There was a time when the yearly NBA 2K Switch entry was something to look forward to. Each year was a step back from the next-gen counterpart, of course, but the Nintendo port offered a near-full-fat experience with the added bonus of portability. Those were the days, eh?
Anyone who picked up NBA 2K24 will have realised this is no longer the case and, unfortunately, the same can be said this time around. NBA 2K25 is the same game we saw 12 months ago, but, somehow, with even fewer features than its predecessor. The gap between the Switch port and next-gen has become a gaping chasm and, with a £50 price tag attached, 2K25 might be the most egregious example of a Switch ‘Legacy Edition’ to date.
The trimmed experience is noticeable right from the opening menu, with gameplay options limited to Play Now, MyCareer, MyTeam and MyLeague. The expanded MyNBA, The W, CrossPlay and ProPlay are once again tied to next-gen consoles (now including PC) only, but the absence of any history lesson mode like last year’s ‘Mamba Moments’ or 2K23’s ‘Jordan Challenge’ (both of which were on Switch) feels like a real demotion.
For the second year running, MyCareer is the most watered-down experience of the bunch. Our once-favourite mode still has no story, teammate cutscenes, or The City hub world to speak of, and what remains in these missing features’ stead is all the more disappointing. A new take on The Neighborhood arrives as the central hub, and while it’s easier to navigate thanks to a directory system, it feels like a ghost town without crossplay. We bumped into only a handful of other players when exploring this area, making 2v2 or 3v3 streetball matches feel like a hoop dream and we never made it past the “Waiting for Teammates” screen for a 5v5 Rec game.
MyTeam remains a saving grace. The mode is still full of all the usual microtransaction trappings, but at least the new ‘Breakout’ single-player option is a fun way to test out your team and pick up rewards against the CPU (for those who don’t want to eternally stare at the “Searching for matches…” online animation).
The gameplay itself remains pretty tight, with a handful of fresh accessibility options to make shot timing a bit less frustrating. That said, shooting and dribble moves still feel slow and sluggish on Switch with performance locked to 30fps — nothing new, but something that needs improving to really capture the flow of the end-to-end game. This isn’t helped by the same outdated visuals we have seen for years, either, complete with hair that clips through headbands, disappearing eyes, and mouths that occasionally get stuck in an open position. At least the game makes someone’s jaw drop — ba dum, tshhh.
Pared-back gameplay options, outdated visuals, and lengthy loads are par for the course for 2K on Switch, but the fact that NBA 2K25 feels like a lessened experience on even last year’s disappointing entry is a real turnover for the series. Sound the buzzer and call for a substitution, it’s time we brought ‘Switch 2’ on.