I got this to play franchise mode on Steam Deck and have had a lot of fun with it. It runs well on Steam Deck, which is commendable given most AAA sports games are not supported on Steam Deck (Madden and FC) or even available on Steam (MLB and NHL).

I've played a lot of basketball games, and from a gameplay perspective, this is as good as sim basketball has ever been. It feels polished and mechanically sound, with a good variety of difficulty modes and sliders to customize your experience. There is a bit of a learning curve, and the game could be more welcoming to new players.

I feel like the negativity the community has toward 2K's business practices and online modes has overshadowed what is actually a good offline single player basketball game, but I get it. Most of the criticism is fair in that regard. It depends what mode you are buying it for.

back on 2k for the first time since 20 i believe. only real addition is the wnba stuff which, against all odds and almost entirely by accident, happens to contain the game's best mode. The W honestly feels like a cheap slapped together rendition of mycareer, 2k's most unique and interesting mode by far, a lot of the time but nearly all the ways in which they've pared it down are actually enormous improvements. the gaudy open world is replaced by a handful of menus, the gameplay reduced to the only thing it does well ie simulating basketball, level progression and cosmetics aren't purchased but earned through playing the game normally...that last one is the biggest thing ofc. not only does your character start out at an 85 overall (or 75 if you prefer it) so it's viable to take online right away, you progress at a perfectly reasonable rate by simply playing the game which doesn't seem like a high bar to clear for this kind of rpg experience but alas, the men's version does not. there you have to spend around $100 just to get your guy to the point that it's remotely fun to play with online and from there you're probably never going to make it to 99 unless you have no other interests or commitments in your life not to mention how much you have to spend if you want to wear anything other than a brown shirt. it's absurd. i don't know how this player base puts up with it year after year. my paint beast hit 99 ovr with a full wardrobe full of ridiculous shit within a week or two of me just playing the game not even grinding or anything. it's kinda ridiculous that they show you everything you could have while continuing to keep the game's meatiest content behind such an absurd paywall. i guess they know most 2k players aren't even gonna bother looking in the wnba tab so they can get away with it. lucky for me i'm a fan of the 4x wnba champion minnesota lynx so i did look and i did find it and i've been having a great time. although i will say the weekly community goals are always met within the first day and i can find a full match basically 24/7 so maybe people have caught on. i do wish it gave you access to full character customization (the archetypes cover basically every playstyle you could want though) and the online modes should definitely be beefed up a bit (at least make 5v5 an option) but also if they put any more into it it'll likely mean gross monetization so maybe it should stay exactly as it is. my biggest gameplay complaints have more to do with the lack of basic ball knowledge in today's youth than anything but that falls outside the scope of this review

[This log will be updated bunch of times as I’m playing this game and not sure when I’ll stop. Last update: May 5th, 2024]
Good: MyLeague Eras are amazing. Being able to play the league seasons with 2000s, 1990s, 1980s roster etc is awesome, at least for me. Some players have amazingly realistic animations and emotions.
Bad: every single time you run the game, it gives you a pop-up for some “new player cards they’ve added”. Sometimes it gives you a second pop-up right after you close the first one. One time, second pop-up appeared right at the moment when I pressed the button to choose “MyLeague” and it forwarded me to the PlayStation Store to buy the in-game currency.

I pre-ordered this game, what the fuck was I thinking.

That's not fair, I know what I was thinking - I don't play MyCareer so the microtransactions don't affect me even though they're absolutely criminal.

No, I play 2K for MyTeam and most importantly MyLeague. MyLeague... works. Mostly as intended too. I think it has added too much micromanagement but you don't actually have to engage with it so that's fine.

No, where this game falls down is PLAYING THE DAMN GAME OF BASKETBALL. I'm not a pro. Not even close to it. But in previous 2K games is was able to run plays, make shots and play defence. I have no clue what they did to this one but I hate every minute of playing the game. Hell, I even tried playing with a full team of 90-overall players - nah didn't help. I see people on the 2K sub reddit saying this has the best gameplay yet and I don't get it at all. It'd be real cool if it was fucking possible to make an open layup - is that too much to ask?

Anyway, that's my gripe. Also how about having some non-shady business practices 2K you absolute ghouls

O jogo é uma merda, mais desatualizado que a versão 2019 na minha plataforma PC/Steam, é um cuspe na cara do consumidor de PC mas infelizmente sou fã demais do jogo, por mais que haja muitos erros ainda é o melhor jogo de esporte do mercado ainda mais se a versão do PC recebesse a versão atualizada de PS5 e Xbox sei lá qual... Mesmo sendo uma versão totalmente capada toda interatividade, opção é mil vezes melhor que um fifa ou qualquer outro jogo de esporte... Depressão, tristeza e melancolia ser um apreciador de jogos de esporte, todos no mercado cagam na cabeça dos consumidores...

A lot of people are hating on this 2k. Is it perfect? No! Is it the best? Definitely not. But is it good? Yes! If you play MyTeam, expect a bad time, also you're wasting your money. The real value is in the manager and MyNBA modes. The best way to play is to add 6 teams to the NBA and control 1, 2, 6 of them. If you're playing a pay-to-win game mode and not paying, expect to lose. The game isn't rigged, you're stupid. Sorry...! The solo game modes are still good and the options are as expansive as a sports game can get. 2k still, is a good game.

Multiple game breaking bugs. (70 dollars on release)
168 GB updates.
Pay to win, I mean seriously, I've played 100+ MyCareer games and my overall is still a 74 because I refuse to spend more money than the price of admission.
Bloated at 172 GB, bc 2K would rather sell eyes to advertisers vis a vis the city rather than selling video games to gamers.
Thankfully the story and quests are less intrusive, though the GOAT stuff is really tiring.