NBA Playgrounds Reviews
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.
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.
Those that like Basketball or even casual players looking for some silly action will enjoy some outdoor dribbling.
An excellent idea, a not so excellent execution. A great filler for a play night with friends, but its charm rapidly fades, mostly because of some prominent balancing issues.
Review in Italian | Read full review
If you dig arcade basketball then NBA Playgrounds is a great addition to the genre.
I'm sure the developers went into NBA Playgrounds with the most noble of intentions, but this game is not the NBA I remembered. This game is one that young me would never have considered to be worth my allowance.
Considering legacy brands like NBA Jam and NBA Street are nowhere to be found this generation, NBA Playgrounds is a welcome hoops diversion for sports game fans
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 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
Despite of having some gameplay issues, NBA Playgrounds is a very entertaining and funny game that will make us play for hours thanks to its 2 vs. 2 matches.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
NBA Playgrounds comes close to being a good arcade basketball game ... but it doesn't quite score the bucket.
Fussy shooting mechanics and some missing modes neutralize the overall experience to a degree, but the game's strong moment-to-moment gameplay keeps it afloat. With enough practice and patience (and patching), Playgrounds could be a perennial crowd-pleaser.
With proper support 'NBA Playgrounds' could become a great series in the future. It's just not quite there in this, its rookie season.
I'd say it's a little steep paying $20 for this one. If you're a hardcore NBA fan you might have an enjoyable time with Playgrounds, I'd recommend most other players stick to the 2K series. It's hard to even recommend the Switch version because 2K seems like it's just on the horizon. If you're looking to play NBA Playgrounds I'd suggest at least waiting until online is available. But if you've really got a basketball itch, this game does a decent job at scratching it.
NBA Playgrounds stifles any above-the-rim action promised by placing condition after condition on the gameplay
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
All gripes aside, I've had less fun with games that were full price.
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.
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.
It's great to have a basketball arcade game back in the public domain, but it falls short of the successful heights of NBA Jam.