NBA Playgrounds

 Switch
User Score
6.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 95 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 95
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 95
  3. Negative: 26 out of 95

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  1. paolylo
    May 13, 2017
    4
    It's nowhere near NBA Jam because having to time the release of a dunk or layup as if it was a jump shot is frustratingly difficult (possibly bugged). It's nowhere near NBA Street because pulling off a single dribble move drains a huge chunk of the player stamina. The AI on the easiest difficulty makes dunks/layups with ease and often getting that extra point for a "perfect release" whileIt's nowhere near NBA Jam because having to time the release of a dunk or layup as if it was a jump shot is frustratingly difficult (possibly bugged). It's nowhere near NBA Street because pulling off a single dribble move drains a huge chunk of the player stamina. The AI on the easiest difficulty makes dunks/layups with ease and often getting that extra point for a "perfect release" while it takes a lot of luck pulling off one. That along with those power-ups like giving 4 points for dunks just makes playing against a strong tandem in the tournament unfair.

    While it looks visually appealing and the concept of trying to get new players from winning tournaments and gaining XP is very modern, the loading time is ridiculously long especially for a download-only game. I wanna be able to just turn on my Switch and play a game straight away like how it is with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, not literally wait a couple of minutes before playing.    … Expand
  2. EverydayIDecay
    May 20, 2017
    0
    Shooting is glitched and getting piece of shots do not effect whether go in or not. Meaning there are shots in the game that will go in no matter what even without the power shot and there are plays you play that make every single shot they take. With tremendous disappointment I am telling you the game is broken.
  3. Highfall
    May 29, 2017
    4
    Too many frustrating issues and weird gameplay decisions in NBA Playgrounds.

    Lets begin with the switch issues. The load times are extreme for such a simple game (loading times are similar to that of Zelda BotW), and I experience the FPS dropping well below 30 all the time. The game looks HORRIBLE, it looks like it was made for the Nintendo 3DS. Lastly, the rumble feature is turned up    Too many frustrating issues and weird gameplay decisions in NBA Playgrounds.

    Lets begin with the switch issues. The load times are extreme for such a simple game (loading times are similar to that of Zelda BotW), and I experience the FPS dropping well below 30 all the time. The game looks HORRIBLE, it looks like it was made for the Nintendo 3DS. Lastly, the rumble feature is turned up to 110%, so it sounds like it wants to rip the controller apart. It's a horrible port.

    Now the gameplay. The way you have to "time" your shots in this game make absolutely no sense. There are no visual cues during the shot whatsoever, or indication of how late/early a shot was. Makes it very frustrating to learn. Unlocking all the characters is an unbelievable grind... and once you unlock them you have to level them up to unlock all their "moves" (which they don't tell you what are). You unlock balls in the game too, but I seriously can't figure out how to use the different types. The music... oh god the music... and you actually can't shoot a buzzer beater in this game. Can you believe it?! If someone told me the devs found it too difficult to code, I wouldn't be surprised.

    This game does not have a polish to it by any stretch of the imagination, I'm surprised it has received the amount of positive reviews it has.    … Expand
  4. thekilowatt
    May 10, 2017
    3
    TL/DR:
    AI: way too hard, Gameplay: unintuitive at best, possibly broken. Wait on buying this until they patch it so its fun.
    Begin rant: This game is fairly broken. The "hold down the button until almost at the peak of your jump" mechanism for making baskets really just doesnt work. First 20 or so games I've played on the easiest setting have been massive blowouts by the rookie    TL/DR:
    AI: way too hard, Gameplay: unintuitive at best, possibly broken. Wait on buying this until they patch it so its fun.

    Begin rant: This game is fairly broken. The "hold down the button until almost at the peak of your jump" mechanism for making baskets really just doesnt work. First 20 or so games I've played on the easiest setting have been massive blowouts by the rookie (easiest) AI. average score seems to be 5 - 50 because nearly every shot I attempt doesn't work because of some hidden shot timing mechanism that isn't explained well and is not intuitive. Whats worse is a 2v2 NBA Jam like arcade game would be perfect for the switch but every friend that I've had try it quits after 1 game (or less) because of the punishing difficulty.

    Graphics are pretty blurry on the switch itself but when playing on the TV it seems pretty good. Game play is still impossible but you know, improvements.

