NBA 2K25

NBA 2K25 remains a great game for basketball enthusiasts and makes strides compared to its predecessor, but it doesn’t hide the fact that it knows it can rest comfortably on its throne, especially since no one is even trying to challenge it.

From 2K Games, we have a little better basketball here than last time. It brings smoother and more realistic gameplay, but don't expect miracles.

By daring to downscale some of the fluff, NBA 2K25 brings its focus back to basketball in a positive way. Improvements to the series’ dribbling system and ProPLAY make this the best feeling hoops sim Visual Concepts has made, while the sheer density of different modes and features means you could play nothing else all year – and still never get bored. But the borderline insulting emphasis on microtransactions remain a thorn in this series’ side, and something you simply have to accept if you want to enjoy everything else on offer here.

Quotation forthcoming.

NBA 2K25 is both a great and a frustrating experience. Beneath the layers of VC and the slow grind is a very good basketball game. The presentation is top notch and MyGM is the best mode to play to get the full NBA experience. MyCareer can be fun and it is a shame it is so bogged down where players have to choose to grind very slowly to improve, or to spend quite a bit of additional money to improve their players.

NBA 2K25 from developer Visual Concepts and publisher 2K has a lot of intriguing and fun modes it offers from MyCareer to MyTeam, and MyGM, if you love that sort of control. It seems to have a nice spread of goods that caters to almost every basketball interest out there. Sadly, its need to stay online for single-player experiences and its need for smoother less animation-locked gameplay mechanics hurts the experience considerably.

To put it plainly, NBA 2K25 isn’t quite on the level of the splashy return of Michael Jordan in 1995. Instead, it feels more like his late-career stint with the Washington Wizards; you know what you’re getting at this point, but it still has a few tricks up its sleeves that longtime fans like me can be pleasantly surprised by even as we gripe about long-term issues.

NBA 2K25 shines with its impressive performance, visuals, and gameplay but suffers from its annual release cycle, leaving little room for innovation. While updates like Pro Builds and Pro Stick Rhythm Shooting improve the experience, modes like MyGM and MyCareer fall short. The increasing reliance on microtransactions, particularly with VC, takes away from what could otherwise be an outstanding game.