NBA 2K21

 PlayStation 5
User Score
2.7

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 208 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 208
  2. Mixed: 25 out of 208
  3. Negative: 150 out of 208
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  1. meatball13
    Dec 19, 2020
    0
    NBA 2K21 is yet another atrocity from the pitiful 2k company. There is no improvement at all to the gameplay, and if anything, it's gotten far worse. Jump shooting is the least reliable thing next to the constant blown layups and the screens your AI teammates set might as well be nonexistent. Defense on your team is played with chained balls attached to your feet while the CPU defenseNBA 2K21 is yet another atrocity from the pitiful 2k company. There is no improvement at all to the gameplay, and if anything, it's gotten far worse. Jump shooting is the least reliable thing next to the constant blown layups and the screens your AI teammates set might as well be nonexistent. Defense on your team is played with chained balls attached to your feet while the CPU defense mirrors every dribble move you do. Why put in so many different dribble animations when they're all useless in getting by defenders? As has been the case year over year, the CPU can decide when it wants to take over and leave the user in a baffled state of "what's the point of me even playing this game?". Exploiting the user-base for virtual currency is nothing new, but it's also nothing to continue scoffing at. It's a distasteful business model (at best) that grabs at the wallets of those that love the sport of basketball and want to enjoy it in a gaming environment. I tried giving 2k another chance after that pathetic excuse that is 2k18 but, once again, nothing ever changes with them. I'm done lying to myself and I'll never buy another 2k game ever again.… Expand
  2. brewskii
    Nov 29, 2020
    0
    Absolutely appalling. The most shameless display of money grubbing in the gaming world and it’s not even close. Not only is 2K21 one of the only (the only?) PS4/PS5 games to not offer a free upgrade, but there’s not even a discount! $70 for a game with microtransactions that affect almost every facet of the game is a complete joke. By supporting this game, you are enabling 2K to continueAbsolutely appalling. The most shameless display of money grubbing in the gaming world and it’s not even close. Not only is 2K21 one of the only (the only?) PS4/PS5 games to not offer a free upgrade, but there’s not even a discount! $70 for a game with microtransactions that affect almost every facet of the game is a complete joke. By supporting this game, you are enabling 2K to continue being the plague to gaming that they are.… Expand
  3. Kanazawa
    Dec 3, 2020
    1
    They keep catering to online. You couldn't pay me to play my park stop that garbage. This has fallen a long way since 2k12 where I fell in love with the sport because the game. No rookie difficulty, jumpshots are absolutely impossible to hit contested or not. I can't play rookie mode and enjoy this game I can't believe how bad they messed it up.
  4. awais142
    Nov 29, 2020
    0
    This is the sad pathetic excuse for the future of sports gaming. Paid fake ass advertising, money sucking methods and reskinning for a decade length. This company has alot of insecurities the try to cover up and they wonder why they suck so much at making revolutionary basketball games?
  5. GhostTechGaming
    Nov 25, 2020
    0
    Let's start of strong.

    This is the worst 2k ever, here is why. Welcome to the city, the worst city. The city is a barren wasteland, with nothing to do. Ante Up - Gone Cages - Gone Ante Up - Gone Shot Vibration - gone Mycourt/apartment -gone Events - Basically gone No choices For some this doesn't matter, but this game was $10 more dollars. With less content. Choices in my    Let's start of strong.

    This is the worst 2k ever, here is why.

    Welcome to the city, the worst city. The city is a barren wasteland, with nothing to do.
    Ante Up - Gone
    Cages - Gone
    Ante Up - Gone
    Shot Vibration - gone
    Mycourt/apartment -gone
    Events - Basically gone
    No choices
    For some this doesn't matter, but this game was $10 more dollars. With less content.
    Choices in my career, nothing. The same stuff as before..
    This servers, the same as every game if not worse. I never had lag in 2k21 on ps4. But this, I was playing twos and it won't stop lagging, I have 200mbs internet speed direct connection.
    Rec, Copied and pasted from 2k21 on previous gen just like everything else.
    The wheel is gone. Go to the statue click X and get something.
    No events have been live for a week, besides advertising PUMA, where there socks and thats all get more rep.
    Rep is even the most hard to earn this year. VC is a grind, even after paying 10 extra dollars.
    I am very disappointed in this game.
    I also had a glitch where my player couldn't connect to the servers, I did fix that, all of the old bugs are back from previous 2k's
    The graphics are pretty much the same with different shaders.
    I am sad. This game is truly a huge rushed, money grab.

