NBA 2K23 Review — The Alley-Oop We’ve Been Waiting For?

The basketball sim arena is pretty much dominated by the NBA 2K franchise, with no competition to give it a run for its money. While options are always good, this dominance can also be seen as a good thing, as it pushes developer Visual Concepts to innovate in order to keep fans interested with each and every season. After some missteps in recent editions with a focus on microtransactions, the 2K franchise has put its heart and soul into the on-court action with NBA 2K23 making it a notable step-up for the long-running series that longtime fans and newcomers should take note of.

Aiming high

With fans putting pressure on Visual Concepts, it was quite the task for them to really blow away players who know every nook and cranny of the long-running franchise; but there have been substantial improvements to give that tried-and-tested NBA 2K formula new life.

And these improvements have all been about giving players more options on attack and defence, so that surprises and curveballs can be thrown your opponent’s way, even if they’re extremely well-versed in the repertoire of past games.

From an attacking perspective, the most notable upgrade is the addition of new gesture combos that are assigned to the Pro Stick. Various combinations and timing changes on the analogue used to control dribbling can give you a host of new moves and different fakes and skills that can help beat defenders and fool them with early shots.

Another add-on is the enhancement of dunk and post-dunk gestures, which won’t necessarily change your tactics, but allow you to deliver your favourite dunking animations and rim moves each and everytime, or mix it up if you choose to do so.

Furthermore, players’ stamina is also more important than ever, which is represented through three ‘Boost’ gauges. Each signature skill move, sudden sprint, or other key action can deplete your boosts, so you’ll need to play a little smarter so as to not drain your stamina bars which cause your player to move and react slower.

Of course, there are two sides to playing basketball, and to counter the new attacking moves, the defensive gameplay has been beefed-up too. Players now have more accurate defensive options, and when predicting (or blocking) the direction that an attacking player is going to jink or shoot towards, you’ll be rewarded more regularly, allowing you to dislodge the ball or block shots more accurately. The improvement is appreciated, as defensively, you feel much more active in the possibility of stopping plays, rather than passively watching and hoping your opponent misses a shot.

A special number

On top of the gameplay improvements are a host of new mode enhancements. As for the flagship mode this year, the beloved Jordan Challenges are back (with Jordan’s jersey number 23 lining up with the 2K23 title nicely) allowing you to step back in time with era-specific visuals that captured Michael Jordan’s ascent from collegiate sensation to global icon with immersive moments chronicling his career-defining dominance. The mode is fun, and a real blast from the past taking control of a younger Jordan and trying to recreate (or better) some of Jordan’s greatest NBA performances.

Seasons mode continues to be a big focus of MyTeam and MyCareer, which is essentially a way for Visual Concepts to continue to add new content to NBA 2K23. There are the timed events, challenges, and boosted reward opportunities, which will undoubtedly keep the die-hards busy for another year.

Arguably the most popular mode of the game, MyTeam (essentially NBA 2K‘s answer to FIFA’s Ultimate Team) and has been given an overhaul too. Contracts have been removed, meaning that permanent player cards are now yours to use as you please throughout MyTeam without needing to fill up their contracts. Nothing has replaced contracts, they are simply gone.

With contracts removed, you will now be able to restart most Single Player games in MyTeam. Domination, all Challenge games, and even Triple Threat will now have an option to quickly restart the game if things aren’t going your way on the court.

Additionally, if you’re feeling a bit more cooperative and are also looking to improve your collection, you can join one or two friends on the same team to play Co-Op mode. Here, you will take on three AI opponents. As you win, you each rise up your individual reward ladders for the Season. This is very similar to what experienced MyTeam players would have seen in Single Player Triple Threat for years.

What If?

The MyNBA mode has a loyal, veteran fanbase and expectations will always be high — and rightfully so. The key feature set for this year is one the team at Visual Concepts has been talking about, no joke, for well over a decade. So, it’s safe to say that NBA 2K23 is a banner year for our MyNBA fans out there with the introduction of MyNBA Eras.

A number of “Eras” are on offer, that allow you to pick a specific point in time that you can start playing a new MyNBA save from. The MyNBA Eras mode is designed to be a time machine straight out of the box; all you need to do is pick your Era and go. If you’re a power user and want to tweak your roster or settings, that’s available too. Want to dive into the rivalry between Magic and Bird from the 80s? What about drafting Jordan to help turn the tides of the battle? This can all be done in MyNBA Eras mode.

Gimme a beat

One of the standout elements of NBA 2K22 was the stellar soundtrack, and with 2K23, there are a load of new tracks and artists to enjoy in and around the menus, and on the court (if you choose to pump up the music during games).  The NBA 2K23 playlist includes songs from Drake, J. Cole, Megan Thee Stallion, Jack Harlow, Mike Dimes, Polo G, Snow Tha Product, Jackson Wang, and many more, with new tracks added every Friday.

Verdict

If you were concerned that the NBA 2K franchise would slip into the ‘new year, same thing’ trope this season, you can be assured that NBA 2K23 offers more than enough gameplay and mode additions to justify lacing up those virtual Jordans again. There is a somewhat steep learning curve to grapple with, but once the mechanics click, there’s arguably no slicker and better looking sports game on the market.

NBA 2K23 is available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Switch and PC.