    This game would be a solid 6-7 if the shot mechanism was simpler and more forgiving. Also If you are going to make a basketball arcade game don't use every button on the switch AND require button combinations (ZR+X is dunk, ZL + Y is alley oop) this is way too confusing. The load times are pretty bad (~30 seconds or more) but whats worse is you dont have enough time during that massive load time to read all of the controls, which makes the game downright laughable in its un-arcade-iness...    … Expand
  5. KermitJagger
    May 9, 2017
    2
    First and foremost, the load times are amazingly long. Loading into a game took FOREVER, but the load times for all areas of the game are just too long. Otherwise, the graphics look blurry/washed out, especially when compared to other versions of the game. This is to be expected a bit, I suppose considering the Switch it the least powerful of the systems. As far as gameplay goes theFirst and foremost, the load times are amazingly long. Loading into a game took FOREVER, but the load times for all areas of the game are just too long. Otherwise, the graphics look blurry/washed out, especially when compared to other versions of the game. This is to be expected a bit, I suppose considering the Switch it the least powerful of the systems. As far as gameplay goes the shooting mechanic makes no sense. You're supposed to somehow know the sweetspot for shooting, without any kind of hints or visual guide. 90% of my shots were either too early or too late, with no indication as to why. Makes for a very frustrating game. I feel this version of the game was rushed to be released at the same time as the other versions, when it's obvious it wasn't ready, especially with online play needing to be patched in, from what I understand. Wait on this one...maybe they'll fix it.… Expand
  6. esreverse
    May 9, 2017
    3
    Preamble: I'm rating the release version and the development team is very responsive on Twitter, so I hope they'll fix some of the issues soon. I'm a huge fan of TV Sports Basketball, NBA Jam and NBA Street, so I'm rating it with these classics in mind ...

    THE GOOD Fantastic style, awesome roster, jaw-dropping animations, cool soundtrack and commentary. The potential is there! But ...    Preamble: I'm rating the release version and the development team is very responsive on Twitter, so I hope they'll fix some of the issues soon. I'm a huge fan of TV Sports Basketball, NBA Jam and NBA Street, so I'm rating it with these classics in mind ...

    THE GOOD
    Fantastic style, awesome roster, jaw-dropping animations, cool soundtrack and commentary. The potential is there! But ...

    THE BAD
    Game balancing is horrible in NBA Playgrounds: Any other shots than dunks are incredibly hard to do. 2PT or 3PT are close to impossible. Also doing crossovers doesn't make any sense. There is no reason to do them. Graphics look really blurry, anti-aliasing is horrible and the scoreboard is sometimes impossible to read due to bad graphics. The lottery picks vary from useless to way too powerful. Navigating menus is cumbersome. Load times are way too long. There seems no way to change your players in the tournament mode. Oh dear, what a mess.    … Expand
  7. TaxiPone
    May 9, 2017
    0
    Sadly, this is a bad game. As a fan of basketball i came expecting a good gameplay, but instead got a mess that isn't playable in handheld mode and isn't clear about its controls.
  8. ooo77
    Jul 10, 2017
    4
    Its a good game but the Switch version sucks, they need to add the DLC and the online play. Other then that it's mostly a good game. But the Steals challenge in Las Vegas is way too hard
  9. danzig168
    Jun 9, 2017
    3
    Could be fun if it wasn't completely broken. AI is completely non existent, as is shot timing. It's truly an embarrassment that this game was released, and at minimum hasn't been patched. I should have just lit a $20 bill on fire instead of buying this nonsense.
  10. SirDzejAr
    Sep 25, 2017
    0
    Would give at least 7, but online play is so fundamental for this game and so broken. Played 4 games, 3 times opponent disconnected (after being inactive when losing) - and no points awarded... And at the fourth game the other player was inactive, then the game crashed and I received a penalty. Wtf?! Otherwise a good game.
  11. steelies
    Jan 21, 2022
    2
    looks like an nba jam with updated graphics, but lacks the pick up and play hook. complicating a perfect system is foolish.

Awards & Rankings

53
#53 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2017
51
#51 Most Shared Switch Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
63

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 21
  3. Negative: 1 out of 21
  1. NintendoWorldReport
    Jul 12, 2017
    60
    While I had fun with the single-player, NBA Playgrounds is mostly a mess otherwise. The basic gameplay requires specific timing that is never well articulated. Load times on the Switch version are nearly indefensibly long. For those hoping for some kind of modern-day NBA Jam-like experience from Playgrounds, look elsewhere. This is just a convoluted footnote in the modern arcade sports landscape.
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  2. GamingTrend
    Jun 30, 2017
    50
    The Nintendo Switch version of NBA Playgrounds is probably the most inferior. While an entertaining romp with fun mechanics, a lack of content and fundamental patches keep this from being a slam dunk.
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  3. Pocket Gamer UK
    Jun 27, 2017
    50
    NBA Playgrounds is a half-baked arcade basketball game that's lacking in content and features. Only the die-hard fans need apply.
    Read full review
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