NBA 2K21 - Preview of the next-gen sports title from Visual Concepts

As many will surely know, the demo for NBA 2K21, title of Visual concepts especially awaited for next-gen console (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X), but which of course will also be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Google Stadia e PC. We saw for the first time the title dedicated to the world of basketball during the State of Play in June. If you remember correctly, there was a very short cutscene of the alpha of NBA 2K21, which showed a player hitting for a basket. From that point on, we've heard about the title mostly because of the decision made by the 2K publisher, which will sell the next-gen title for a slightly higher price. But how does it behave on current-gen?

The innovation lies in the shot ...

The demo of NBA 2K21 weighs about 30GB and once started you have three possibilities: create your own character through the MyPlayer, go to tutorial with 2KU or play a quick game. Unfortunately, for this demo of NBA 2K21, the developers have decided to limit the number of possible games to five. The usable teams are:

• Los Angeles Clippers
• Milwaukee Bucks
• All-Time Los Angeles Lakers
• All-Time Boston Celtics

We try to rattle off each of these possibilities, starting from the creation of our digital avatar. In case you want to play in creating the basketball player who will represent us in the mode myCarreer di NBA 2K21, we are sorry to tell you that there has not been some type of change. Character creation is identical to that proposed in NBA 2K20. Therefore, a basic face will be selected which can be modified according to the player's tastes. Of course, it's not just about change the physical appearance, but also the physical characteristics and the role we want to play within the team. Once finished, it will be possible try our avatar on the parquet and if necessary make changes.

The first real surprise is there the moment you set foot on the parquet. Yes, because the shooting system has been modified in a really clever way. In the last iteration of NBA 2K it was possible to pull by pushing down the right stick and releasing it when the bar was completely filled (alternatively you could use the square or X button). While in NBA 2K21 the ball will still be thrown using the right lever, but this time it will imitate the hand of the shooter, so if you were to pull down but inaccurately (for example, with a tendency to the right) you will risk failing because the ball will go in that direction. But not only, unlike NBA 2K20 you will have to release the button or the lever when the line is perfectly (or very close) to a certain point of the bar, and not when it fills up. Obviously, if you use the alternative method, it will be much simpler, but it almost seems obvious that Visual concepts wants to invite the player to use the sticks. This new method of shooting it is very skill-based and, as you can imagine, it will be much easier to shoot when you are unmarked or very close to the basket. Otherwise, the gameplay remained the same.

… But also in the animations

Other factors worth noting are certainly the animations and physics of the ball. The pace of the game is much faster and comparable to a real game of NBA; if in the old iterations there was often a sense of heaviness in the movement of the players, now they appear much faster and the various movement animations they are particularly fluid. But what makes it NBA 2K21 really fun to play and above all dynamic is the physics of the ball. Yes, because unlike NBA 2K20, in this new title it is impossible to predict one hundred percent where the ball will go, thus giving more importance to a player than knows how to manage rebounds (both in the defensive phase and in the offensive phase), which was not so necessary in the previous ones, unfortunately. Also, this means any mistake it can bring about victory or defeat.

For the graphic sector, the game seems to have stuck to the previous version, which is a shame, especially as a slight improvement was expected, but it must also be said that this is just a demo and everything could improve before release. Definitely, the step forward made in terms of gameplay is something that many have been waiting for, especially with regard to online gaming, which with the new shooting system it should be much more balanced, so as not to disadvantage those with a less powerful connection. Also, it all looks a lot more fun, since with the old system it became almost automatic to make perfect shots once learn the timing. In short, we just have to wait for that NBA 2K21 arrives on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Google Stadia, Nintendo Switch and PC. We remind you that to get the free upgrade from the current-gen version to the next, it will be necessary to buy the Mamba Edition of the sports title, which will be sold to price of 99,99 euro.