NBA 2K21 Review: Gameplay Videos, Features and Impressions

NBA 2K21, the latest effort from developer Visual Concepts and 2K Sports, straddles the end of a console generation and the beginning of a new era.  

Given the circumstances, there are big expectations, especially when considering the juggernaut NBA franchise has remained on an upward trajectory for a number of years now. 

Fittingly, with Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard on the cover and the late Kobe Bryant gracing the special edition of the current-gen releases, 2K21 offers some brave mixups to core gameplay elements and modes. 

Whether the changes to the tried-and-true formula pay off will decide much about the game's momentum going into the next generation of consoles releasing this winter. 

Gameplay

It's impossible to avoid the metaphorical elephant in the room here: the alterations to shooting. 

The "Pro Stick" now gives increased control over a ball-handler's moves, which makes for a much more fluid experience, especially with how well animations transition into one another. 

However, the fluidity and improvements to gameplay there mean a dramatic change to shooting. It's no longer just a timing thing, as players have to take a shot, then position the analog stick with accuracy as the shot's in the air. It should go without saying, but a player's rating, hot zones, level of shot contest by the defense and other factors make this more difficult than it sounds. 

Yet different doesn't mean bad. It's a massive adjustment when a basketball game retools something as basic as shooting. But it starts to feel better with some practice. Maybe the biggest complaint is the fact it is very hard to actually see the colors on the meter when putting up shots. That's something almost guaranteed to get a small tweak via patch, or the game needs to give players color options to customize the bar to make it easier to see. Making it bigger would help. 2K Sports has already issued a patch to address shooting, too. 

Overall, shooting feels good once a player really puts some work in with it. And, realistically, it's easy to see why the competitive community might embrace it more than the traditional shot mechanics (which can be enabled via options) if it's easier to see because it's just another layer of skill that can separate the very best. 

Otherwise, much about the game feels the same, which isn't the worst thing considering the strong nature of the gameplay over the years for the series. Tempo still matters, as the ebb and flow of matchups feels realistic. The best of the best feel a step ahead of the rest, whether a player controls them or unfortunately has to defend them. There's a pick-up-and-play enjoyment factor, but through hot zones, ratings and more, the gameplay is still one of the deepest sports sims on the market. 

But with almost everything else feeling the same, that means some of the same negatives arise, too.

Off-ball movement can still feel clunky with weird physics at times, outright getting stuck on other players, while A.I. teammates don't shift to help or collapse. Likewise, points of frustration like teammates inexplicably not grabbing a board or loose ball remain consistent. A delay between pulling the trigger and a player actually sprinting remains. 

As a whole, though? This is one of the best-feeling NBA offerings to date. That won't always seem the case early in the game's life-cycle because players are putting up enough bricks to build endless mansions while learning the new shooting mechanics. But some time investment eventually leads to a more consistent-feeling shooting experience, and players who aren't feeling it can switch to more traditional mechanics. 

Graphics and Presentation

Visually, 2K21 again stands above most. 

Which is another way of saying things haven't changed all that much. Previous entries in the series added much in the way of a broadcast feel via pregame movies and chatter, an almost creepy-good halftime show featuring Shaq and the crew and a bevy of replay angles and strong commentary. 

There wasn't a big reason for 2K Sports to mix up what works here, as the seamless package is immersive at all levels of basketball presented in the game. High school and collegiate chants from the crowds eventually give way to realistic arenas and their unique chants and stadium announcers in the background. 

On the hardwood itself, besides the addition of unique mannerisms to more superstar players, almost everything looks largely the same. Again, this is not a slight—the attention to detail, good player proportions, lighting and shadow work, physics behind jerseys and even something as mundane as sweat detail make for an engrossing time. The game looks good from the typical camera angles and manages to look even better when zoomed in to show off the detail. 

It should be noted that part of the reason the game feels even more authentic than in past years is the more seamless transition between animations for ball-handlers thanks to the alterations to the Pro Stick. Yes, the oddities mentioned above like weird off-ball physics and sprinting delays remain, but the more fluid nature of stars with the ball in their hands adds to the whole experience.  

As cheesy as it might sound, letting the game idle at the main menu and kick into a full-blown simulation between A.I. opponents is a good example of just how smooth the whole package is from a presentation standpoint—it's not too dissimilar from a real broadcast. 

As always, 2K21 leaves the rest of the sports game genre playing catchup. 

MyCareer, Features and More

Like prior entries in the series, 2K21 is packed with content. 

