NBA 2K25

It’s a huge enough game that you’ll have more than enough to do if even if you just stick to one or two modes you prefer, but if 2K’s strength is in the entire humongous package, it’s setting itself the goal of being King in every area, and I don’t think NBA 2K25 quite achieves that.

So, having only spent a few days with NBA 2K25 as of yet, I still have a lot more to play before reaching a verdict. I’ve only had a limited amount of time to check out its shiny new online features, for example, but I'm at least cautiously optimistic about what I’ve seen overall after enduring 2K24’s glaring shortcomings and its disastrous lack of a single-player storyline.

I enjoyed playing this game a lot more than I have in recent years. The soundtrack is another bonus, particularly if you are a hip-hop fan. There’s a variety of newer artists (Key Glock, Latto) mixed in with more seasoned artists (KRS-One, Eminem) for gamers to listen to before getting into the gameplay.

The microtransactions are still there. The prices of all its different editions still feel too high. And it’s still plagued by cheaters whom 2K can’t seem to eradicate. The longstanding problems haven’t magically disappeared this year. But what matters is that it feels like both publisher and developer are trying. NBA 2K25 makes some long overdue changes that it’s community has been requesting for years, and tightens up its on-court controls just enough for this release to feel like maybe – whisper it – this could be the beginning of a renaissance.