NBA Playgrounds Reviews
There is no career or story mode, and really no options for customizing a game beyond how long it goes on for or how many points you need to win.
NBA Playgrounds scratches an itch I didn't know I had. Growing up in arcades I spent many a quarter on games like NBA Jam. Outside of the failed attempt by EA a few years back to resurrect the franchise, we really haven't had a good alternative. Playgrounds fills that void nicely, even with its shortcomings. Anyone wondering if it had to be the shoes would do well to check it out.
NBA Playgrounds follows in the footsteps of games like NFL Blitz, FIFA Street, and (of course) NBA Jam. It takes a simple premise — over-the-top arcade sports — and nearly perfects it. It misses an easy layup by excluding invitation options online, but hopefully the promised patch arrives to bring this game closer to an all-time great. Everything else, from the aesthetics and the music to the gameplay and the special wrinkle of wallet-free card collecting, is an uncontested slam dunk.
NBA Playgrounds is a good modern take on the old-school arcade basketball game genre. It brings enough new ideas to the court to keep things feeling fresh, but at heart, it still retains the charm and accessibility that made NBA Jam such a beloved franchise. There are a few kicks with the shooting mechanics and rebounding is less than ideal, but the gameplay is strong enough in other areas to ensure it's still an overall slam dunk.
NBA Playgrounds is fun with friends...and that's about it, playing this on single player mode is nothing short of disappointing due to the unasked for "players on stickers" mechanic, enormous loading times between matches which also affect the multiplayer mode and the for time still absent online mode make this a game that will not appeal to those looking for an intense and action-packed arcade basketball game.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
NBA Playgrounds scratches that arcade basketball itch we've had since NBA Jam. The gameplay and progression are simple and fun to mess around with but unbalanced power-ups and a shallow online multiplayer offering keep it from being as consistently fun as the classics.
NBA Playgrounds is not perfect, at this moment the game could offer us a deep variety of game modes and there are some mechanics like precision in perfect shots that are difficult to understand. On the other side, is a very fun experience when you are challenging other player on your own platform or in the competitive online matches.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
NBA Playgrounds is a fun addition to the arcade basketball genre, especially on the Nintendo Switch. The game isn't without some flaws though. The AI is unfair and the shooting mechanics are very tough to master. Releasing the game without its online mode is also a strange choice. That being said, the game offers more than enough to allow fans of NBA Jam and NBA Street to have a good time. Let's just hope that Saber will soon fix the game's issues.
Review in French | Read full review
NBA Playgrounds aims to bring the best elements of NBA Jam into the modern era of basketball, but falls short in some areas. The core of the high-octane gameplay is there, but it's not enough to push past all of the game's shortcomings.
Saber Interactive's NBA Jam-a-like delivers monster dunks and a novel leveling system that enables this high-flying sports game to leap over at least some of its flaws.
NBA Playground feels straight out of the 90s arcade scene, with crazy maneuvers, and fast-paced two-on-two NBA action. The dueling commentators do make the occasional cringe worthy joke, that sadly will get repeated throughout the match based on the players competing. Saber has proven they are willing to improve the online experience and with regular content updates, NBA Playgrounds could keep fans clamoring for this type of arcade sports game playing for quite some time.
Playgrounds does alright for itself coming off the bench, hopefully we see Saber continue to refine this and perhaps we'll see some kind of semi-annualized franchise here that gets progressively better.
If I had to compare this game to current NBA teams, it would be Minnesota Timberwolves. They've got bright future and promising players, they showed what they can do in last season, but... it wasn't good enough.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Bland and generic against the computer, Playgrounds is infinitely better with friends. Priced competitively at around the $30 AUD mark, depending on console, it's worth a bounce if you go in with your expectations set at the right point.
NBA Playgrounds is let down by several little things, but most chiefly by the singular mode on offer. If they launched with some more fun modes to embrace the irreverent tone the game clearly wants to go for, or add them later for some added value, then the game might have some staying power.
... the apparent lack of content paired with the difficulty spike in the solo Tournament mode means NBA Playgrounds is just two big steps away from being a great game. Right now, it’s merely pretty good.
For $20, NBA Playgrounds has a lot to offer, especially if you have a few friends who remember the glory days of NBA Jam. While it doesn’t quite capture lighting in a bottle, it makes a valiant effort, and deserves a look.
Although there are pieces of a good arcade basketball game here, it lacks polish, and seems to have been rushed out the door. Playgrounds is inherently fun because it lets you play out outrageous dunks, but it just doesn't do enough to stand up to the greats of its genre, let alone push the bar in any way.
Playgrounds sure isn't an NBA Jam, but it feels okay for a return to arcade style basketball. I'd like to see EA try again in the future, hopefully taking some of the bare minima they've learned from Playgrounds to make a more enticing experience.