NBA 2K21 Reviews

NBA 2K21 is ranked in the 37th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
7 / 10.0
Oct 12, 2020

While NBA 2K21 is clearly different from its predecessor in several ways, I can't say it's significantly better than what we saw last season. The game still looks fantastic, the commentary is still top-notch, and many of the same battles you might have had with the previous edition are still there, like whether you want to spend so much virtual and real money. If you don't have any basketball games in your library and want to change that, then by all means, this is as good as it can possibly get.

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7 / 10.0
Sep 29, 2020

Competitive mode, microtransactions and high price point are still among the things to criticize; but NBA 2K21 is still the only alternative if you want to play a basketball game. 2K is taking small steps when it comes to bringing new features, but it's still better than nothing.

Review in Turkish | Read full review

7 / 10.0
Sep 28, 2020

Beyond the controversy, NBA 2K21 manages to save itself only because of the special attention that the development team puts on its playability since the game does not offer anything at the moment other than its already known modes, which are beginning to being flagged by the community as old and outdated, as well as an online component that got eaten up by microtransactions

Review in Spanish | Read full review

Cubed3
Top Critic
6 / 10
Sep 24, 2020

NBA 2K21 is still a wonderful digital simulation of basketball, with a wealth of modes to enjoy, but the MyCareer story has become stale and the microtransactions far too prevalent. This is not the step forwards that it needed to be to keep the series fresh and engaging. In other words, this title does not provide a compelling argument to upgrade from last year's version.

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7 / 10.0
Sep 11, 2020

NBA 2K21 is an enjoyable Basketball experience but unfortunately, its enjoyment is negatively affected by microtransaction. And to make it even more worse, NBA 2K21 has inherited old bugs and technical issues from its predecessors. In fact, i must say NBA 2K21 is almost the same as Its predecessors.

Review in Persian | Read full review

80 / 100
Sep 15, 2020

While its gameplay is still one of the best in the market and the game mode options are incredibly varied, NBA 2K21 follows the series tradition of sinning by its intrusive microtransactions that limit how much casual players can take from the complete package.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

7 / 10.0
Sep 15, 2020

This yearly sequel added and tweaked many gameplay elements to keep it fresh, yet those pesky microtransactions are bit too aggressive in some modes than its predecessor

Review in Arabic | Read full review

6 / 10
Sep 14, 2020

NBA 2K21 might be the best basketball simulation game out there, but that doesn't mean it's perfect and flaw-free. And even though I play NBA on a daily-basis it's extremely hard to recommend it to anyone especially with the fact that the upcoming next-gen edition will be released soon.

Review in Arabic | Read full review

65 / 100
Sep 13, 2020

NBA 2K21 marks a new low, which is really disappointing. At times, NBA 2K has been my favorite sports franchise, reinventing itself in ways that reverberated across the industry. But this year's edition feels incomplete and lacking. I would recommend revisiting older games before picking this one up; maybe the next-gen version will be more complete.

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BaziCenter
Amin BalaZadeh
Top Critic
8 / 10
Sep 12, 2020

There aren't much changes in the latest entry in 2K's NBA series, and it seems that the developers are finally out of ideas, at least for this generation. If you already own the 2020 version, there is not much sense in paying the full price to get your hands on the new game, and maybe it's best to wait and see how the series will go forward when next gen arrives.

Review in Persian | Read full review

6.5 / 10.0
Sep 9, 2020

It's a shame because once again, the port to Switch is impressive and the amount of things you can do is immense. So much of it just feels like last year's game as we wait for the previous NBA season to finish and next-gen to arrive. Maybe the updated rosters and new schedule for the next season coming down the pipeline will refresh NBA 2K21 on Switch, but maybe it's better to wait and see what that looks like.

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7.5 / 10.0
Sep 9, 2020

While the demo lowered my expectations, admittedly because of the copy and paste presentation, 2K21 is enough of a change from 2K20 to stand on it’s own.

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Heavy
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Sep 9, 2020

NBA 2K21 does the bare minimum in most areas, but it still offers the best (and only) basketball gaming experience on the market today.

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6.5 / 10.0
Sep 10, 2020

The most memorable things about NBA 2K21 that I’ll connect to it for many years to come are the Black Lives Matter t-shirts and the many tributes to Kobe Byrant. I guess I should thank Visual Concepts for at least remembering Kobe… and probably nothing else.

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86 / 100
Dec 13, 2020

NBA 2K21 for PlayStation 5 is a significant advancement, featuring improved mechanics and aesthetics. Despite persistent issues with microtransactions, it remains the best basketball game available.

Review in Italian | Read full review

Sep 10, 2020

These graphics don't interfere with the actual gameplay, though, so that issue isn't a massive one. In fact, most of the game can be explained with that same mindset. There are little changes and issues to be found throughout the game, but none of them really feel like too big of a deal. 2K21 is still a very playable game that fans of the franchise will be happy to purchase. Without that shooting patch, however, it would have been a much different story.

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6.5 / 10.0
Sep 18, 2020

While still a solid basketball game, NBA 2K21 doesn’t bring enough new to the table this year and instead focuses more on constant grind for VC.

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7 / 10.0
Sep 28, 2020

NBA 2K21 is really a good game. It has a lot of good aspects and fun modes. It is disappointing that 2K has put little effort into it. 2K21 looks kinda like a reboot of 2K20. The gameplay is top-notch in NBA 2K21, except for throwing the ball. This has also caused a lot of discontent within the NBA 2K community. With the addition of the new shot meter, scoring points is a lot more difficult. This in turn ensures that you will play the game longer to really get the hang of it.

Review in Dutch | Read full review

7.7 / 10.0
Sep 15, 2020

As it was predictable, the news of NBA 2K21 in the current gen version are not so many with the team who preferred to keep much of the base of the predecessor by focusing on the refinement of some mechanics and other aspects of the game. To see a step forward we’ll have to wait until the end of the year when it’ll be possible to admire the title in its next gen version, which will be accessible free of charge only for owners of the Kobe Edition, which, in addition to a renewed graphics sector, will contain a new story.

Review in Italian | Read full review

7.8 / 10.0
Sep 29, 2020

While it doesn’t feel like a big step from last years entry, 2k21 brings it’s own subtle changes, but it doesn’t wildly change the formula to be honest, but it is still the best sports simulator out there.

Review in Spanish | Read full review