NBA 2K25

What is this strange feeling? This is something I haven't felt in many years. Is it optimism for a sports game? I don't know if I dare go to sleep tonight. A few weeks ago I reviewed Madden NFL 25 and it was exactly the experience I expected from all sports games this year. A mediocre one with some good stuff, but too much that frustrated me. When I then started NBA 2K25, it was with the feeling of 'yeah yeah, time for the same experience as last year, but with updated lineups'. What I was instead treated to was the best game in the series in I don't know how long.

Unfortunately, I already know what many will think and say. 'How can you like this disgusting casino where everything is about microtransactions?' Moreover, I should put a zero in the rating because of this. Believe me, I hate game-breaking microtransactions as much as the next person and this game has its problems with this. In fact, the first thing I saw when I started the game was a pop-up asking me to run and get my wallet to buy some VC, as the game's currency is called. The worst part is that it always comes with a delay of a few seconds, just in time for me to press the A button to enter a game mode, but instead opens the window for all the different payment options. The presence of microtransactions in MyTeam (the series' Ultimate Team mode) is one thing. There, we can expect it - unfortunately - to exist for buying new card packs. But when it comes to the career mode, whether you want to play completely offline, to be able to upgrade your player feels completely wrong. This game mode, which I will come back to later, is linked to your online character, which can then be used offline.

The thing is, the microtransactions are really the only big minus for me and there are things that NBA 2K25 does better than any other sports game on the market. The most important of these is the match presentation and match experience. There is no game that is in the same league as the 2K series when it comes to presenting the matches. The commentators are great with a few different sets and sideline reporters and such. The variety of voice recorded dialogue adds to the experience. It could be about how well a player has done, how they grew up in a poor household and are now stars, or how Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis from Lithuania had two basketball-playing parents and both his grandfather and grandfather also played. There are halftime shows with Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kenny Smith from Inside the NBA on TNT (Charles Barkley refuses to be in the game). Unfortunately, it seems that this show no longer has a future as TNT has lost its NBA rights. In addition, team talk from the coaches has been taken from real games and put into the game so it can be heard during timeouts. No other sports game comes close to this.

Something else that is in the absolute top class in NBA 2K25 is the career mode. Of course, I should immediately return to the problem that it basically costs money to upgrade your player. Since a few years, your created player is thrown into the online hub 'The City' and in order to compete there, VC (virtual currency) is used to upgrade your player. If you want to play offline, you simply run over to the arena and play on from there. But you can't upgrade your player there without VC. This means that if you don't want to spend money on the game, it will take a long time to make your player better. A small amount of money is earned every game played. But playing with a weak centre with poor rebounding ability for several seasons and being matched up against Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, or Victor Wembanyama is not fun. Due to not being able to afford to upgrade my own centre's speed, it feels like manoeuvring a Finnish ferry. But if you can put that aside, the career path is very good and deep. There are challenges around the city to do and a small quick game mode that provides a backstory for your character told over four matches. Sign shoe deals, play street basketball against computer-controlled players, ride around town in a go-kart. There's plenty to do. If you choose to take it online, the horizons are broadened even more with different match types and opponents. If you'd rather just play match after match offline and ignore all the side activities, you can do that too.

A few years ago, the 2K series added something that I think all sports games should have. They call it 'Eras' and it is basically a franchise mode, but where you can play in different eras. This year you can start a save file in six different eras where the oldest starts the 1983 season with Magic vs Bird. You can also find The Jordan Era from 1991 and The Modern Era, which takes place in the present. It may be a matter of licences and such, but I don't understand why other sports games don't have something similar. Imagine playing on a muddy Premier League pitch from the 80s or taking over a team in the Gretzky era. Of course, if good old-fashioned franchising is more your style, there's also a game mode where you can take over any team you want and manage everything from ticket prices to trades and lineups. MyTeam is another quick mention, but it's basically the same experience from last year.

I've left the most important part for last. Is it fun to play? And how good is the basketball experience? NBA 2K25 is the best game in the series in many, many years (maybe ever) on the court. Improved passes, hundreds of new animations and a better sense that different players behave in different ways. Unlike some previous titles, this year I feel like I'm getting what I deserve. If I take a bad shot, it probably won't go in. If I can unlock the improved defence I will get at least two points. I really like this year's version of basketball.

NBA 2K25 was not at all what I had expected. Instead of a tired, mediocre experience, I had fun. Which seems like a very strange thing to say about sports games these days. In fact, it's very possible that this is the best sports game of the year. If you can ignore the microtransactions being shoved in your face.