REVIEW - NBA 2K24 is smoother and more accessible than ever
Pick and Roll, baby.
By Jonathan Garrett
25/09/23
Reviewed on Xbox Series X
Review copy provided by 2K.
NBA 2K24 has the unenviable task of satisfying an engaged but hungry player base with the added pressure of delivering a meaningful yearly update that doesn’t make it seem like they’re treading water. The headline additions (crossplay on current gen, the Kobe Bryant tribute mode “Mamba Moments”, and expanded WNBA support) are well implemented and sit nicely alongside the expanded Neighbourhood and Career modes. The over reliance on pushing micro transactions is egregious, but most average players will be able to ignore this in favour of quick matches and online throwdowns.
It has never felt more accessible, with a neatly structured tutorial that takes the already locked in control scheme and breaks the more complex lay up and defensive options into manageable chunks. Thankfully, none of the series trademark depth has been sacrificed; timeouts give you a quick menu of specific coaching plays, and the full screen breakdowns of offensive and defensive strategies allow you to take as much control as you wish. When you strip back those elements, it’s as smooth a gameplay experience as you could hope for.
The steady improvement of animation fidelity across recent entries culminates here in one of the slickest sports titles we’ve ever played. Transition between stances, the individual flourishes from familiar players, and the overall flow of each match is best in class. One slightly odd drawback is the graphical sharpness exposes the wonkier background animation; while there’s plenty of variation in the crowd and bench reactions, some of those moments can appear a little out of place and even glitch out with unintended clipping.
It’s a testament to the effort made that the sheer quality of the visual design does amplify rare missteps, but they don’t really detract from the moments that matter. Even though the pricing conversation continues to be a valid and nuanced one across the industry, there can be no denying NBA 2K24’s feature rich and comprehensive gameplay options. We even managed to get a half decent MyPlayer scan of our face and import it in, evoking memories of the Xbox 360 Vision Cam and Rainbow Six: Vegas 2.
The whole thing culminates in a satisfying and polished offering with responsive controls, fantastic animation, and presentation that continues to elevate NBA 2K24 above everything else. We cannot recommend it enough.
A wonderful tribute to an all time great.
WORTH IT?
At the bottom of every game review, we ask the question: Worth it? And the answer is either “Yeah!” or “Nah”, followed by a comment that sums up how we feel. In order to provide more information, we also have “And” or “But”, which follows up our rating with further clarification, additional context for a game we love, or perhaps a redeeming quality for a game we didn’t like.
YEAH!
NBA 2K24 is a feature rich and highly polished effort, particularly on current gen consoles.
AND
The additional of current gen cross play, and myriad of available modes, ensures longevity.
TARPS?
At the bottom of some of our articles, you’ll see a series of absurd looking images (with equally stupid, in joke laden names). These are the TARP badges, which represent our ‘Totally Accurate Rating Platform’. They allow us to identify specific things, recognise positive or negative aspects of a games design, and generally indulge our consistent silliness with some visual tomfoolery.
