NBA 2K21

GameSpot

Michael Higham·Sep 24, 2020

Critic60/100

Agreement—

NBA 2K21 still manages to capture the art of basketball, but it's largely the same dance as years past.

Game Informer

Kimberley Wallace·Sep 17, 2020

Critic70/100

Agreement—

The current-gen version of NBA 2K21 is not a bad game, but it does not live up to the legacy Visual Concepts built.

IGN

Ben Vollmer·Sep 10, 2020

Critic60/100

Agreement—

More of the same isn't good enough anymore, especially when it includes such obtrusive microtransactions.

Push Square

Sammy Barker·Sep 10, 2020

Critic70/100

Agreement—

In pursuing pro players, NBA 2K21 may be a little too intimidating for more casual players. Nevertheless, this is an obscenely detailed simulation that captures the ebb-and-flow of real-world basketball with unrivalled authenticity. It's also enormous, and while some aspects have been left untouched, the likeable story and revamped MyTeam modes mean that it's worth the upgrade. The in-game economy, which is heavily influenced by lucrative microtransactions, continues to be a sour spot – and it remains to be seen how much life this release will have with a next-gen successor right around the corner. Still, even with all of these drawbacks, it's comfortably one of the best sports games available on the PS4.

Kotaku

Luke Plunkett·Sep 10, 2020

Critic—

Agreement—

When I sit down with 2K’s new basketball game every year, I normally only take the time to review its MyCareer mode, since that’s the part I’m most

Polygon

Owen Good·Sep 10, 2020

Critic—

Agreement—

High polish and fun for hundreds of hours, but that still won’t be enough for many

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Sep 9, 2020

Critic80/100

Agreement—

With a solid new story mode, a greatly improved MyTeam mode and the same high quality of presentation that 2K now brings to the series on Switch, NBA 2K21 is now the new definitive basketball game on the system. The unwanted microtransaction ogre continues to loom over most of the package, ever encouraging you to fork out more cash to accelerate your progress, but as long as you're capable of ignoring this and have the patience to slowly improve your player and team organically, the results will be infinitely more satisfying.