NBA 2K gets more hate than almost any sports video game out there. Sure, Madden gets its fair share, but 2K fans are serious about their criticisms of the game. I’m not one to shy away from being real about the game either. So, let’s get it out there. I’m a huge 2K fan. It’s about as fun as a sports game can get, and despite a great showing from Madden this year; I’m slowly feeling like its time in my play rotation is going to diminish as I grind in MyCareer and MyTeam yet again. This year’s NBA 2K feels like a step forward, and in a way, more fun than ever. With that being said, some things need to get fixed fast.

Idris Elba, Thomas Middleditch, and others star in this year’s MyCareer story mode. It’s a favorite of 2K fans for the MyPark feature, an online multiplayer mode where you can play others in a digital playground of sorts. The story in MyCareer is always a bit of a drag, but it’s great that we’re allowed to skip cutscenes again.

Before making it to the NBA, you have to prove yourself in the G-League. It’s a realistic way of making the experience more immersive and real. Likewise, competing in the NBA Combine is an awesome feature. Unfortunately, the mini-games for each workout like the bench press and vertical jump are really clunky. It was a great idea, but was executed poorly on a couple of these.

Nevertheless, it’s another year of MyCareer with no major steps backwards. I have no big complaints, and actually really enjoyed the new MyPlayer Builder. With a simplified system of adding to badge categories like Playmaking and Shooting, it’s easy to design a player around how you enjoy to play the game. This is the largest improvement to MyCareer, and for those who like to hit up MyPark immediately, you’ll be able to get a much more precise control over your attributes ahead of online play.

Of course, a big criticism of MyPark and MyCareer is the grind to get better. Improving your player’s overall rating has meant buying VC, or virtual currency, in the past. This year, you earn more coins per game, and need less to increase your stats than before. Sure, micro-transactions aren’t going anywhere, but now they feel truly like an option and not a necessity. I’ve always believed it to be a little silly that people give NBA 2K so much flack for the VC needs, because overall, the complaints come from people that want to only play MyPark. At least now it’s a bit easier getting your player to a superstar level, and that’s largely in part because 2K wants you to create multiple players to test out different builds.

Overall, MyCareer, MyPlayer, and MyPark are all solid. MyPark is going through its’ typical near-launch lags and struggling servers, but that is to be expected around the launch of one of the best selling games every year.

The WNBA addition to 2K is wonderful and overdue. The players look great, the gameplay feels unique and authentic to the league, and the presentation is its’ own thing as well. The unique presentation of WNBA matchups makes it feel like a concerted effort to add the league into the game, and not some publicity stunt. However, with that in mind, it’s a bit troubling that some features are not carried over to the WNBA teams in the game.

There is no option to Play Now Online with WNBA players, a game mode in which you hop right into a matchmaking lobby. Likewise, MyTeam lets you play a season within the WNBA, but you can’t do everything with those teams that you can do with an NBA team. For example, you can trade players, but instead of the game weighing if it’s a fair trade or not, you can instead simply choose to complete the trade or not. It feels a little like a disregard to the league, and possibly an assumption that many won’t play MyLeague with WNBA teams. Likewise, you can’t edit players’ statistics or visuals like you can the NBA players. This is disappointing, for sure, but it is not a game-ruining feature lapse.

Overall, the WNBA is a great addition to the game, and honestly, is almost more fun to play in a normal Play Now game in the NBA.

The card collecting game mode in NBA 2K20, MyTeam, is back and improved as well. One major adjustment is position locking, which means the player plays the position they’re meant to play in this mode. It helps to avoid someone with 3 amazing point guards running them all at once in online play. Another addition is the number of ways to play, including special event modes, 3v3 play, and domination now pertaining to a team’s all-time roster as well as their 19-20 lineup. Overall, it’s not my favorite game mode, but I’ll end up playing it more this year than in years past because of these improvements.

Overall, I was a little surprised when I hopped into my first game of 2K20. The difference between this year’s game and last year’s makes it feel like a 3 year gap, not just a single one. The game feels much slower now, and a bit more realistic. There are still moments of chaotic things happening, like accidentally tossing the ball across the court to nobody. Yet, things like wild passes feel less likely thanks to what I can tell to be an improvement on the game’s response to control input. While it may be a bit before I’m used to the release time on the shooting bar, it’s a welcome change for a game that felt like it hadn’t changed over the last few years.

The game also looks fantastic. I was worried with this likely being the last NBA 2K game on current generation consoles that the improvements would be slight. Everything from player builds, face scans, crowd graphics, and even court appearance looks better than last year. There are a few things I hope they fix, including what seems to be a decrease in player stamina. It seems like players get gassed way faster than in past years, and it’s not in the name of more realism either. It just feels like it’s a bit too accelerated. Also, layups are incredibly slow. The animation for a layup feels a bit more complicated, likely because of the increased amount of control you have over the ball.

While it’s great to have a detailed way to Euro-step, make an acrobatic layup, or even go reverse to avoid a defender, it’s also slowing down what should be the easiest shot to make in the game. That needs to be addressed fairly quickly, or fans will call for the game’s cancellation. Just kidding, they already are. 

I want to end the review by mentioning the hate the game is already getting. Fans of 2K love bashing the game as much as they love playing it. While it’s wonderful they’re so passionate, I think the hate gets blown way out of proportion. This is a good game, and many multiplayer titles have trouble with servers in the beginning. That’s why I don’t consider the MyPark errors to be a con in my overall score. I guess I’ll adjust if the problems persist.

Overall, NBA 2K20 is a step in the right direction. As fans claim the game is a waste of money, they continue to buy it. Maybe because they love the game that much, or maybe because they like to be in on the internet hate. For real, this is a good NBA 2K game, and as much as I love the community surrounding the series for its passion, I also detest the constant calls for the game to be “fixed” when nothing that pressing is wrong with its overall experience.

Sure, tweaks need to be made, but that’s true of any AAA title in 2019. At launch, NBA 2K20 is worth all the time I’ll put into it in the coming months. The game is out now for Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC.

An Xbox One Copy of NBA 2K20 was Provided by 2K for This Review

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NBA 2K20

$59.99 USD

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• WNBA Addition is Incredible
• Improvements to MyTeam feel significant
• MyPlayer Builder is very improved
• Overall gameplay is smoother
• Continues to be the best NBA game

Cons

• Limited features for some aspects of WNBA team play