NBA 2K21 Demo Impressions
Even by 2K’s standards, the communication regarding NBA2k21 has been lacking. We’re fewer than two weeks away from the September 4th release and we have no information about MyLeague, MyCareer, Park, ProAm, MyLeague Online or MyGm. This, coupled with the fact that 2K will be releasing a “built from the ground up” version of the game for next-gen consoles later this year has led many to believe that there won’t be many significant changes to this year’s game. Almost as if to assuage those fears, today 2K released a demo featuring 5 quick play matches, practice mode and the MyPlayer Builder.
The overwhelming takeaway from this year’s demo is familiarity. The player builder, 2KU, and most of the gameplay is nearly identical to 2K20. The biggest difference without question, is the new shot meter. In 2k21 you’ll be aiming your shots rather than timing their release. When you pull down on the right stick, a horizontal meter appears above your player. In that meter you’ll see a small shaded area and a user controlled bar. You need to move the right stick left or right in order to center that bar in the target area prior to letting the shot fly. Hitting dead center will reward you with a flash of green and guaranteed make, get close enough to the center and you’ll still jog back down court celebrating. Anything outside of that and we’re talking levels of embarrassment. A close miss will clang off the rim, a little further off and your shot will catch just glass, and the worst case outcome, which was unfortunately a bit too common during my practice games, will have the crowd chanting “AIR-BALL.”
The new shot meter will take some getting used to, but my initial impression is that it will be a positive addition to the series. We’ll see over the next few months how it plays out but in theory it should force players to play more “sim.” The target area changes on every shot and is less forgiving for lower rated shooters so users should be taking more shots with their top players or moving the ball and working to find good looks. As for the rest of the gameplay, it feels like a better version of 2K20. Some may see that as a negative but I’m not looking for major changes to what I felt was a great basketball simulation on the court. Players have weight and positioning is paramount on defense, you won’t be able camp under the basket and close out on shooters, or take missteps and recover on the perimeter.
In the MyPlayer Builder you’re tasked with picking your archetype from preconfigured pie charts that determine your base/max ratings. You can then modify these ratings by manipulating height, weight and wingspan. There are some minor changes to max ratings and how they change with different body types but this is essentially the same process as last year. You then get to pick your badges in the 4 different categories (defense/rebounding, playmaking, shooting, and finishing) and you get one game to test out your build at whatever overall rating you choose. This year there are only two MyPlayer slots in the demo so make your decisions wisely.
With just under two weeks to go, you can be certain that the on court gameplay will be on point, purchasing decisions will come down to what upgrades 2K has made to each specific mode. The gameplay and MyTeam blogs were both released on Friday, so be on the lookout later this week for more NBA 2K21 news.