NBA 2K21

NBA 2K21 is a basketball game simulation video game that was developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports, based on the National Basketball Association (NBA). It is the 22nd installment in the NBA 2K franchise and the successor to NBA 2K20. The game was released on September 4, 2020 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Stadia, and on November 12, 2020 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S.[1][2] The PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and PC released to mixed reviews, with critics criticizing the lack of originality in the gameplay, as well as microtransactions and bugs.

NBA 2K21
Developer(s)Visual Concepts
Publisher(s)2K Sports
SeriesNBA 2K
Platform(s)
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia
  • WW: September 4, 2020[1]
Xbox Series X/S
November 10, 2020
PlayStation 5
November 12, 2020
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Development and release

The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will receive special edition bundles, which will include a digital download of NBA 2K21.[3]

Promotion

A teaser was released on June 11, 2020 during the PS5 Reveal Event and featured the player model of New Orleans Pelicans' Zion Williamson. It showed a few seconds of pre-alpha, in-engine footage and showed many effects such as ray-tracing and shadow details. On June 30, 2020, NBA 2K announced Damian Lillard, of the Portland Trail Blazers, would be the cover for the standard edition on the current-generation consoles.[4] On July 1, 2020, NBA 2K announced Zion Williamson as the cover athlete for the standard edition on the next-generation consoles. The last covers were released on July 2, 2020, honoring the late Kobe Bryant. There will be a #8 cover for current gen consoles — which features artwork of him dunking with the afro and a #24 cover for next gen consoles — which features artwork of him waving after scoring 60 points in his final NBA game in 2016; both numbers were worn by Bryant throughout his NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, respectively. The demo for the game was released on August 24.[5][6][7]

Gameplay

General

The game itself plays similarly to previous installments in the series. The player mainly plays NBA games with real-life or customized players and teams; games follow the rules and objectives of NBA games. Several game modes are present and many settings can be customized. Up to six expansion teams can be created and used in both MyLeague and MyGM Modes, with the possibility of a 36-team league, and any team can be relocated and rebranded. For the second time in series, all 12 WNBA teams are available to play as. There are 67 classic teams available, with the 2018–19 Toronto Raptors, 2016–17 Golden State Warriors, and 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers being among them.

MyCareer

A staple of the series, MyCareer, returns as one of the available game modes. MyCareer is a career mode in which the player creates their own customizable basketball player and plays through their basketball career. Players may make a male or female player, although female is only available on next-gen consoles.[8] The Neighborhood also returns to MyCareer, as 2K Beach, in which players can customize their wardrobe, get haircuts and tattoos, and purchase boosts. They can also do their workouts and run drills to improve their attributes at their current team's practice facility. Progress in MyCareer may not carry over across generations, due to some changes made exclusively for next-gen.

Ninth Generation Changes

In the next-generation release for the game, The MyCareer online staple The Neighborhood mode was rebranded into The City with the return of affiliations from NBA 2K16. Players start in Rookieville where they play similarly low-levelled players before they can choose an affiliation to enter The City. MyRep, the level system exclusive to The City mode, is shared across all MyPlayer builds, so players only have to level up out of Rookieville once for all their characters. Once a player levels out of Rookieville, they are automatically assigned without choice to one of four of The City's affiliations, ranging from the North Side Knights, South City Vipers, Beasts of the East, and the Western Wildcats. Players are free to switch their affiliation, however they are penalized for doing so by their level being reset down to Pro 1; same level the player was from leaving Rookieville. Although the player can play in affiliations that they are not a member of, there is a penalty by reducing the amount of experience gained in matches for their MyRep level. Players can participate in quests given by NPCs, which are either single player 3v3 games against famous basketball players, or playing games against other MyPlayers in The City. The rewards are typically Virtual Currency (VC) and customizations.[9]

Every affiliation has elections for a Mayor, which are typically community influencers who are responsible for making videos that display in-game, court designs, in-game playlists, design of murals, and uniform selections. Each mayoral term lasts 6 weeks.[9]

MyTeam

NBA 2K21, for the ninth time in the series, features MyTeam mode, a mode based around the idea of building the ultimate basketball team and maintaining a virtual trading card collection. Players assemble and play with their team in basketball tournament-style competitions against other players' teams in several formats. Assets for a team are acquired through various means, including randomized card packs and the auction house. Virtual Currency (VC) is used extensively within the mode. Progress in MyTeam will carry over across generations.

Changes to MyTeam

There are many changes made to MyTeam this year, the most notable one is the adaption of a Seasons format just like most games, which has exclusive rewards that get better each season. An all-new Limited mode is added, where every weekend, players compete for rings to get seasonal rewards. By the word itself, there are some limitations to what cards you can use in Limited each weekend. Ascension is a new minigame where you flip cards and try to get the top prize in the third level. The Exchange is a new feature where you trade cards to get even better cards. Unlimited is changed to have nine different tiers, each one with its own reward for advancing. The gem levels from Amethyst to Galaxy Opal have been adjusted to leave space for a new level for cards with a 99 rating, which could be teased in the courtside report as Dark Matter.

