Note: NBA 2K24 doesn’t help you take in-game screenshots on Switch. The pictures all through this evaluate have been taken from the sport’s web page on Nintendo’s web site.
Whenever September rolls round, you’ll be able to count on a brand new entry in 2K’s NBA sequence to bounce onto the courtroom. These video games aren’t normally all that revolutionary, with a handful of recent options and surprisingly good efficiency on Switch giving them sufficient to get by. We anticipated the identical from NBA 2K24, however having received to grips with the most recent title, the rinse-and-repeat formulation is starting to point out its age, and buying the sequence yearly has by no means been a much less engaging prospect.
It is normally the case that every new title will be summed up by, “It’s the identical as final 12 months’s, solely X has been added and Y has been tweaked”, however the Switch model of NBA 2K24 notably has fewer choices than its predecessor.
So, what options make up the roster this time round? Those who’ve performed an NBA 2K title earlier than will discover no main surprises right here. MyCareer, MyTeam, and MyLeague are nonetheless your most important methods to play, with the brand new ‘Mamba Moments’ subbing into the slot occupied by final 12 months’s sensible ‘Jordan Challenge’. 2K24’s next-gen launch introduced a complete batch of recent options to the desk (Crossplay, ProPlay, The W, MyNBA), however with none of them making the lower on Switch, this model feels extra watered-down than ordinary.
Let’s take a look at what the Switch does provide. Beginning with the beginner, Mamba Moments sees you enjoying by means of seven iconic video games from Kobe Bryant’s 20-year profession, replicating historic performs in an try to gather stars and ‘beat’ the sport mode. If this feels like final 12 months’s Jordan Challenge, that is as a result of it’s, however whereas final 12 months’s new mode was introduced as a historical past lesson for MJ’s profession — full with altering TV graphics and CRT filters — Mamba Moments as an alternative turns into rapidly repetitive. This is not a celebration of Kobe’s legendary performances however relatively a whistle-stop tour of a few of his accolades (the omission of his 81-point recreation in 2006 is baffling to us). A brief piece of footage from the video games themselves prior to every tip-off gives a pleasant little bit of context, however this appears like a step again from what we have now seen earlier than.
Similarly disappointing is the MyCareer mode — which is normally one in all our favourites. Much like NBA 2K23, the Switch misses out on the next-gen consoles’ new expansive hub world, ‘The City’ — the place gamers can purchase new gear, play streetball or just strut their stuff — and as an alternative has to accept the a lot smaller ‘The Neighborhood’. The mode remains to be very a lot constructed on a pay-to-win construction, with participant upgrades and equipment depending on 2K’s in-game foreign money (VC), which in any other case depends on a foolish quantity of grinding to meet up with others that stroll the courts.
All of that is anticipated, in fact, however what we had not foreseen was that the Switch would miss out on the MyCareer story mode this 12 months — one thing that has been continued on Sony and Microsoft’s consoles. Instead of watching your participant make their manner into the league and step by step accumulate minutes and respect (as was the case in 2K23 on Switch), the Nintendo model of ’24 sees you dropped straight right into a beginning position with a 60 general score. With no cutscenes, motion, or character development, our designed participant felt about as life like because the handful of NPCs that coldly throw challenges at you as you stroll round The Neighborhood.
Fortunately, MyTeam as soon as once more proves itself to be the standout mode. There have been a few new additions for 2K24 together with an all-new participant market and wage cap. The latter of those is a enjoyable strategy to make issues really feel that bit extra life like (fear not, 2K23’s resolution to take away participant contracts has continued into this 12 months) however the brand new manner to purchase playing cards is the actual MVP, making it an excellent quantity simpler so as to add some star energy to your staff within the early days — we’re specific followers of the brand new collections and ‘Deal of the Day’ options.
The management scheme has stayed just about the identical because it was in NBA 2K23, with a transparent shot meter making it simpler to land an ideal launch. Elsewhere, the mildly irritating alley-oop instructions make a return, although the dunk and lay-up animations look crisp and life like amongst the in any other case less-detailed participant visuals.
Sticking with the on-court motion, 2K24 is as soon as once more surprisingly clean on Switch. Of course, the visuals are nothing in comparison with what you’ll find on extra highly effective consoles (good luck figuring out any key gamers as they get again on defence), however the bread and butter of the gameplay is properly responsive, with the standard sticking fairly firmly at 30 FPS by our estimation in video games.
What we see exterior of the video games themselves is not fairly as polished, sadly. From the stuttering opening cutscene (a montage of Bryant’s greatest bits) to the minuscule textual content of the in-game menus, getting your self right into a recreation is extra draining than the act of enjoying itself. This is not helped by lengthy load instances and server points that make the easy act of switching between recreation modes akin to making an attempt to win a Championship Ring. There have been a number of events throughout our playtime the place the sport required a handbook restart from the Switch’s residence menu, and one repair that noticed us needing to delete and reinstall the sport simply to get previous the preliminary loading display screen — hardly ideally suited eventualities to play in.
Conclusion
NBA 2K24 is much less a continuation of what made the sequence good on Switch and extra a downgrade of what has come earlier than it. Even with how easily this one performs on the console, with some clear animations and a sprinkling of enhancements to MyTeam being the actual MVPs, all of that is overshadowed by simply how watered-down this 12 months’s entry feels. With not one of the new recreation modes making the leap to Switch aside from the disappointing Mamba Moments, a severely lessened MyCareer and a mannequin that continues to be stricken by microtransactions and lengthy load instances, the 2K franchise on Switch has by no means wanted extra of a lift. If you might be after a basketball recreation on the go, final 12 months’s providing is a significantly better possibility.
