It's back to school for video games too. On the shelves of stores, we find the same sports titles as last year, with at the top of the list: NBA 2K. In this new version made for the 2024-2025 season, we find the biggest stars of the court behind our screen. The biggest challenge for an established franchise like NBA 2K, is not to fall into routine. At the same time, we must not transform the game, which would have the effect of losing players. The exercise is therefore to find the right balance between innovation and tradition.
NBA 2K25: no new features ?
Following the presentation of this new NBA 2K25, one might think that the Visual Concept teams didn't put in the effort, but in reality, it's quite the opposite. By turning on the game, you find your favorite modes. You can start a player career, take charge of a team, start a game alone or with several people, but also face the whole world in online meetings.
Finally, no notable changes on the home page, the traditions are not shaken up. But the devil is in the details, and from the tutorial of this NBA 2K25, we understand that the new features are hidden in the gameplay rather than in the game modes.
Signature moves and new mechanics
The big new feature of the year is undoubtedly the introduction of signature moves. In other words, it is now possible to mime a player's iconic shots with the right stick of your controller. Another interesting change: shooting. In a basketball game, this is a crucial variable.
In the last few games, the shot gauge was criticized because it was difficult to fill perfectly. It took hours and hours of play to get to grips with the mechanics. On this point in particular, 2K has simplified things. Or rather, it has personalized them. It is still possible to shoot with a shot gauge that varies depending on the difficulty chosen and the defense you are facing. But it is also possible to change these settings to give yourself "easier" shots.
These changes in mechanics alone would almost make you forget the titanic work done by Visual Concept on the graphics level alone. In total, there are a little over 9,000 new animations arriving this year. You might think that this work is a “gimmick”, but it considerably changes the user experience. The players controlled by the computer do not all reproduce the same gesture, they have their “signature”, their unique movement. This makes the experience much smoother and less redundant.
A career mode, for women
The other major project of the year for this new opus lay in the feminization of the protagonists. If NBA 2K has already been honoring the players of the WNBA (the North American women's league) since 2021, the game goes even further this year. Indeed, NBA 2K25 pushes the “The W” experience to the next level.
In this part of the game, you control a female player according to two pre-written stories. If the mode is still quite far from its male equivalent, it has the merit of existing and offering various choices of scenarios. You will be able to attend press conferences, be in the battle for the rookie of the year title or even face the star of the game, Caitlin Clark.
The essential
Although this invitation to embrace a female career is very interesting, the game mode remains quite poor when compared to its male counterpart, the classic career mode. Every year, the franchise manages to surprise us with a complex story, full of twists and turns. We are far from an EA Sports FC and its meager animations.
But be careful, the career mode is not a feature film either. All the animations can be shortened, and if you want to just prove your worth on the court, the game allows you to do so. For a more immersive experience, we nevertheless recommend that you go through the “Heart of a Dynasty” mode with matches from high school and even in FIBA U19. To get into the mood, it's just perfect. The only problem is that it requires a lot of playing time.
My GM: the best game mode ?
In addition to career mode, which is the natural game option on NBA 2K, the 2025 version focuses heavily on the “My GM” mode. As its name suggests, you will not find yourself on the field, but behind the scenes, as General Manager. You are the one controlling the team. You make transfers, manage the rotation like a real coach.
Here again, the great strength of NBA 2K25 lies in its storyline. The emphasis is on the overall experience. All our choices seem to have consequences and the game lets us free to take the path of our choice. The immersion is total, we can wander around the facilities of our club, go and chat with the staff, the players or other members of the franchise.
This game mode, a little neglected in recent years, has been given a superb facelift with this 2025 edition. This only reinforces our opinion on all the work done on this opus.
An online mode, almost anecdotal
Like all self-respecting games in 2024, NBA 2K25 has the right to its online mode. It is based, like EA Sports FC, on a system of opening cards and creating a team. If this mode allows you to face opponents around the world, it seems almost superfluous to us as the offline adventures are numerous and gripping.
It should be noted, however, the return of the Auction House. This part of the game allows you to resell your cards to other players around the world (in virtual currency). This platform can allow you to buy and resell to collect a few pennies and buy slightly more interesting cards. The mode had disappeared last year, much to the regret of fans. It is therefore making its return this year.
A great achievement
In conclusion, one might wonder how NBA 2K26 will be able to compete next year. If there are still areas for improvement (especially in The W mode), they are increasingly thin from year to year. This edition of NBA 2K is in any case very successful. The game works perfectly, it is fluid (although loading can sometimes be a little long).
The graphics are, this year again, simply mind-blowing. They reinforce the already great feeling of immersion thanks to the very good scenarios of the different game modes. It is ultimately the side modes, like “Play Now” or “Bitume” that suffer the most from this new opus. They have not been entitled to major updates and are starting to seem a little bland compared to the rest of the game.
But overall, the gaming experience is just amazing. Each game session is a real pleasure, the opus is vast, it is difficult to get around it and two games can be very different. Basketball retains its reference video game, enough to inspire other sports to do the same?
The game NBA 2k25 is available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. It is also available for PC players.
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