NBA 2K21 Reviews
One more year, the king of basketball returns to claim his throne. NBA 2K21, the new instalment of the Visual Concepts and 2KGames saga, continues to dominate the basketball simulator market by not having any clear and powerful rivals in front of it. And, although the saga always presents juicy novelties, it begins to suffer from a certain continuity in many aspects.
Since the renovations have been very small, it is a title that we feel strongly to recommend only to those who are really fans of the NBA. Those who have the 2K20 and are not a great basketball fan, but an occasional player, could also opt not to buy it.
Review in Italian | Read full review
NBA 2K21 despite the criticisms is an enjoyable game for those who love the world of basketball. With a convincing career and a new shooting system, difficult but rewarding, he manages to entertain well even for several hours. Too bad for the presence of microtransactions that, at times, wink a little too much at Pay-to-win.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I was rather looking forward to seeing what NBA had to offer – especially with all the buzz of next-generation – hoping for some fresh ideas and a bit more life injected into NBA 2K21. However, this was not to be, as we simply got a familiar refresh of years past – and not that it’s a bad thing, its just a little underwhelming. NBA 2K21 still offers an immensely fun, and impressive, basketball title, with a ton of modes to play through, but its time for NBA 2K to start switching up their plays a little bit.
In the end, the MyCareer in NBA 2K21 is a blast to playthrough! Adding an epic story with some amazing actors just sucks you right in. I highly recommend ballers looking to jump straight into My Neighborhood, please take the time to play through it at least once to experience it, you can tell they put some hard work into building it for us. Like an echo from last year, all sports games should strive to be as great as the NBA 2K series MyCareer mode. Give us a story and let us BE the character.
Overall, I just don’t think the value is there this year. It’s a great game, but wait for the price to drop or hold out for the next-gen version.
Aside from the unbalanced AI, there's no doubt Visual Concepts and 2K can create a great basketball simulation, but it suffers from so many issues unrelated to the core gameplay that just ruin a potentially fun game.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
NBA games have always been standard-bearers in terms of visual quality and performance and this is a well-produced, content-heavy swansong for one of the most impressive gaming generations of all time, even if it’s not the best of entry points for series newcomers.
While NBA 2K remains a top, albeit only, option for basketball simulation, the lack of improvements to previous versions is what holds NBA 2K21 back. While it remains to be strong in visuals and still fun in the gameplay department, it’s missing that special something. Perhaps the arrival of 2K’s next-generation version (which owners of the “Mamba Forever” version will receive upon release) will give the 2K series a rejuvenation it so desperately needs.
This feels more like an update patch to the last year's outing and unfortunately it's not that significant of an update. With new season having been postponed and no new kits and rosters added to the game, it just makes you wonder if this year's version is worth a buy.
Review in Persian | Read full review
A goodbye to a good generation, where the final auction is missing in the "El Barrio" mode
Review in Spanish | Read full review
NBA 2K21 is a comprehensive simulation that brings the closest accuracy to actual real-world basketball.
Overall, NBA 2K21 is a good game with potential that isn’t quite fulfilled. It feels fantastic to play, the A.I. teammates are the best they’ve been and the pushing of VC seems slightly less aggressive. However, while the game is a mixed bag visually, while the story is doesn’t delve as deeply into the struggles with dealing with another’s legendary shadow as it could.
The series has not taken significant steps lately and each new title manages to bring small improvements to the gameplay compared to last year.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Visual Concepts once again brings the NBA into our hands with a totally round game that, despite having gotten out of the fold with the new shooting system, is still a title that represents the NBA like no other, with a gigantic quality at the graphic level and playable level. It's a great farewell for this generation and it leaves us wanting to see what the next one will bring us.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
If you want to transfer it to the next generation NBA 2K21, it may be the right choice to buy NBA 2K21 now. However, if you are not interested in the new generation, it would be better to continue playing NBA 2K20.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
NBA 2K21 is the best that basketball simulations have ever been, yet the game buckles under the weight of intense microtransactions designed to bleed you dry.
An incredible simulation of the game of basketball, which might as well be a free-to-play mobile game with so many microtransactions at times. If you can resist the temptation to pour money in, it’s the best sports sim on the market by a fair distance. Unfortunately, this is the worst game in the franchise for attempting to exploit that temptation. Wait for a heavy discount to make any further outlay a more palatable decision.
As always, NBA 2K21 is a solid basketball experience, the only one that gamers can get their hands on this holiday season. It does what it does well, but there is very little that is new to get excited about on top of that.
This current-gen version of NBA 2K21 definitely feels like a transitory episode of the game, with welcome improvements to MyTEAM, career and shooting mechanic, but without any other meaningful changes to the game's formula over last year.
Review in Italian | Read full review