It all feels incredibly snappy in your hand too, and there’s virtually no input lag. From the standard view, NBA 2K21 looks and sounds as though it could be a real-life broadcast, and it’s an absolute pleasure to play. More than ever, NBA 2K21 is pushing through the uncanny valley towards lifelike visuals. Character models have been given a clear upgrade, but the most impact can be seen in the game’s improved ball handling and expanded animations. NBA 2K has always pushed the boundaries, not just for sports games, but for video games in general, and once again they’re at the forefront of what’s possible in this opening salvo of the new generation. Out of everything else, this is fast becoming my most-loved feature of the new generation.
NBA 2K21 SWITCH REVIEW SERIES
The speed that everything moves along on Xbox Series X is hugely impressive your phone is going to be grossly neglected in the coming years as we lose all of that Twitter-checking time as you head into a game.
NBA 2K21 SWITCH REVIEW PS4
If you’re heading over from the PS4 or Xbox One editions, the first tangible improvement you’re going to see is the huge reduction in loading times. You could easily spend months in here, and I fully expect plenty of new console NBA 2K21 players to do so. This is where NBA 2K21 starts to feel like a basketball MMO you can jump into action with other players you meet in the street at any hoop you care to find, while quest givers pop up around the city issuing you challenges to take part in, pushing you to make your way around all of the new facilities. Building on The Park and The Neighbourhood spaces of previous games, this online metropolis is filled to bursting with things to do, starting with your introduction via Rookieville before you head off into the sprawling city. It’s more of a shame when The City is a huge and important leap forward for the franchise, and one of the key additions that makes this feel like more than a new-gen spruce up. Perhaps we’ll have to wait for NBA 2K22 for this particular ‘upgrade’ to bring it in line with, you know, normal life, but this year’s edition still makes great strides with The W, The W Online and MyWNBA. In terms of things that make very little sense, the online hub that allows for players to indulge in some street-style basketball action would have been the perfect place for male and female MyPlayers to interact, and yet that’s not the case.
However, it’s one step forward and one step back here, as The City, that big new social space that forms a major component of the next gen 2K21 online experience, is closed to female MyPlayers. I’m not convinced that the power of the Series X or PS5 was needed to make this kind of equalising progress – it reminds me of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Unity claim that women are more complicated to animate – but it’s a welcome step on the path to inclusivity. The new-gen edition of NBA 2K21 brings a first for the series, as M圜areer – or more specifically The W – now allows you to create a female player to take on their own route to the WNBA.
NBA 2K21 SWITCH REVIEW TV
As is now expected, production values and performances rival those of a serious TV drama, with actors like Djimon Hounsou and Michael Kenneth Williams acting alongside cover star Damien Lillard to convincing effect.
At the heart of the experience is M圜areer, a story-led mode where you take your created MyPlayer through from playing high-school basketball all the way up to the NBA.