Franchise Mode

NBA 2K21 features both MyLeague and MyGM from previous games, where the player can take the helm of a franchise and fully simulate an NBA season while making trades, drafting, and playing games with their teams. Compared to prior titles, eighth-generation console releases of NBA 2K21 were left with little changes for their staple franchise modes, MyLeague and MyGM. Outside of roster changes, the main changes focuses with MyLeague Online where certain users can be given different admin control. WNBA teams were also given more representation as players were now able to play through a whole season with all 12 teams.[10]

Ninth Generation Changes

In the Xbox One X/S and PS5 release of the game, MyGM and MyLeague were combined and rebranded into MyNBA. Instead of the role-playing aspects such as cutscenes, player morale, and tasks being locked solely to MyGM, they are now individually toggleable under role-playing elements before one starts MyNBA. NBA G League games are also playable as well, however playoffs and the championship for the NBA G League are not featured. A boom/bust system was revamped as well, giving more unpredictability to draft prospects and young players in terms of how their career will turnout.[11]

Reception

NBA 2K21 received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[12][13][14][15]

Michael Higham from GameSpot gave the game a score of 6 out of 10. He states "NBA 2K21 shows that the lone basketball sim we have now has largely stagnated. It's a full package, for sure, but one that demonstrates little-to-no motivation to meaningfully improve upon itself. That doesn't take away from the strong foundation that makes NBA 2K a fun and rewarding time. However, when you go through the same grind and the same process with only superficial changes, you just get burnt out faster than years prior."[17]

Ben Vollmer from IGN gave the game a score of 6 out of 10, stating "More of the same isn't good enough anymore, especially when it includes such obtrusive microtransactions." Vollmer also says "At the same time, it's a shame that 2K's focus isn't on the fun you can have on the court, but instead the money that can be extracted from your wallet off of the court in the MyCareer and MyTeam modes, which just aren't fun to grind through without paying. Maybe the new set of consoles on the horizon will bring a fresh start for the NBA 2K franchise, but right now I feel more pessimistic about the series’ future than ever."[18]

The PlayStation version of NBA 2K21 sold 8,541 physical copies within its first week on sale in Japan, making it the seventh bestselling retail game of the week.[22]

It was nominated for the category of Best Sports/Racing game at The Game Awards 2020.[23]

References
  1. Bankhurst, Adam. "NBA 2K21 Current-Gen Release Date Revealed, Next-Gen Version $10 More Expensive". IGN. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  2. Good, Owen S. (August 22, 2020). "Which edition of NBA 2K21 should you buy?". Polygon. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  3. Gattis, Jeff (July 16, 2020). "Basketball Superstar Anthony Davis Unveils the Xbox One X NBA 2K20 Special Edition Bundle". Xbox Wire. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  4. "Zion Williamson, Damian Lillard named cover athletes for NBA 2K21 | NBA.com". www.nba.com. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  5. Helin, Kurt (June 13, 2020). "Zion Williamson is the focus of NBA 2K21's just released teaser trailer". ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports.
  6. Wilson, Ben (March 1, 2020). "NBA 2K21 release date, cover, Kobe Bryant plans, and everything you need to know". GamesRadar+.
  7. Mazique, Brian (June 15, 2020). "NBA 2K21 Secret Decoded, More Details Revealed From Package Tease". Forbes.
  8. Good, Owen S. (August 28, 2020). "NBA 2K21's player creation will include women, but not until next generation". Polygon. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  9. Web, 2K. "NBA 2K21 Next-Gen The City COURTSIDE REPORT". NBA 2K. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  10. Mazique, Brian. "NBA 2K21: MyCareer, MyGM, MyLeague Current-Gen Details Revealed". Forbes. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  11. "NBA 2K21 Next-Gen: MyNBA is the new MyGM/MyLEAGUE Experience". 2K Support. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  12. "NBA 2K21 for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  13. "NBA 2K21 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  14. "NBA 2K21 for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  15. "NBA 2K21 for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  16. Wallace, Kimberley (September 17, 2020). "NBA 2K21 Review – Living Off The Legacy". Game Informer. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  17. Higham, Michael (September 24, 2020). "NBA 2K21 Review – Ball Another Day". GameSpot. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  18. Vollmer, Ben (September 10, 2020). "NBA 2K21 Review". IGN. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  19. Scullion, Chris (September 9, 2020). "NBA 2K21 Review (Switch)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  20. Ronaghan, Neal (September 9, 2020). "NBA 2K21 (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  21. Barker, Sammy (September 10, 2020). "NBA 2K21 Review (PS4)". Push Square. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  22. Romano, Sal (September 10, 2020). "Famitsu Sales: 8/31/20 – 9/6/20". Gematsu. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  23. Tassi, Paul (December 11, 2020). "Here's The Game Awards 2020 Winners List With A Near-Total 'Last Of Us' Sweep". Forbes.
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