NBA 2K20 Analysis: Join the best basketball league

One more year we have in our hands the new release of the great basketball simulator NBA2K, this year NBA2K20 developed by 2K Sports. A delivery much more polished than its predecessors and that introduces small changes in the gameplay that make us have to face the games with another strategy.

After devoting a good handful of hours, comfortably seated in our Akeron gaming chair, to this analysis of NBA 2K20 we can say that it knows how to perfectly transfer the emotion of each game to our hands, delighting fans of this sport.

A gameplay of height

In terms of gameplay, it raises the bar that was set with last year's edition a little higher. It is true that the changes are not very striking but they manage to change the rhythm of the games. The first thing we see is that the stamina of the players is depleted much faster so that the second unit takes more prominence. This is closely linked to the fact that, in the fastest players, such as Kyrie Irving, this aspect has been enhanced and they are much more decisive but you have to use the sprint with head and manage when it is more worth doing that extra in defense or attack to not reach the end of the game completely fused.

It is also more realistic that we can leave the court, with the loss of the ball and the change of possession that entails and not as in other deliveries that there was a kind of invisible wall that made it more difficult to get out and therefore less realistic.

The animations and the behavior of the ball have also been optimized and are much more similar to the behavior they have in reality. Passes, rebounds or dodges are very faithful and the behavior of the players in front of divided balls is less clumsy and much more fluid.

These improved animations lead to game situations that remind us a lot of real games and that resemble the work that must be done to close a rebound and get the ball. They have also undergone some adjustments the shot to basket or the entries being much more demanding timming with the animation of the player. With our Arkadia gamepad we have fought every ball until the last second of possession.

The WNBA is here to stay

A very important addition that they have done very well is the inclusion of the WNBA teams, the women's league in the United States. This addition is not limited to being a mere skin of the players that does not influence the game. The games realistically reflect the characteristics of women's basketball, which stands out for being much more technical, with more elaborate plays and a different rhythm than men's basketball.

They have their own animations since the movements are different, we will find much less dunks but with more plastic entries to the basket and more technical shooting mechanics.

As we have said on several occasions, it does not offer a great playable leap but introduces small improvements that enhance and change the strategy for each game. At these levels of improvement and in a generation that is already coming to an end it is normal that the improvements are not so noticeable at first glance so we are convinced in our analysis of NBA 2K20 that offers us 2K Sports has much merit.

My career

For this new edition, one of the changes that most differs from its predecessor is the creation of our player for the My Career mode. After a couple of editions in which they did not hit the key, the editor being too extensive or too restrictive, it seems that with this NBA2K20 they have found the formula.

This time we will have a lot of freedom to create our NBA star but with restrictions. We will not be able to create a 2.20 player with a perfect outside shot, fast and dominating in the paint. Now we will be able to create a balanced player and improve his stats up to 85 points on average fairly quickly, but once we reach this level, it will be much more difficult to keep going up and if we do not maintain the level we can even drop points.

We will have in this mode, as usual, a small campaign to give a greater background to our player. This aspect is always interesting although we believe that it is not very well exploited, as it remains very much on the surface being a shorter story than usual, especially considering the production values with which it counts. It is Lebron James' production company that is behind this and it features actors of the likes of Idris Elba or Rosario Dawson, as well as several top NBA players.

My Team

Another of the most popular modes is My Team, the other great game mode of this NBA 2K20. For those who are not familiar with this mode, it consists of creating our own team with both current NBA players and basketball legends like Jordan or Shaquille O'Neal, for example.

Here we will be able to customize our shield, build our roster, select the coach we want and design plays with the tactical board to create a whole club with our game philosophy. Within this game mode we will find extras to have fun, both online and offline. The most fun and interesting of these extras is the Triple Threat, a 3 vs. 3 match in a very peculiar and colorful court.

As for the controversy that arose before the release of the game regarding micropayments, it has been pretty tight once the game is released. There are many rewards for each action we perform in the game and are more generous than those seen in other deliveries so we can improve our player or our team without having to go through cash.

Graphics and sound

It shows the high level of production that has had 2K Sports for this NBA2K20, all aspects are polished almost to the maximum. For the animations of the players have even had players from both the NBA and the WNBA and that level of detail and care for every aspect is noticeable.

As for the sound, they have opted for a very urban soundtrack that fits perfectly with all the aesthetics and we have been able to enjoy luxury through our Kimera V2 headphones. It also comes with the commentators dubbed into Spanish that, even noticing that they are recycling from other deliveries some other phrase, it is always a positive detail.

To finish

In conclusion of our analysis of NBA 2K20 has seemed to us the best basketball simulator that we can find today, knowing how to move the emotion of the game and the importance of each possession making it an essential game for all lovers of this sport. The care in every detail of production is noticeable and that is reflected in an outstanding gameplay and a lot of diverse and fun content.

Strong points

• A very polished gameplay
• Large amount of content to spend hours and hours on the court
• The creation and progression of our player much more balanced and demanding

Points to improve

• Little use of the story of My Career
• Mini-games of chance that are very similar to casino games

This review has been made thanks to a copy provided by 2K for PS4