NBA 2K23 hits and misses in its third shot on the current generation – Review

gamepur.com:

The months of September and October will mark the third title on the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 for a number of major sports franchises, including NBA 2K. NBA 2K23 looks to be a star on the platform, and that’s not just because Michael Jordan is on one of the covers. This year’s title was touted to change the game in a number of ways, including the implementation of tweaks to The City and MyTeam, historical teams that can be used in MyNBA, and the return of the Jordan Challenge.

After time with NBA 2K23, we can see that 2K does hit some shots where it needed to for this year. But, this year’s version also comes with its misses, with some not being so small.

If there was one thing that was rampantly apparent in NBA 2K21 and 2K22, it was that the gameplay engine was ripe for abuse. Ranging from an AI that led to cheese in 1v1 action, to builds and animations that became the norm in the meta, the gameplay system needed a shakeup after modest tweaks last year.

Shot meters have been altered a bit for NBA 2K23, thanks in part to a new visual meter that simply needs to be filled up before releasing the button and/or analog stick. A second gameplay addition, one that affects preferred release time, makes a much larger difference. Now, users who tend to release a bit earlier or later by happenstance can now actually get a boost, provided that this option is made use of. Don’t worry, though, as excellent timing still offers the best possible chance of making a basket. However, this added bonus does make shooting slightly more variable and should lead to more shots being made as a whole.

Additionally, AI defenders do seem to do a better job of staying with ballhandlers, as