Last year’s NBA 2K26 was the first game in the series in a long time that felt somewhat fresh to me. But I guess that it wasn’t due to any differences in gameplay or its overall content. Sure, the new difficulty-tied control approach, which makes controls more complex depending on the difficulty setting, but that wasn’t the reason it felt so nice to play an NBA game again. It was the fact I played it on the Switch 2, basically letting me carry a fully-fledged and well-put, albeit microtransaction-infested, sports simulator on the go.

I went with a PS5 version for NBA 2K27. I traded portability and novelty for (seemingly) better visuals and a much smoother framerate. Sadly, this made this game revert back to how I felt about basically any other NBA 2K game released over the last, uh, decade: well-made, visually impressive, easily the best basketball simulator out in the market, but still a greedy microtransaction bonanza, bureaucratic to the core, and barely different from its predecessors, aside from the soundtrack and rosters.

Don’t worry, dear viewer: this is not me trolling you with a picture from NBA 2K26 or 25. But you wouldn’t have noticed the difference anyway.

Sure, it’s nothing new at this point. NBA 2K27 still covers all the bases when it comes to the types of modes available to players. Multiplayer and arcade enthusiasts can enjoy a Quick Play round or a streetball session, whilst those who enjoy the MyCAREER story mode have access to a brand new storyline with new characters. Sure, it’s still the same damn plot about a high school star progressing through the NBA ranks, nothing that can come close to that one time they hired Idris Elba to be your mentor, but hey, it’s here. It’s here, infested with product placement and whatnot, but it’s still here. One minute addition to this mode is the fact male and female players can enjoy the occasional co-ed match in the hub world. I guess that counts as something.

NBA 2K27 hasn’t changed a lot graphics-wise. Though I doubt it’s even possible at this point.

Gameplay-wise, there is one new thing I actually like. My main gripe with NBA 2K games in general has always been the seemingly overcomplicated manner in which you defend, be it in terms of man marking or trying to steal the ball. A new addition to the defensive system allows you to choose how your current player will approach the opponent holding the ball: hold the right analog stick down, and you’ll act more conservatively, focusing more on marking, whilst holding the right analog stick up makes you act more aggressively, attempting to steal balls, being prone to committing more fouls.

Luka… it still hurts, y’know…

And… that’s honestly it, to be fair. Other inclusions, such as crossplay or innovations to NBA 2K27‘s FUT-adjacent card mode are worth mentioning, but aren’t game changers. It is still the same as always, be it in visuals (though there is not a lot you can do to improve them at this point), gameplay, excessive amounts of product placement and bureaucratization of modes, and so on. I guess I should commend this year’s soundtrack, however, featuring everything from Bad Bunny to Stone Temple Pilots, from DMX to The Killers. Although, for some hilariously pathetic reason, both the band’s name, as well as the lyrics to “Mr. Brightside”, have been censored to oblivion. They are listed as The K****rs. Is this how low we have reached as a society?

We have truly failed as a species if we are now censoring this, haven’t we.

It’s impossible to write a review for NBA 2K27, or any of its many predecessors, without sounding like a scratched record. When you’re not tied to a portable, which features some kind of different appeal and a novelty factor, what you have here is the same as bloody always: a competent game, a truly well-put basketball simulator with a sizeable amount of content, but one that hasn’t even dared to innovate for the past decade or so. The same modes, data collecting, product placement, microtransactions, the same bloat that makes you want for the return of a more arcade-focused basketball game, it’s all here. NBA 2K27 hasn’t changed, its sequels won’t change either. You know what to expect from it at this point.

NBA 2K27 is available now on PS5, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch 2.

Reviewed on PS5.

A copy of NBA 2K27 was provided by the publisher.