NBA 2K25 is the best the game has ever been, on the court.  It continues the series tradition of pushing further and harder to let you feel like a pro without having to do all the hard work it requires in real life.  Microtransaction hell abounds in the MyCareer and MyTeam modes, but does this one have enough juice in the tank to make up for it?  I think so, please allow me to explain.

The Modes

NBA 2K25 has nearly everything one could want from a basketball title, though I’m sure I’m missing something as I tend to enjoy a season with the Celtics as my main focus.  We have:

• MyCareer – Money Maker #1 that lets you focus on a player character working the City and various modes to become the centerpiece of a dynasty.  It’s huge and fun, and it wants you to spend money on improving and customizing your character.
• MyTeam – Money Maker #2 in which you’ll build up a fantasy team with various mtx-fueled packs.  It’s a lot of fun, deep, and again almost entirely focused on getting you to spend money on card packs.
• MyNBA Eras – A Franchise mode that lets you play through multiple eras from the last 40 years of the NBA.  You have Bird and Magic, Jordan, Kobe, Lebron, Curry, and Modern Eras to choose from.  Each Era gets its own set of graphics and filters to tailor how NBA presentations looked at the time.
• PlayNow – This is how you choose between online and offline exhibition NBA matchups
• WNBA – Here you’ll be able to choose from WNBA Quick Play, MyWNBA career mode, WNBA Playoffs, and of course the 2K share system that lets you download other’s custom setups.
• Learn2K – A series of tutorials to walk you through the game’s fundamentals and new systems.
• 2KTV – The ever-present in-game network show covering all things NBA 2K.
• Settings – customize the game to your liking in dozens of ways.

On the Court

I find that the on-the-court action is 95% of what I care about in an NBA 2K title.  Playing through multiple games in every mode on offer it feels, at least against the CPU, that this is the best mix of realistic movement and “fun-assed video game sh!t” yet. The transition animations are smooth, and while you never feel 100% in control that is how things are in real life.  Bodies have momentum, you can’t stop on a dime, and thinking ahead of where you’re going to go and what you’re going to do is required to have any chance of scoring a basket or playing solid defense.

The shot meter is a nearly imperceptible one that raises into an arrow near your player.  The timing on everyone is so different, even from move to move that you will need to know the exact timing of every player to keep your shooting percentage up.  Going from Steph Curry’s quick release to Larry Bird’s more methodical one is jarring if you aren’t locked in.  The game of course has players from nearly every generation and playing as them in the various Eras feels like a completely different style of basketball.

The modern Era being dominated by the three-pointer is the opposite of the Jordan Era where physical defense was king.  There are a ton of moves to do during a game and learning it all is going to take a while for all but the most seasoned 2K players.  The Learn2K mode was suggested to us by PR before we did our reviews and I can see why after spending time with the title.  It’s akin to a fighter where you need to learn the timing and move set of each player you’re using if you want to win on the harder difficulties.

Presentation

NBA 2K25 is a gorgeous game, featuring some of the best faces and most realistic hair I’ve seen in any video game.  While streaming the title on launch day I couldn’t stop marveling at the hair on both the male and female stars.  There could be some wonky physics at times but it looked natural, which video games rarely get right for people of color.  Beards looked full and not like a weird patch of grass half-mown on the side of someone’s face.

Arenas are full of life, even if the crowd is still a bit off in comparison to the polygon count of the stars.  You get full half-time and time-out dance routines, audience minigames like trying to hit a half-court shot, and a full-on presentation similar in style to an NBA on TNT game.  The TNT crew is there for half-time shows, though they don’t say much. Crowd noise, stadium speaker stylings, and everything about the presentation are top-notch.  If you’re just here to play and enjoy the NBA then I don’t think you can find anything that better mimics real life.

Microtransactions

MyCareer and MyTeam are always in the crosshairs of reviewers and online fans.  The reality is that most people who play this game want to spend all of their time and a lot of their money on them, thus they become the focus of each year’s release.  MyCareer once again has high production values to go along with its ambitious story mode, though I found the male version again to have more effort put into it than the WNBA version.  Still in the end it’s a huge “play this every day” mode that lets you do a ton without spending money if you so choose.  Both of the MTX-focused modes do a good job of letting you know what’s new in them as well, which is always appreciated.

Much like the MyTeam pack opening frenzy though it will invariably pull in millions of dollars every week as people look to pay to win and or skip through the content as they power up their player/team. There’s enough other stuff to do, and I did not run into any bugs while doing it.  Being always online means that the full launch is likely to have a lot of server issues, for now, though it ran well and the menus weren’t held back at all like they tend to be in EA titles.

Wrapping Things Up

NBA 2K25 features phenomenal on-court action, every major mode you could hope for, and is one of the prettiest games of all time.  Whether you’re a mtx loving maniac or just looking to shoot some hoops like you’re an all-star it has never been a better time to jump into this long-running franchise.

A good year to jump in

Played on

Xbox Series X

PROS

• 
  Amazing Graphics
• 
  Tons of Modes
• 
  Plays Great
• 
  Sounds Great
• 
  Excellent Presentation

CONS

• 
  MTX heavy focus again might not be for you