If there is no competition, there is no need to try that hard. This has been NBA 2K‘s motto ever since the demise of EA’s NBA Live franchise, five years ago. At this point in time, there is no point in complaining about NBA 2K feeling slightly uninspired, or way too egregious in its monetization schemes. It’s just being a scratched record at this point. I fully expected for NBA 2K25 to merely be yet another yearly iteration, with nothing new worth talking about in terms of content or quality of life improvements. In a way, there is a bit less content than before, as the modes paying tribute to legends like Kobe and Michael Jordan are gone. But there are quality of life improvements for once. I guess that’s worth celebrating?

NBA 2K25 is more newcomer-friendly. That’s the best thing I can say about this new version of what’s otherwise business as usual.

I could mention that the implementation of a brand new patented technology called ProPlay has vastly improved the in-game animations, as it allows for real-life player footage to be inserted in their avatars, but that is just some neat dressing for what has always been great. NBA 2K has always looked great, and NBA 2K25 is no different.

I also did appreciate the first match you are thrown into right after booting the game up for the first time, throwing your created character into the 2024 NBA Finals in a dream-like sequence. For me, that was just a reason to rewrite history and have the Mavs actually win the damn series. Once again, just small additions that are welcoming, but not exactly gargantuan game changers.

I appreciate the inclusion of a national team… but for real… just ONE national team?

Neither is the main addition to NBA 2K25, if you’re a series veteran, but I’m legit trying to see the bigger picture in this case. The controls are now tied to the difficulty setting you’ve chosen, which solves what has always been, in my opinion, the second biggest issue with this franchise as a whole (the first one being the horrendous monetization practices): the newcomer-unfriendly nature of the gameplay. By choosing a lower difficulty setting, the complexity of shots and dunks is lessened, giving newcomers a more forgiving manner to get a hold of the controls, before they thrown themselves into the many modes this game has to offer. You know, the ones full of ads, product placement, and microtransactions.

Those are still here, and won’t change. For instance, in order to gain some muscle, you have to work out at a Gatorade-themed facility. The cringe level isn’t as absurd as having to talk to Jake from State Farm, but at the point, there is no point in complaining. It’s still a grind and a hassle to farm for stats, and you will constantly be incentivized to spend some extra real-life cash on in-game goodies. As always, I ignored them all, and if you do so, or if you just want to treat this as an arcade game, NBA 2K25 can still be very fun.

The fact your team doesn’t wear uniforms makes it really hard for you to remember who’s a friend and who’s an opponent.

I will commend NBA 2K25 for being more accessible than basically any other modern iteration of the franchise I can think of, making this more of an interesting purchase for newcomers to the franchise. Veterans and/or fans will still buy this in droves, no matter what, so for them, this is just business (in more than one sense of the word) as usual. If you straight up ignore the microtransactions, and hold your gag reflex when it comes to the cringeworthy amounts of product placement, NBA 2K25 can still be highly enjoyed. It’s still a super solid basketball simulator at the end of the day. Whether or not you think this game is worth its stupendously expensive pricetage, however, is up to you.

NBA 2K25 is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch

Reviewed on PS5.

A copy of NBA 2K25 was provided by the publisher.