NBA 2K20 Review – This ain’t what Michael Jordan died for

Let me cut right to the chase; this ain’t good. I got this game for free to review it and I’m unhappy I had to play it. Now that I’ve written the review, the thought of even wasting what little recreational time I have on this game is LESS THAN EXCITING. It didn’t start out that way. Basketball makes me froth harder than a mad dog in a Harper Lee Novel.

I used to skip school to have dunk competition’s in my mates back yard. I wore basketball shorts at every social event in high school even though I never had pockets and lost my phone and wallet many times.

This genre of game appeals to me big time. Or it used to.

NBA 2K20 Review

In 2011 (or thereabouts), my mate and I used to rush home from school at lunchtime after hearing about massive plays in the NBA and lock straight into NBA2K. We would play NBA 2K and get hyper-competitive then take it to the back yard. There we’d go apeshit on the hoop until we were drenched in sweat.

Then his Mum told me to piss off for making his little brother cry.

I’ve had heaps of fun playing through MyPlayer over the years and maxing stats till the league is full of ridiculous imaginary draft characters that have heads like mung beans. And a good grind normally gets me excited like a Melbourne Barista.

NBA 2K20 leaves me flatter than the flat whites made by said Baristas.

The overproduced “movie” at the start of NBA 2K20 doesn’t get me hyped. Unlike an empty court on a hot summer’s day, it’s like rocking up to find that all of your highschool bullies and the girls who never wanted to date you are playing a pickup game.

NBA 2K20 is the first time I’ve seen Idris Elba on screen and been disappointed. That’s just sad.

To be fair, storytelling isn’t the strength or focus of these games, nor should it be. I’m a white dude from rural Australia so the gangsta ballin’ shit coming out of my bone-white avatar is usually a laugh. Though This time around 2K20 was more lacklustre than ironic.

But you’d think the gameplay would hold up. They’ve had about 15 goes at making the same game. However, NBA 2K20 is clunky and unsatisfying. It’s how all the girls who refused to date me described me to all the girls at school when I was 14.

I felt a little glimmer of excitement during the pre-drafting process. Playing street ball against Anthony Davis to build rep is a big feel and Scottie Pippen’s speech in the locker room had my chest thumping like every other Idris Elba performance.

Cracking out the draft combine skills and physical tests was a great move for the RPG elements of a basketball game. I was keen to show these puppies how the big dog bites. But it’s poorly executed and had me convinced my career was to be built on a foundation of poor fundamentals.

Another thing, the microtransactions in NBA 2K are amongst the worst when it comes to manning the harpoons. A juicy whale will net these goons ~$80 to dump virtual currency into one character.

What if you want a custom player at all five positions? That’s a lot of green.

I’m tired of complaining about this game but it’s a big no from me. While the gameplay is still classic NBA 2K, this iteration has nothing new or exciting going for it. The microtransactions are as egregious as ever and MyCareer is the least entertaining it’s ever been.

If you’re going to play it just to play some quick basketball against your mates then it’s not going to do you any harm. If you’re looking for the ultimate digital basketball experience; expect to pay extra.

NBA 2K20 was reviewed using a final retail copy provided by the publisher.