    One more thing, there is only one build. Power Forward scoring machine. 6,7 Height and 210 weight. They can score, play defense and playmake.

    Whoever is making the same game 50x times needs fired.    … Expand
  6. MichaelJordan23
    Jan 19, 2021
    0
    Worst NBA 2K I’ve ever played, right beside NBA 2K20. The physics are gone and no longer realistic. NBA 2K dropped off after NBA 2K18. It started dropping off with NBA 2K17 but it’s gotten significantly worse since then. I still go back and play NBA 2K11 and NBA 2K14 and those are amazing. Still the 2 greatest basketball games of all time. RIP realistic and non greedy basketball games.
  7. Fotisarva
    Feb 3, 2021
    1
    Disgusting pay-to-win mechanics and micro transactions still plagues this game. Which is a shame because gameplay wise, it’s still the best sports game.
  8. StubbornStanley
    Dec 16, 2020
    1
    An absolute broken mess. On franchise mode, you will see top-tier free agents not sign with anyone and just sit there on the free agent list for the whole year. They won’t even take your money because they demand an exact amount. In my current franchise, there is an all-star team worth of talent on the free agent wire DURING the season. That alone breaks the entire mode. GameplayAn absolute broken mess. On franchise mode, you will see top-tier free agents not sign with anyone and just sit there on the free agent list for the whole year. They won’t even take your money because they demand an exact amount. In my current franchise, there is an all-star team worth of talent on the free agent wire DURING the season. That alone breaks the entire mode. Gameplay wise, you have to adjust sliders to make it playable. The easier modes are too easy, but when you bump things up, the CPU will hit all catch and shoot 3s as if they were a bunch of prime Ray Allens. You, meanwhile, don’t have that luxury. Furthermore, your AI defenders are 100% moronic. Help defense is a joke. If you like playing a certain position, like center, you’ll also find that the CPU will routinely blow by your AI teammates, forcing you to play help defense on almost every play. If the CPU has a decent shooting center, it’s game over. The MyPlayer and MyTeam probably got most of the attention, and that’s what’s wrong with sports games in general. You fools have ruined the sports simulation genre by worshipping these money-leeching modes. I tried to get a refund and was denied. 2K feel free to get me that $100 for the last gen plus current gen purchase that I made. Hit me up when you want to make an actual simulation. Both versions suffer from the same AI problems.… Expand
  9. Drew2442
    Nov 28, 2020
    1
    This 2K is really unplayable. I’ve been playing 2K since 13 and I have no enjoyment with this game. They allowed people to have overpowered builds, which makes no skill gap in the game. The game is always laggy and there is nothing fun to do in the game. I’d rather play 21 on current gen than this Garbage of a 2K. This game is bad. It takes 30 minutes to go across this abnormally largeThis 2K is really unplayable. I’ve been playing 2K since 13 and I have no enjoyment with this game. They allowed people to have overpowered builds, which makes no skill gap in the game. The game is always laggy and there is nothing fun to do in the game. I’d rather play 21 on current gen than this Garbage of a 2K. This game is bad. It takes 30 minutes to go across this abnormally large city that does not need to be that big. Everyone hits their shots so you can’t play defense on people. The permitted defense is bad, which is crazy because defense is 50 percent of basketball. You put your hand in someone’s mouth and still score with no problem. This game is awful and should be ashamed of themselves for making something this bad. Don’t buy this game. #make2kfunagain… Expand
  10. Bronisthegoat
    Dec 6, 2020
    2
    When ever I try to shoot the ball in the city I lag and it’s not my internet it’s the trash servers and it takes so much money to upgrade ur player and mycarrer dosent give out anything and I don’t buy vc so idk how u get vc
  11. Sasuke4490
    Dec 13, 2020
    0
