NBA 2K23
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for NBA 2K23
NBA 2K23's on-court improvements should've led it to an easy layup, but the ever-present nuisance of pay-to-win microtransactions make it much harder to enjoy.
No sports game gets the past right quite like NBA 2K23 – and its present-day immersiveness is incredibly powerful, too.
Overall, NBA 2K23 is a fitting tribute to the historical legends and iconic moments that made this sport what it is today. Though the game has its fair share of issues with its poor narrative choices and omnipresent microtransactions, it’s still a solid improvement over the previous game. This year’s release isn’t quite the flashy free-throw line dunk that lands a perfect score, but it is a worthy, all-around effort that would earn M.J.’s shrug of approval.
NBA 2K23 is a return to form for the usually exceptional series, improving gameplay while imbuing a sincere love for basketball history into new and reimagined modes.
NBA 2K23 is the game the community has been wanting, but that hardcore community is far more advanced than any casual player looking to just play a basketball game.
Bothersome microtransactions aside, NBA 2K23 delivers a nearly flawless sports sim.
NBA 2K23 makes the inevitable downgrades and cuts that we see every year with this franchise on Nintendo's console and, just like other last-gen versions of the game, it's also missing both The City and the brand new MyNBA Eras. Loading times can be frustrating, and 30fps basketball feels noticeably stodgier than the 60fps found in other versions. However, if you can put up with these necessary downgrades and slight technical shortcomings, this is still a solid port of a superb basketball sim that's stuffed full of enough content to see fans through another season.
NBA 2K23 is both fantastic and frustrating, where VC is a huge problem, but new modes like The Jordan Challenge is thoroughly enjoyable.
