NBA 2K21 is one of the sports games that, after passing through consoles of the previous generation in September, has been updated for PS5 and Xbox Series X | S with more detailed graphics, improvements in artificial intelligence and, in the case of PS5, it takes advantage of the characteristics of the DualSense controller. Digital Foundry has carried out the performance analysis of the game in the three consoles -more PS4 Pro-, analyzing the resolution and rate of images per second of this title that in the version for the new consoles takes a step further in its graphic realism and more faithful simulation. These types of games pose an extra difficulty when trying to emulate the experience of television, and if you don’t get it with the animations or faces you run the risk of falling into the effect of the “disturbing valley”.
Compared to the previous generation, players show greater realism in skin, sweat and facial expressions, with interactive reactions to what happens during the game. “It’s not perfect, there’s a bit of a ‘dead eyes’ effect, but it’s solid,” referring to the lack of flickering or movement in her gaze. The main differences between generations can be seen in the quality of the materials, shading and lighting, visible above all in the close-ups of the players and the court – especially in the detail of the spectators. There are reflections on the ground and although it doesn’t seem to use ray-tracing, the use of classic techniques in reflexes is convincing and realistic, with more quality than in previous consoles. The interface has been refined in new versions, loading times are faster, and it basically “removes all loading screens”.
Performance on consoles
Versions of NBA 2K21 on the new consoles they are “virtually identical” and both PS5 and Xbox Series X offer a well-defined 4K resolution, and the graphic detail appears identical. PS4 Pro appears to work at native 4K as well, although detail has been reduced with the aforementioned differences in materials and lighting. Xbox Series S runs at native 1080p but with the visual detail of the most powerful consoles, only at a lower resolution.
The performance seems very similar, with 60 fps for playability and 30 fps for replays or intermediate close-up scenes. “With these limits, PS5 and Series S work without problems, whereas curiously Xbox Series X has drops of one fps”. The results therefore have hardly any differences except in one case: “Parametric camera works at a fixed 60fps on PS5, but falls on Xbox Series. Luckily this can be avoided by using other cameras – and this camera is not very good for gaming. It’s just an academic difference, but hey, PS5 has the upper hand here. ”The camera in particular is set low and shows more of the stadium bleachers.
“Say that NBA 2K21 it’s a really good release for all consoles and more impressive than I expected. Although the limitations in the animation are still evident at times, it is the most fluid and realistic basketball game I have seen, “concludes the article.” It is good to see that this version is different from the last generation, which suggests that they are developing the game from a new starting point. “
.