    My career storyline sucks. In nba 2k15, you can have 2 nicknames and choose your own voice. I'm tired of being called stupid names like junior and ai when they are not the names i chose. Let me decide on what the nicknames that i want to be called. Nba 2k needs to do away with this acting crap. Nobody cares about story when it comes to sports games. Every time you start my career with aMy career storyline sucks. In nba 2k15, you can have 2 nicknames and choose your own voice. I'm tired of being called stupid names like junior and ai when they are not the names i chose. Let me decide on what the nicknames that i want to be called. Nba 2k needs to do away with this acting crap. Nobody cares about story when it comes to sports games. Every time you start my career with a new my player, you're forced to watch the opening cutscence and can't skip it. My career should be called 2k career because the storylines always suck. If you make a white player or Asian player, your fake father in 2k21 is still black which doesn't make sense because the father and son are different. My career mode was great in 2k15 and that was when my career mode was focused on basketball… Expand
  12. Aaron303030
    Feb 14, 2021
    1
    What a ripoff, overhyped game for a ridiculous price, especially if you already bought if on PS4. When you’re greedier than EA, you need to take a step back and evaluate.
  13. christsirtsis
    Feb 24, 2021
    1
    This game is easily the most frustrating game I’ve ever played. When playing a quick game against the CPU (difficulty level at Superstar), they make it almost impossible to enjoy the gameplay. The opposition continually makes tough jump shots or they miss just to get an offensive rebound and put it back up for a bucket. It is damn near impossible to get a stop on the defensive end, but godThis game is easily the most frustrating game I’ve ever played. When playing a quick game against the CPU (difficulty level at Superstar), they make it almost impossible to enjoy the gameplay. The opposition continually makes tough jump shots or they miss just to get an offensive rebound and put it back up for a bucket. It is damn near impossible to get a stop on the defensive end, but god forbid I take a jump shot on offensive. I have to wide open and even then it seems unlikely that I’ll make anything. This game is the definition of cheese and the animation have completely ruined the game. I would rate it a 0/10 but the only thing I enjoy is playing with the updated rosters and new rookies. Other than that, the game is absolute poop.… Expand
  14. Ethanmfb18
    Mar 7, 2021
    0
    I took the time to make an account and wrote a review about this game it is so horrible. First of all it’s so predatory towards micro-transaction that you have to pay to play. The game play is regurgitated and redundant that you are doing the same 3 things the whole time. DO NOT SPEND MINEY IN THIS GAME. I used to play 2k starting with 10 and have had been getting it every year since. II took the time to make an account and wrote a review about this game it is so horrible. First of all it’s so predatory towards micro-transaction that you have to pay to play. The game play is regurgitated and redundant that you are doing the same 3 things the whole time. DO NOT SPEND MINEY IN THIS GAME. I used to play 2k starting with 10 and have had been getting it every year since. I will be done with the series because of how terrible this game was. Stay away from this game. Do not even think about it. Unless it’s free and you willing to spend $70 to just get a decent player to compete with anyone. You will be spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars to get a good card. You won’t have fun getting beat by everyone because they pay to play. If I could score this game negative I would.… Expand
  15. CarCam234
    Mar 17, 2021
    0
    DO NOT BUY. This game is truly terrible. They gameplay is garbage and they put all their effort into my team. I just played an online game and watched this guy get the same putback dunk animation 20 times. If you want to win a game in my team you have to pay money, which is ridiculous considering you have to pay $60 to get the game in the first place. In conclusion do NOT buy this game
  16. Achmaniac
    Mar 25, 2021
    0
    They are using the rosters from last year... I am a lifetime sports gamer, and I have never played a new sports game that uses rosters from the previous season. On top of that, they didn’t change much from the previous games. I barely notice a difference on PS5 compared to PS4. Save your money, and just play last year’s version. This game is trash.
  17. Benny12
    Jan 7, 2021
    4
    Graphics are FAR too cartoonish, yet despite this the frame rates are low and inconsistent. I played Live19 today and was amazed how much better the graphics were in Live19 -- a current gen game from EA released 2 years ago has FAR better textures, lighting and shaders.

