NBA 2K22 test on PS5: the season promises to be completely crazy!

Being a champion does not prevent road trips. You only have to look at the Toronto Raptors' record since Kawhi's departure to be convinced. If the arrival of new consoles is often an opportunity for Visual Concepts to show their fangs a little with NBA 2K, the Californian studio did not really convince last year with an episode that was far too focused on the offensive. Desperately alone in the segment of the 5 vs. 5 parking lot shootout contest – we call it the NBA – 2K has this time squatted the room to beef up its offer a little and justify the kilotons of microtransactions that have made the reputation of the license. Easy bucket.

NBA 2K22 test on PS5: the season promises to be completely crazy! Read the conclusionNBA 2K22

Complete, complex and well-balanced gameplay
Impeccable performance on the pitch
Real sensations in defense thanks to the Dual Sense
Better thought out shot gauge (and can be disabled)

Slightly systematic shooting successes and failures
No room for counter-attack, little transition
Permanent incentive to micro transaction
Frustrating Career Inconsistencies

A very reassuring first contact

Impatient, here we are already on the ground even as the game is still downloading. Let's avenge the Suns for the roust received last July, and take the opportunity to make a first inventory of the queen version after a few hours of warming up on PS4. First, the technique. We widen our eyes like Forézians in front of a huge Greek on a courtesy visit: NBA 2K is always a feast for the eyes when you love basketball. The respect for the specific attitudes and movements of the players - and not just the stars - is a delight, the fluidity of the animations, the hairiness, the tattoos... Substantially similar to the next-gen version of last year, NBA 2K22 on PS5 remains light years away from the current versions, especially in terms of rhythm and lighting. Even the blank, expressionless stares of players - the height of uncanny valley - are slightly erased with the welcome addition of facial expressions depending on the action on the pitch.

On the parquet side, some gameplay adjustments are obvious. Gone is the strange horizontal ruler of last year, make way for a more classic vertical gauge. It certainly requires a little time to adapt to be mastered, but proves to be quite practical over time. By adding a secondary gauge inside the main one, it makes it possible to identify in an instant the chances of success of its shot, according to the timing, the defensive pressure and the intrinsic capacities of the player. Stephen Curry free in the corner and the intermediate gauge becomes the Champs Élysées; Ben Simmons caught in the middle of the racket, and here we are on rue de l'Enfer. Connoisseurs can nevertheless deactivate it and take advantage of a welcome little boost in precision: it will be necessary to release the button or the right stick in the right timing depending on the mechanics of the shooter, which is significantly different from one player to another. It's playable in career mode, but more complicated in normal matches (it's hell with Shawn Marion and Brook Lopez, among others).

My tactic is attack, clear and clean no micmac

The other side of the coin is that on the IA side it still spins a lot of the parking lot. It's the NBA trend, of course, but the big 3 wagons at the exit of double screen, an easy to set up and particularly formidable system, prove to be a little discouraging over time (and all the more so in multiplayer, where this type of archetype is popular). On the other hand, it is not easy to vary the approaches either, since Visual Concepts still has a little trouble with the management of the different playing times. The rather slow and calm pace will perfectly suit half-court fans. , without managing to fully honor the run and gun dear to Mike D'Antoni. The animations on the rebounds are a little too long, the long passes are a little too floating and systematically allow the rapid return of defenders: 1 against 0 are extremely rare, and the transitions are not very obvious to put in place. Everyone will quietly put themselves in a horseshoe, with support at the low post, without really having had the opportunity to take advantage of any risky defensive replacements.

One might think of a return to the offensive highway of the previous opus, but this is not really the case. Already, the success in shooting drops greatly when you stick a little bidoche in the legs of the snipers. The failure is also a bit systematic - except for a perfect shot - when a defender is in contact, even if you are very close to the basket. We should probably be able to temper this excess, like this one of cracked offensive rebounds, by a detour in the menus to play with the endless adjustment sliders, but we would have liked a better basic balance.

The defense then benefits from a welcome balance which calms a bit the infinite dribbling punctuated by impeccable crossovers from the players clad in badges boosting their stats. Framing the supports of the ball carrier proves to be less vain than last year, in particular thanks to the subtle vibrations of the Dual Sense which help a lot to locate the point of balance of the contacts. Good point, the alley-hoops have been made more complex and now require a bit of timing on the part of the receiver to be validated, in addition to being easier to hinder.

Be careful all the same with the strange changes of the AI on the pick and rolls and with its aids for the least discreet: the defense in team requires a lot of practice time to erase as much as possible the gross faults of marking. We could finally quibble about the somewhat too strong influence of statistics on the management of clinch (power and mobility are law), but it must be recognized that the balance is rather healthy and that the game respects the sport that it virtualizes without leaving the fun on the side of the road.

