NBA 2K25 brings basketball gameplay to a new level
NBA 2K25 releases on September 6 and 2K was kind enough to provide me with a copy of the game early to get my hands on and review.
My gaming heyday came in an era well before team-building and card-collecting modes. So while I dabble in MyTeam, I don't spend much time with the mode and it certainly isn't the focus of the review.
Rather, I'll mainly focus on the gameplay, because I was kind of blown away.
NBA 2K25 is a noticeable improvement over 2K24 (and every other installment) in the on-court gameplay. This is the smoothest 2K gameplay has ever been, in large part thanks to improvements in the ProPLAY system.
Everything you can do with (or without) a ball in your hand feels unique. Each player moves differently, shoots differently and acts in a similar fashion to their real-life counterpart.
For me - someone who focuses on dynasty-type game modes in my sports titles - that makes 2K25 the best basketball game I've ever played (and I've been rocking with 2K since Ben Wallace was on the cover of 2K5).
Speaking of dynasty, 2K's MyNBA has also gotten some additions. A new 2K Era has been added (The Curry Era), giving users the opportunity to pick from six different starting points.
The Magic vs Bird Era takes you back to the 1980's with the Jordan Era dropping players into the 1990's. The Kobe Era is the early 2000's, with the LeBron Era and Curry Era splitting the 2010's. Finally, you can jump into a present-day modern era should you wish.
Each of those eras come with a juggernaut to either control or topple - and those real-life dynasties will be your competition in MyCareer mode.
There's a new Dynasty Rankings feature, which will allow you to see where your success stacks up against the greatest teams in NBA history.
The Heart of a Dynasty storyline is broken into four chapters, a game against The Wolf Pack, the Illinois State Tournament, the FIBA 2023 U19 World Cup and then your NBA career. The story is fun and the missions allow you to get some extra VC for upgrades before heading to the NBA.
The WNBA modes also got some love - and if you're a Caitlin Clark fan you're really going to appreciate how often the game references her massive impact on the sport.
Overall, there's plenty to keep you entertained with NBA 2K25. The game modes aren't necessarily deep, but the groundwork is in place. And once you start playing basketball... which I'm assuming is the main draw of an NBA game, there's no game that even compares.
NBA 2K25 is a sold 8/10 and I would reccommned every basketball fan pick it up due to its stellar on-court flow, style and gameplay.
NBA 2K25 is available for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam, with four different versions for players to choose from. Hit the court.
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