    Gameplay is sluggish, but can be overcome in offline modes by adjusting game and character speed. Online park play    Graphics are FAR too cartoonish, yet despite this the frame rates are low and inconsistent. I played Live19 today and was amazed how much better the graphics were in Live19 -- a current gen game from EA released 2 years ago has FAR better textures, lighting and shaders.

    Gameplay is sluggish, but can be overcome in offline modes by adjusting game and character speed.

    Online park play suffers from poor servers, which, is, a, yearly, issue.

    Primary issue with the game is:
    1) cartoony art direction breaks immersion
    2) aggressive pay-to-win and marketing tactics
    3) poor servers (again)    … Expand
  18. Fhskjd
    Apr 13, 2021
    1
    Don't bother trying this game. There is nothing of value to be gained here.
  19. Whotatguy
    Dec 2, 2020
    2
    Only giving it a 2 for graphics. There is scripts in this game just like madden. Also the game is just broken. Everyone's favorite feature of missing wide open layups is back!!! Gameplay is not improved just some more animations that suck you into players and make your experience overall terrible. Don't buy! We need to get other companies to make sports game because of this monopoly we areOnly giving it a 2 for graphics. There is scripts in this game just like madden. Also the game is just broken. Everyone's favorite feature of missing wide open layups is back!!! Gameplay is not improved just some more animations that suck you into players and make your experience overall terrible. Don't buy! We need to get other companies to make sports game because of this monopoly we are receiving terrible products… Expand
  20. btimbit
    May 12, 2021
    2
    At its core there is a solid sports game, but it is buried under layers and layers of frustrating mechanics and microtransactions
  21. Jgard_7
    Apr 24, 2021
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is terrible blocking animations and the fact that your not in total control means alot the animations make the game GARBAGE and the fact that online gaming makes it even worst only hard-core gamers who see alot of nonsense in the game both online and offline I've played this game since it came out and no improvementsits a dang shame people have to complain and this game so many issues they were in to much of a rush next gen is even worse rhe game play is to slow gives the opponent enough time to play defense … Expand
  22. TatarN
    Jun 13, 2021
    0
    You f***ed up with a f***ing matchmake. If you left game three times in straight with greater opponent and 3 times I get the same nerd. What happens, adjust the matchmaking. Is this a game for nerds with youts f***ing championships or for everyone? The average player loses interest in leagues with 1 or 2 wins out of 12. Nobody interest in loses. A game for 5% of potential gamers, maybeYou f***ed up with a f***ing matchmake. If you left game three times in straight with greater opponent and 3 times I get the same nerd. What happens, adjust the matchmaking. Is this a game for nerds with youts f***ing championships or for everyone? The average player loses interest in leagues with 1 or 2 wins out of 12. Nobody interest in loses. A game for 5% of potential gamers, maybe less. Total disbalance, many exploites and I'm not say abuout just money and money for developments. Just make a myteam like EA, not like MLB. THIS IS S**T NOW… Expand
  23. DannieB
    Nov 15, 2020
    5
    Same game as last gen with slightly better graphics. Not worth the $70 and still has a **** load of microtransactions.
  24. nickm575
    Nov 13, 2020
    9
    Good start to the next generation. Incredibly fast loading times and the city makes for an excellent addition.
  25. MinePlay512
    Nov 13, 2020
    9
    Overall Score: 9.5
    In my review with the PS4 version, I am not happy that there's no create a legend mode. And new legend mode. Come on now. However, in the PS5 version, It's awesome, improved gameplay, the city is great, MyNBA is an W and other things that makes NBA 2K21 a very good game. The graphics are great, like they did in NBA 2K14 for PS4. They also bring back some old UI. A great    Overall Score: 9.5
    In my review with the PS4 version, I am not happy that there's no create a legend mode. And new legend mode. Come on now. However, in the PS5 version, It's awesome, improved gameplay, the city is great, MyNBA is an W and other things that makes NBA 2K21 a very good game. The graphics are great, like they did in NBA 2K14 for PS4. They also bring back some old UI. A great start for next gen and I can see a good future ahead.    … Expand
  26. Cptaboy
    Nov 17, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pathetic broken game, wish there were a good company that made a basketball game.… Expand
  27. AdeThor
    Nov 17, 2020
    0
    Let me start by saying the game could be fun, but it’s broken. I have been receiving no VC or badge upgrades on my Myplayer for the last 9 games. VC or virtual currency is the reward given in game to be used to upgrade your player stats and purchase in game items. VC is can be purchased through the PlayStation store as well. I have also spent 100,000 VC included with the game as well asLet me start by saying the game could be fun, but it’s broken. I have been receiving no VC or badge upgrades on my Myplayer for the last 9 games. VC or virtual currency is the reward given in game to be used to upgrade your player stats and purchase in game items. VC is can be purchased through the PlayStation store as well. I have also spent 100,000 VC included with the game as well as 75,000 VC earned through grinding on the PS4 version of the game, on the build I have been using on PS5. To put it in perspective, to buy 200,000 VC it would cost you $50. I’ve spent 2 days with 2k customer support trying to work through the issue. They’ve had me reinstall the game, clear cache and send them all the screens shots and videos of the error. All they say is that the team is now aware and they hope to one day to have it fixed with an update, and if I have anymore feedback it should be shared in their forums.

