Top Spin 2K25 Reviews
TopSpin 2K25 is the most enjoyable way to get a realistic rally going in your own home without building an actual court in your backyard.
They say form is temporary, class is permanent. And there is a baseline class to Top Spin, a great-feeling tennis game underneath any of the other complaints. But it's in very poor form, making unforced errors, double-faulting, and missing volleys. It's hard to recommend Top Spin 2K25 when there are so many simple features missing and a sour-tasting battle pass, but it's hard not to recommend Top Spin 2K25 when it's the best rally to rally tennis game I've ever played.
TopSpin 2K25 aptly brings the beloved franchise back to center court, showing that not only does the series still have legs, but so does the sim-tennis genre as a whole. Though its modes are somewhat repetitive and it’s missing several high-profile pros at launch, TopSpin 2K25 serves up a compelling package for tennis fans.
Top Spin 2K25 gets the fundamentals right with fun tennis gameplay but the rest of the barebones package doesn't reach the previous highs of the franchise.
TopSpin 2K25 is light on modes, but the gameplay is excellent, leading to tense and exciting matches against the world's very best.
TopSpin 2K25 should have been much more and not just a minimal visual update of the fourth game that also, and as it could not be otherwise with current 2K, bases its approach on online play and earning coins to buy things we don't need.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
TopSpin 2K25 is basically an improved version of Top Spin 4: Hangar 13 didn't want to take any risks and played it safe. Even a decade later the gameplay of the series is clearly the best on the market: with a current-gen graphics system and a couple more modes we would have been looking at a little gem.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Despite a few mishits, TopSpin 2K25 is well worth the wait. Though this revival doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles, it gets the fundamentals right. Mastering the new swing meter is challenging, but once you get the timing down, it’s easy to get into the zone and spend hours strategically striking balls on the court without realizing how many hours have passed. The extensive MyCareer mode, while restrictive in spots, rewards consistent play and smart choices over the long run. TopSpin 2K25 is a promising reboot that shows plenty of potential for future entries in the series and gratefully brings tennis simulations back into the conversation.
The demanding environment of sports games hosts a title that will not mark an era, but that knows how to highlight its more technical personality.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
TopSpin 2K25 is a great return to form and rewards those who stick with it while learning the ropes, becoming a true tennis god in the process. It's not perfect, but if you have any passing interest in tennis, this is well worth your time.
Whether you're playing as a real-life pro or your own wacky avatar, this subtly calibrated title will have you perfecting your lobs and dropshots for hours
TopSpin 2K25 is the best 'serious' tennis game we've played since, frankly, the last one was released 13 years ago. Its characters look a bit off, its career mode is dry and the typical 2K microtransaction nonsense is in there (to a less intrusive extent than usual), but when it comes to the gameplay on the court it's far superior to anything else out there.
I’m so glad that Top Spin has made a return after such a long hiatus, but I wish it had come back in a more polished and rounded-out form. The game feels rushed to market and comes up short of its full $70 price tag (up to $120 for the Grand Slam edition that includes the Centre Court passes and some other cosmetics). It’s saved by its excellent on-court gameplay that stands among the peak sim tennis games and the amount of fun you can have playing local multiplayer with friends. If you’re a huge tennis fan, you’re going to have a blast smacking backhand winners and lobbing shots over charging players’ heads. A solid foundation has been laid here for a future release that expands the mode selections and puts some more meat on the bone. As it stands, all but the most hardcore should probably wait for a sale.
2K comes out swinging with TopSpin 2K25, with this being the return to the popular tennis franchise. Presentation and gameplay meet the 2K Sports' standards that fans of the games come to expect, and TopSpin fans can feel comforted in the fact that the game still feels like it should. Controls ask you for more precision and discipline than the previous entries did, but this makes for a more satisfying experience once you nail down the control scheme. Some visual oddities, a rare gameplay simulation, and the lack of depth in setting customization ask you to forgive a few things along the way. Nonetheless, the experience far outshines any competition and leaves the door wide open for future success with a formidable foundation the franchise can firmly stand on.
TopSpin 2K25 has the core elements of a good tennis game, and its actual moment-to-moment gameplay has sufficient improvements over anything else on the market to keep tennis fans happy, especially the complexity of options for players with every swing of the racket. Structurally, the game has a few hiccups, with a fluctuation when it comes to just how enjoyable certain parts of the career mode are combined with awkward pacing that seems deliberately structured with potential in-game transactions in mind, although there's still plenty there to enjoy.
After thirteen years, is this the tennis game you’ve been waiting for? Personally, this simple formula didn’t grab me. This is pure tennis, a faithful simulation of a complex sport. The entire experience has been distilled and purified, perfect for extensive practice and a steady accumulation of skills. But it makes perfect sense to me. Every element of the game funnels the player towards the gradual acquisition of abilities. You will get crazy good at TopSpin tennis if you stick with this game. It’s honestly remarkable how effectively they’ve built this training machine of a sports title. Playing feels intuitive and responsive, they nailed the vibe, and there’s almost nothing between you and the core gameplay loop. The state of the online scene is yet to be properly determined, but even so. If you’ve been looking for the next great tennis sim, TopSpin 2K25 is sure to hit just right.
With TopSpin 2K25 Hangar 13 did a good job there where it was needed, in recreating a realistic but not frustrating tennis experience, very technical but at the same time challenging and fun. The content is canonical and technically there is still some work to be done, but if you love "non-televised" tennis and believe that with the right training you could beat even Federer, it's time to give it a try ... at least on a virtual tennis court.
Review in Italian | Read full review
So far, I'm having a lot of fun with Top Spin 2K25, though there are some obvious shortcomings, like the lack of online doubles and custom matches, the very limited roster of pro players, and the too-long rallies. I'll reserve final judgment after proper testing of the 2K and World Tour modes when they go live.
TopSpin 2K25 is a confident revival firmly worth the 13-year wait. Admittedly, it might not be for everyone, especially with its rather steep learning curve, but for us, that's what we love about the game. It inspired us to dig deep into the game's core mechanics and train our way up the ladder. We felt that competitive edge that made us want to master our playstyle and ultimately show off our MyPlayer, cosmetics and all. This is a sports game that can proudly stand alongside its 2K brethren, and one we're thrilled to see back in action.
Even when I'm not playing TopSpin 2K25, I'm thinking about playing TopSpin 2K25. I'm obsessed with its gameplay, despite its online play being held back by some inconsistencies. TopSpin is a clear contender for the best sports game of 2024.