Good value when bought on sale
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 positive reviews
“But on discount (for like 20€) you get a fun basketball game with cool modes and great visuals.”
Steam review · 669.6 h played ↗
NBA 2K21
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Mixed · 42%Mixed · 42%Visual Concepts2020Sports · Simulation · Action
The verdict
A deep basketball sim that is fun offline on sale, but it's a near copy of 2K20 and the shut-down servers lock MyCareer. Skip it if you want career mode or online play.
Great for
Offline MyLeague and Play Now players who want a modded basketball sim cheaply on sale
Main risk
Servers are shut down, so MyCareer, MyTeam and online modes are unplayable
What players love
Strong offline modes like MyLeague
Mentioned in ~1 in 9 positive reviews
“This game is for those who wants to create their own dynasties and play it a long time.”
Steam review · 37.5 h played ↗
Improved movement, animations and graphics
Mentioned in ~1 in 10 positive reviews
“Game feels more realistic than 2k20, better animations, especially layups and dunks.”
Steam review · 2 h played ↗
Mods and old-style shooting options
Mentioned in ~1 in 25 positive reviews
“Add all the mods. Adjust all the sliders to your perfect tweak”
Steam review · 468.4 h played ↗
What players complain about
Servers shut down, MyCareer unplayable
Mentioned in ~1 in 3 negative reviews
“can't continue my OFFLINE career because the game needs internet to play offline.”
Steam review · 2.3 h played ↗
Same game as 2K20 for full price
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews
“It's basically a complete copy of 2k20, PS5 and XBox X players get the actual new game.”
Steam review · 137.3 h played ↗
Bad AI and clunky gameplay
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews
“You have the most braindead AI teammates in the history of the game.”
Steam review · 69.8 h played ↗
Rampant cheaters and bad online servers
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 negative reviews
“The cheating and hacking is rampart in PC online play, more so than ever before in any previous NBA2k.”
Steam review · 210.1 h played ↗
Pay-to-win VC and grind
Mentioned in ~1 in 11 negative reviews
“if you start a mycareer you need to invest atleast 20 extra dollars into the game to even be able to make layups in the beginning”
Steam review · 1.1 h played ↗
MyCareer empty after draft
Mentioned in ~1 in 25 negative reviews
“This version of 2K has NONE OF THAT. Once you are drafted the story just ends.”
Steam review · 14.8 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: VerifiedController support110 GB
Minimum
OSWindows 7 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit or Windows 10 64-bit
ProcessorIntel® Core™ i3-2100 @ 3.10 GHz / AMD FX-4100 @ 3.60 GHz or better
Memory4 GB RAM
GraphicsNVIDIA® GeForce® GT 450 1GB / ATI® Radeon™ HD 7770 1GB or better
Storage110 GB available space
Recommended
OSWindows 7 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit or Windows 10 64-bit
ProcessorIntel® Core™ i5-4430 @ 3 GHz / AMD FX-8370 @ 3.4 GHz or better
Memory8 GB RAM
GraphicsNVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 770 2GB / ATI® Radeon™ R9 270 2GB or better
Storage110 GB available space
OSWindows 7 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit or Windows 10 64-bit
ProcessorIntel® Core™ i3-2100 @ 3.10 GHz / AMD FX-4100 @ 3.60 GHz or better
Memory4 GB RAM
GraphicsNVIDIA® GeForce® GT 450 1GB / ATI® Radeon™ HD 7770 1GB or better
Storage110 GB available space
More games to check
Other games we’ve read the reviews for
Football Manager 2019
Very Positive · 85%+ Improved tactics system
− Broken, scripted-feeling match engine
analyzed 8 h ago
Football Manager 2023
Very Positive · 90%+ Addictive time sink with huge replay value
− Barely any new features versus FM22
analyzed 1 d ago
Football Manager 2021
Very Positive · 93%+ Extremely addictive time sink
− Scripted, unfair-feeling match results
analyzed 1 d ago
FIFA 22
Very Positive · 81%+ Regarded as the last good FIFA
− Same game every year, weak career mode
analyzed 1 d ago
Weekly digest
Fresh games worth a look, in your inbox
The most interesting games we’ve just analyzed, once a week.Once a week we send the most interesting games we’ve just analyzed: the verdict, top pros and cons, and what changed. No spam.
One email a week · unsubscribe in one click