    So the $100 game I bought is unplayable because my player is stuck at a low level unless I buy their VC through the PlayStation store because I can’t earn it in game. Not to mention I have no way of earning badges that are needed to build a playable character. Don’t waste your money. If this was Fallout 76 you wouldn’t play it, you would be able to return it and all the critics would be up in arms but for some reason these ass hats can get away with it. Move on play a game that is fun and rewarding. That’s what I will be doing.    … Expand
  28. tomyvengeance7
    Nov 15, 2020
    10
    Amazing game pure realistic and looks like real Next gen game, the arenas looks great , fans are more real and players OMG
  29. MLGhost2015
    Nov 14, 2020
    2
    i could not even play the game. after loading up the game into the city can after getting in my game froze and basic ran at 1fps. its not just me because other people are getting the same problem. the fact that 2k20 had bad servers and they didn't fix that for 21 shows a lack of care as a game developer. also the fact that they want to make the city have more people in it when it cant eveni could not even play the game. after loading up the game into the city can after getting in my game froze and basic ran at 1fps. its not just me because other people are getting the same problem. the fact that 2k20 had bad servers and they didn't fix that for 21 shows a lack of care as a game developer. also the fact that they want to make the city have more people in it when it cant even run with the people in it now makes me not to sell this game for $5 which is what it is worth. $70 for a game that cant run, i can understand $70 on a game with no microtransaction, but for a game that almost relies on it makes my score go even lower.… Expand
  30. chrono2395
    Nov 17, 2020
    9
    Great game not perfect but good start of next gen still needs a little work but overall 9/10
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Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2020
10
#10 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Dec 14, 2020
    80
    This PS5 edition offers new ideas and swish next-gen presentation. It looks, plays, and feels a step above PS4 but is held back by a similar need to open your wallet. [Issue#183, p.80]
  2. SpazioGames
    Dec 10, 2020
    88
    NBA 2K21 on PS5 is a significant and stunning next-gen upgrade: this is the best title that fans deserve, and an absolutely great and genuine multiplayer experience.
    Read full review
  3. 4P.de
    Dec 9, 2020
    78
    Visually impressive basketball sim that is simply breathtaking on the court. In terms of game moeds you feel the old gen remains – as you do in the still annoying micro transactions.
    Read full review
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