“NBA 2K23”, the show of American basketball is even more beautiful

From Formula 1 to football, from basketball to American football, sports games are renewed every year between July and October. And every year, hundreds of thousands of fans eagerly await the new editions to know if the most recent chapter of their favorite title will be a total reinterpretation with new stimuli, or a simple update of squads and teams, still sold at full price.

Like FIFA and F1, “NBA 2K23“has known such success that in fact it is the only basketball simulator for consoles and PCs: an obligatory purchase for fans of the wedge ball, which however in the last few chapters had made us turn up our noses for the good quality graphics engine , but a bit outdated and for player purchases (for real money) in My Team mode. Let’s see how our field test of “NBA 2K23” went.

The trailer for NBA 2K23

The first NBA 2K designed for the new generation of consoles

The 2023 chapter of the NBA has an ace up its sleeve: it is the first of the franchise designed for the Xbox Series X | S and PS5. The “new” consoles (even if they have a couple of years on their shoulders now) are fully exploited by NBA 2K23, which is a real feast for the eyes and has lightning-fast loading. Better to avoid, at least for now, the PC version which, as can be seen from the user reviews on Steam, suffers from major optimization problems.

In addition to the improved graphics and incredibly smooth animations, the gameplay has also been revised: small touches that will be noticed especially by the most avid fans, but which bring the gaming experience even closer to what we see on TV in real NBA games. The artificial intelligence of playmates and opponents, shots and passes, everything is faster and more realistic. There is also a new system to control the shot for a basket: at first it may seem a bit unsettling, but once you understand it will not only be immediate and intuitive, but also rewarding for the most skilled players.

The game modes of NBA 2K23

Some news also comes in the traditional game modes. Our favorite remains “My NBA”, which allows you to choose a team (current or “historical”) and take it up to the playoffs and the conquest of the ring. You can choose between four “eras”, from the mythical Magic Vs Bird to Jordan, from the golden age of Kobe to the present one. As a further tribute to Michael “Air” Jordan, we find his “challenges” that re-propose 15 historical challenges of his career. 2K has managed to recreate the teams and championships of the last 40 years with crazy care, to the point of almost seeming a very complete and very satisfying interactive documentary.

Then there is the inevitable modality “My Team”, the NBA equivalent of FIFA’s “FUT”. Here you can assemble your dream team and play online with other human players, but the price to pay is in euros as you pay in real currency. If you are interested in this mode, we recommend that you consider purchasing the “Jordan Edition” version of NBA 2K23, which includes 100,000 credits for this mode.

The mode “My Career” this year proposes a player who, after finishing high school, launches himself towards the Olympus of the NBA amid the controversy of a draft discussed by the media and fans. An uphill road for our alter ego, which will start immediately among the greats, with engaging matches and challenging opponents. We enjoyed the fewer cutscenes compared to past editions, but we’re sure there’s still room for improvement in this single player mode. Only in the Xbox Series X | S and PS5 versions, we also find the mode “The City”which in practice is a small open world in which to face “missions” with our alter ego, almost as if it were a role-playing game.

The best basketball game ever

It would be easy to promote NBA 2K23 as the best game in the NBA, also being the only basketball simulator on the square with this quality and completeness. We go a little further: NBA 2K23 is one of the best sports games in general, because it manages to offer a satisfying simulation that really makes us feel on the pitch, allowing us to manage the team, the passes and the ball. as we would like. The previous chapters were already excellent, mind you, but this year 2K Games has managed to tweak the right points to further improve the experience, disconnecting from the old generation consoles. There remain a few small flaws in the gameplay, which we find quite negligible, and a “The City” mode that could do much more, but perhaps almost deserves a game in its own right.

NBA 2K23 is available in two versions: the “new generation” for the Xbox Series X | S and PS5, and the “old generation” for the PS4 and Xbox One consoles, which also has fewer game modes. You will also find it for Nintendo Switch and pc. The game is translated into Italian (subtitles only) and has a PEGI 3+ age rating.