The biggest talking point is of course MyPlayer, where players can insert themselves into the best story mode sports games have to offer via a surprisingly in-depth character creator—all before heading into the sea of replayability that is The Neighborhood. 

Players start by making a character, either via a face scan or through one of the more notably deep character creator systems out there. It's an impressive feature and part of what makes the mode so enticing to keep playing. They then work through a well-developed story before being able to make the leap to the beachy confines of this year's Neighborhood. 

One thing MyCareer knocks out of the park is the presentation of it all. Even down in the slogs of the high school level, there's a keen attention to detail from a superb commentary team that fills in background on the player's character. 

That quality extends to the performances from celebrities like Michael K. Williams. The story itself can still be corny (there's a "even Giannis played soccer!" line early on), but it's a rags-to-riches affair that opens up well once the player's through to the pros. 

College ball is well represented here via a handful of official teams, notable fight songs and the like. While some of the gameplay mechanics before a player's character reaches the pros feels like grinding the same old thing over again, the superb window-dressing that is the presentation and the fact college ball is even represented in a video game again is a nice bonus. 

And Neighborhood is once again a good time. While it's bogged down with a ton of unlockable content, the ability to hop into varying types of tournaments on the fly or just cruise around and check out the scenery and other players is a nice touch. 

Like previous iterations, though, MyPlayer is a grind. That'll be good for some and bad for others, but the presence of microtransactions that boosts players can create a disparity on the court early in the grind. Which isn't to say the grind feels totally unfair, but players have a huge hill to climb before really dominating the streetball courts. 

Over in MyTeam, the slew of menus and things to do is as intimidating as ever. But even so, it's a joy to see some of the sport's biggest legends brought to life in this mode, even if it does often happen on the odd techno-colored flooring. 

As always, the collect-a-thon has its positives and drawbacks. It's fun to see some of the major customization points players can hit on with cards, including courts, jerseys and even basketballs themselves. 

But a big drawback continues to be the fear of missing out incurred by so many different things to do. On one hand, it was only natural for the series to push ahead with weekend-only events dubbed MyTeam Limited that play into greater "seasons." On the other, those who want to collect every little thing and not miss out are going to have to commit. 

The ecosystem itself is still an interesting, always-evolving one. It's a shame to see contracts tied to cards still. But the time investment does usually feel worth it, whether it's grinding out challenges against A.I. or hopping online for different tournaments against other players. 

Viewed through a long-term lens, the Seasons idea is a great one that matches up well with how other online games work right now. And it's nice that the weekly tournaments that help players eventually unlock season-ending rewards have fun variations to rules such as blocking the usage of certain cards or keeping the playing field within certain overall points. 

Besides those big-ticket items, MyGM and MyLeague return and feel essentially untouched for now. One problem is the unorthodox nature of the season has thrown a wrench in these modes. Free agency and the draft hasn't happened, so the would-be free agents are on weird deals and the next rookie class obviously isn't present. 

Elsewhere, quick matches locally or online make the list as expected and the WNBA effort returns in an upgraded manner with a smooth season mode. 2K sports also continues its reign as the sports game with the smoothest new player onboarding process thanks to the excellent set of tutorials found in 2KU. 

The other end of the spectrum remains present too. While the strong new-player experience remains, so does the jarring number of slider controls for players who want to fine-tune the simulation experience. Players can also tweak rosters, create characters and shoes to fill out a robust feature set. 

Alterations to gameplay alone make the latest version of the game worth a pickup for most types of players. While the stagnant nature of MyGM and MyLeague is disappointing, there's enough new going on in the MyTeam and MyPlayer spaces to pair nicely with the on-court updates. 

Conclusion

It does sort of feel like NBA 2K is running out the clock before the next generation. Other than a major change to ball-handling and a polarizing shakeup to shooting, MyLeague and MyGM didn't see a ton of attention, Neighborhood is largely a visual overhaul and MyTeam added some smart functionality found in other online games. 

But that's a luxury a game at the top of its game gets to take at times. 

The game-by-game package is still the best in sports, from the immersive presentation to the fluid gameplay. Despite some wonky hiccups due to real-world happenings, MyGM is still a good simulation. And there are potentially thousands of hours to sink into modes like MyPlayer (in the Neighborhood) and MyTeam, depending on a player's preferences. 

Still one of the most complete sports games on the market, 2K21 doesn't take giant steps one might expect from the finale of the series in this console generation, but it's still top dog and assures plenty of weighty expectations for its next-gen release.