NBA 2K21 Review: Why are So Many Players Buying This Game (Again)?

You hear this said about annualized sports games every year, but this year it has a lot more truth to it than usual: NBA 2K21 is a basketball simulation with the presentation chops, star power, and gameplay mechanics to embody the sport on a professional and cultural level. Here, we'll go over the positives in this NBA 2K21 review, so you know why so many players are buying NBA 2K21 again.

The WNBA features continue to grow

Despite still being unable to create a female MyPlayer — though this is rumored to change in the next generation edition — 2K has made a concerted effort to create a larger WNBA presence within the game. Like last year, gamers may run one full WNBA season, but unlike a year ago, players' appearance and dimensions can be edited in this mode.

The overall feel of the WNBA gameplay feels much smoother this year and the game does a nice job of introducing a new audience to the players, styles, and teams that make up the W.

Tweaked gameplay mechanics

The Targeting/Dribbling Stick is the biggest gameplay tweak in 2K21. For some reason, the developers absolutely insist on messing with the fundamental game mechanics each and every season. This time they’ve fiddled even more with the right stick controls.

This season, the right stick can be used for both shooting and dribbling, but I preferred the option to use the right stick only for dribbling. I felt like this helped to adjust to some of the new dribbling controls.

New shot meter

The shot meter is also different this year. It's not just based on the timing of your release; it's also based on the direction and targeting of your shot.

The shot meter is horizontally displayed in 2K21 instead of the vertical meter seen in the past. That may be a slight adjustment for series veterans, but I actually thought the meter was easier to see. I felt like the new meter made a dramatic impact on layup accuracy. Most layups were consistently easier to sink, but I also struggled to defend against them more than in previous years.

MyCareer

This time around players will start their MyCAREER as Junior, a high school basketball prodigy whose father passes away as one the greatest players of all time. Junior tries to get out from under his father's long shadow by showcasing his skills to get into a good university and become one of the top picks in the NBA Draft. For those who want to skip this storyline, they can simply recreate their build, which will give them the option to go straight to the NBA.

MyTEAM

In NBA 2K21, MyTEAM got some new game modes and a new seasonal structure that will reshape how players approach it.

Limited will introduce some power-control that will shake up gameplay and challenge players to be team-builders rather than collectors.

Unlimited 2.0 will include nine leagues players will have to win their way through, with different requirements for each tier. If players fail to meet a minimum threshold, they will also fall right back down the ladder.

Seasons will structure MyTEAM content and give players rewards to look for throughout the lifespan of NBA 2K21.

MyPlayer

The "MyPlayer" mode allows you to build and customize your own player for MyCareer mode or any of the other modes in 2K21. It is once again based around using various player "builds," which allow a lot of flexibility when building a player for any of the five different positions.

This year, "The Neighborhood" (the active "hub" found in every version of NBA 2K) is located at 2K Beach. It serves as a very bright and colorful locale for players to explore. You'll play pick-up games, enter Pro-Am tournaments, run training drills, or just go shopping for new gear, hairstyles, and more.

MyPLAYER Builder

This year follows the same MyPLAYER Builder with an additional four new pie charts to allow more variation in the types of characters you can create. Pie charts are separated into finishing, shooting, playmaking, and defense/rebounding. Where you choose to put your skill set will determine what kind of player you'll become. The physical attributes of your player in 2K21, such as wingspan, weight, and height have more of an overall effect on your player's physical profile, an inch can make a world of difference. The height lock for certain positions has also been increased to allow for more flexibility in character creation.

Building your character around your preferred position is more crucial than ever. The overpowered builds from previous games were nerfed, such as the 2-Way Slashing Playmaker and certain Offensive Threats that allowed you to get contact dunks, speed boost, shoot the lights out and play great defense. Basically, you were too good at everything, which caused a lot of players to default to running with one of these builds. This, in turn, reduced the strategy of building characters around teammates' skill sets.

Soundtrack

It's not often you see a game's soundtrack make it into the mentions as one of its most positive aspects. But for NBA 2K21, the soundtrack is filled with excellent choices, and there's really not a miss on the list!

It provides a great mix of popular hits with lesser-known artists and songs, and each perfectly fits the game. This leaves NBA 2K21 with one of the best soundtracks of the series!

Final thoughts

At its core, NBA 2K21 is a wonderful, realistic recreation of basketball, it levels up on the previous year massively.

It delivers a new gameplay experience and improves many different areas which will have players coming back time and time again outside of their favorite game mode.

With so many high-quality upgrades, we can't wait to see what's coming to Xbox Series X and PS5, where new next-gen features will debut!

At last, based on the previous experience, we can tell you the truth responsibly that since it is the early time of NBA 2K21 release, now is the best time to store the cheapest NBA 2K21 MT provided by U4GM for your superstar players with 100% safe, sufficient stock, most NBA 2K21 MT will be delivered instantly. Buy here!