NBA 2K25 Preview Still a great game despite the flaws

When it comes to sports franchise video games, many people believe Visual Concepts’ NBA 2K series stands head and shoulders above the rest.

However, even the most avid fan will acknowledge the game has some noteworthy flaws particularly where microtransactions and cheating are concerned.

With that in mind, we have tested the recently released NBA 2K25 to determine whether the positives outweigh the negatives in this iconic basketball game.

Fabulous gameplay makes NBA 2K25 a joy to be behold

In a sector where EA Sports traditionally dominated the landscape, Visual Concepts has proved to be a breath of fresh air with the NBA 2K series.

Purely from a gameplay perspective, no sports franchise game handles in the same intuitive way as this one. The 2025 edition has continued in the same vein.

The animations are frighteningly realistic, with elements such as jump shots, lay-ups and mid-air collisions tough to differentiate from ‘real-life’ NBA action.

Other sports franchise games claim to deliver realism. For example, FC24 tries hard to make gamers feel like a footballer. However, it doesn’t come close to the experience of playing NBA 2K.

As with other sports games, the latest edition is packed with different modes. Given time limitations, NBA 2K26 will be launched before you have fully explored each of them.

Visual Concepts has worked hard to improve each mode, especially where defending is concerned. This has served to ramp up the difficulty level.

This is no bad thing for veterans of the series, but may present new players with tougher challenges than they are able to handle when first loading up the game.

However, players who persist will eventually be rewarded with a game which offers a level of authenticity other titles in this genre are unable to match.

Their cause is helped by an innovative ‘Learn 2K mode’, which can be used by players of all abilities to enhance their skills to previously unimagined heights.

With superb commentary, fabulous crowd animations, expert analysis and more, NBA 2K25 undoubtedly delivers plenty of positives to gamers.

Microtransactions and cheaters remain a bugbear in NBA 2K25

Unlike the outlay required to successfully play the bitcoin casino table games at Betpanda UK, the expenditure required to fully enjoy NBA 2K25 is difficult to justify.

Cheating also remains an issue that Visual Concepts have yet to resolve, which is frustrating given they could use the iGaming sector as a template for establishing a fair landscape for everyone.

The concept of ‘pay-to-win’ is overplayed in the NBA 2K series, giving gamers with greater levels of personal income an unfair advantage against opponents who may not be as wealthy.

Although it is now easier to match up against players with similar ratings, the game’s sense of ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ unquestionably detracts from the overall experience.

Visual Concepts could easily resolve the situation by preventing players from purchasing statistical upgrades, but this would cost them too much revenue.

While better minds than ours may be able to dream up an alternative solution, this issue places an unwanted black mark against a game which has few other negatives attached to it.

Without the overbearing economic element to NBA 2K, you would be hard-pushed not to rate this as the best sports franchise series ever made.

The gameplay experience and features detailed earlier blow other games out of the water and it feels somewhat churlish to overlook those due to the economic flaws in the game.

However, while those microtransactions remain intrinsically linked to enjoying the game to its fullest potential, NBA 2K will forever be categorised as ‘great but flawed’.