quests or hit certain milestones. The issue is that those who choose to spend money will be able to achieve these things more quickly and, as a result, be able to spend even more money to improve further. My issue here isn't really with microtransactions being in the game, it's more that the game's progression system feels weighted towards trying to make you spend additional money. It is the one big blemish on an otherwise great experience.

In regard to the game’s other modes; MyGM, for example, which I briefly mentioned earlier in the review, sees some very smart and interesting tweaks. You'll notice as soon as you start up the mode that you can now choose a backstory. This offers you various choices from being an ex-player, ex-scout and more. These backgrounds affect your starting stats, which can have a signficant impact on some choices you may or may not have available to you. For example, MyGM has some light RPG mechanics, with you roaming the building and talking to various people, from players to coaches and more. If you don't have particular stats, such as Charisma, you could have to do something you weren't planning on happening, like trading Lebron James away from the LA Lakers, as I had to. The RPG nature of dialogue choices and stats made the mode feel much more dynamic than ever. I want to go back and complete as many objectives as possible to earn perk points that you use to upgrade your skills as a GM.

NBA 2K25 also has MyTeam, a card trading game similar to EA FC's Ultimate Team. Unfortunately, this game relies heavily on VC and, as a result, suffers from the microtransaction and progression balance issues I mentioned earlier. That said, I enjoyed one significant new addition to the mode, although I wasn't terribly good at it. Triple Threat Park, which is only available on next-gen consoles and PC. This allows you to take your MyTeam online and control them in either 2-player three-on-three games where each player controls three members of their MyTeam. If you like co-op, you might choose the 6-player three-on-three games instead, where each player controls one member of their team. This mode is not only fun, but it is an excellent way to earn additional rewards. If I play more of MyTeam, it would be in Triple Threat Park.

Lastly, is the W, giving you the ability to take on various legends and the next-generation talent across the WNBA. This mode gives you a great amount of freedom to create career-defining moments, allowing you to immerse yourself in a part of the sport that you don’t often see. From the start of your career, you’ll build your legacy on the court. This mode comes with weekly community goals, working alongside other players to earn a host of exciting rewards, including themed apparel and more. 

Previously, I enjoyed the 2K series on console, but having a decent rig and the fact that the PC version is now the next-gen upgrade PS5 and Series X/S have, PC players can finally enjoy the best looking and performing entry in the series. On the performance side, the game was incredibly impressive on my PC, with zero crashes or bugs to speak of. Frame rates were also solid, at least by eye given that the tech I use to measure FPS wouldn’t give me an exact number. Given that I have a fairly top-end rig with an i9-14900kf, Nvidia 4080 Super, and 32GB of DDR5 RAM, this is as I would expect and your experience may, of course, vary. Regardless, the franchise continues to be a visual benchmark for the sport.

In the end, I really enjoyed my time with NBA 2K25, with the improved gameplay and presentation standing out as major upgrades. The tweaks and additions to existing modes are a nice touch, but outside of MyGM mode, they don't seem revolutionary. The only thing that holds 2K25 back from being the best across the franchise is its progression balancing and over-reliance on microtransactions. However, if you’ve been investing in the 2K series for the past couple years and have been able to navigate its VC reliance, then 2K25 is free throw that is nothing but net. 

Developer - Visual Concepts.
Publisher - 2K Games. Released - September 6th, 2024. Available On - PC, PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Series X/S, Nintendo Switch. Rated - (E) - No Descriptors. Platform Reviewed - Steam. Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.