There was a time when the yearly NBA 2K Change entry was one thing to sit up for. Annually was a step again from the next-gen counterpart, after all, however the Nintendo port supplied a near-full-fat expertise with the added bonus of portability. These had been the times, eh?
Anybody who picked up NBA 2K24 can have realised that is now not the case and, sadly, the identical might be mentioned this time round. NBA 2K25 is identical recreation we noticed 12 months in the past, however, in some way, with even fewer options than its predecessor. The hole between the Change port and next-gen has turn into a gaping chasm and, with a £50 price ticket hooked up, 2K25 is perhaps essentially the most egregious instance of a Change ‘Legacy Version’ up to now.
The trimmed expertise is noticeable proper from the opening menu, with gameplay choices restricted to Play Now, MyCareer, MyTeam and MyLeague. The expanded MyNBA, The W, CrossPlay and ProPlay are as soon as once more tied to next-gen consoles (now together with PC) solely, however the absence of any historical past lesson mode like final yr’s ‘Mamba Moments’ or 2K23’s ‘Jordan Problem’ (each of which had been on Change) looks like an actual demotion.
For the second yr operating, MyCareer is essentially the most watered-down expertise of the bunch. Our once-favourite mode nonetheless has no story, teammate cutscenes, or The Metropolis hub world to talk of, and what stays in these lacking options’ stead is all of the extra disappointing. A brand new tackle The Neighborhood arrives because the central hub, and whereas it’s simpler to navigate because of a listing system, it looks like a ghost city with out crossplay. We ran into solely a handful of different gamers when exploring this space, making 2v2 or 3v3 streetball matches really feel like a hoop dream and we by no means made it previous the “Ready for Teammates” display screen for a 5v5 Rec recreation.
MyTeam stays a saving grace. The mode continues to be filled with all the standard microtransaction trappings, however a minimum of the brand new ‘Breakout’ single-player choice is a enjoyable technique to check out your group and decide up rewards in opposition to the CPU (for individuals who don’t wish to eternally stare on the “Trying to find matches…” on-line animation).
The gameplay itself stays fairly tight, with a handful of recent accessibility choices to make shot timing a bit much less irritating. That mentioned, capturing and dribble strikes nonetheless really feel sluggish and sluggish on Change with efficiency locked to 30fps — nothing new, however one thing that wants enhancing to essentially seize the circulate of the end-to-end recreation. This isn’t helped by the identical outdated visuals now we have seen for years, both, full with hair that clips via headbands, disappearing eyes, and mouths that often get caught in an open place. At the very least the sport makes somebody’s jaw drop — ba dum, tshhh.
Pared-back gameplay choices, outdated visuals, and prolonged masses are par for the course for 2K on Change, however the truth that NBA 2K25 looks like a lessened expertise on even final yr’s disappointing entry is an actual turnover for the collection. Sound the buzzer and name for a substitution, it’s time we introduced ‘Change 2’ on.