Spectacular and enjoyable, NBA 2K style basketball is obviously accompanied by a ton of cut-scenes, presentation videos and other halftime reports typical of American NBA broadcasts. The playlist is once again impeccable, lined with more or less recent US rap songs that immediately set the tone. The whistles, the public, the official announcers from the thirty franchises, everything combines to immerse the player in this gigantic show. Finally, it is the somewhat flat and redundant comments that denote, despite the effort made in terms of the variety of speakers. Kevin Harlan, Doris Burke, Brian Anderson and their consultants Greg Anthony, Brent Barry or even Grant Hill follow one another at random meetings, and if we are not at the level of Spagne Télévisions and we are spared the anachronisms or clichés - "Boris Viaw's super reverse smash", "that devil of David Lillard, the Warriors winger" - the anecdotes end up looping and the polite tone of rigor becomes tiresome.

JVFR

Welcome to the NBA !

You talk about practice ?

Nearly impeccable on the field, NBA 2K is equally impeccable off it. Respect to Visual Concepts, which has managed to perfectly condense its huge catalog of game modes and customization options into a few rather clear screens, and to optimize loading times as much as possible, a real plague on the previous generation. Gargantuan, the single and multiplayer content of NBA 2K22 will offer a few months of grinding for the less expensive. Once again, VC is rare and stat increases are so expensive that the permanent incentive to microtransact will wear down a lot of patience. A system of seasons laden with various rewards comes to liven up the Career and MyTeam modes a little, without that being enough to sustainably satisfy your virtual currency needs.

JVFR

Draft mode is cool, but requires checking out after a few losses

Other than that welcome sweetie, the NBA-branded equivalent of FUT mode doesn't really get a facelift, and actually shares its data with the old-gen versions if you own them as well. The thousands of cards available, some of which need to be upgraded, the shoes to be armored with assets, the solo or multiplayer modes in 3vs3 or 5vs5, the hundreds of challenges of all kinds, an auction and evaluation system (paying) of map… This push-to-crime mode is full of small options and big possibilities, and even offers the return of Draft mode this year. You face other players with a temporary random deck that you shape according to your draws, and you win prizes if you win. Three defeats and it's over, knowing that the entry ticket is changed once the first three have been squandered.

Slip into my PMs

The other big piece is obviously the Career mode which is getting a new look this year on next-gen. Half-influencer, half-prospect, MP is a promising young basketball player whose destiny we are in charge of. College or G-League (the antechamber of the NBA), Draft Combine, the decision is up to us after the traditional character creation session, between atypical physics - thanks to the variable modeling from photos taken on the NBA 2K22 application on smartphone - and choice of position, morphology and prospects for statistical development. The somewhat lame cutscenes are still there, but the mode is gaining momentum this year by merging with 2K21's MyCity.

JVFR

I see people who are dead. The city is vast, but leaves a rather strange feeling.

This modeled city is full of solo and multiplayer side activities, shops to spend your VC and assert your style and NPCs to approach to open a myriad of diverse and varied quests. The destiny of MP is played out implicitly in this well-stocked hub that you can explore on foot, but also on a skateboard or any other vehicle that you will unlock later. Very empty despite the presence of other players - often static next to points of interest - the city is still a nice space to group together all the things to do with your foal. It's a pity that framerate jumps regularly spoil the party.

Still as robust and engaging, My Career suffers from some filthy inconsistencies that serve a scenario decided in advance. NCAA champion, MVP of the university tournament and number 1 in the Draft, our champion was, for example, made fun of by the indescribable Kendrick Perkins even before the first game of the season, which began to warm up the bench on the side of Detroit. We have rarely seen a polemicist so quick to insult a young shoot, or even a first pick playing three minutes per game at the start of his career. Even Anthony Bennett had his chance!

JVFR

The beginnings in the NBA are not easy, but you are free to ask for a trade

Win or go home

This rather slow start prevents our player from reaching legend status too quickly, but there was undoubtedly a finer balance to be found here. The mode nevertheless remains as complete and well packaged, despite the absence of fast travel in the city and an interface far from being a model of ergonomics. A problem that also suffers from the MyNBA mode, which highlights the management side by putting you in control of a franchise of the big league. The customization options are extremely numerous, as are the subtleties: training, tactics, management of the staff and the price of the ticket, this real Basketball Manager is as labyrinthine as it is complete and will be intended above all for enthusiasts of salary caps and other trade exceptions. Visibly in favor of a possible expansion of the league, Visual Concepts even added three imaginary franchises to the thirty historical teams.

JVFR

General Manager mode is a gas plant, but definitely worth it

End of this overview of NBA 2K22 with The W, the career mode dedicated to the WNBA. Less complete and extensive than its male counterpart, this mode geared towards the emergence of a female basketball star is also intended to be more effective, in addition to allowing VCs to be scratched without too much effort. Very respectful of the sport as it is practiced by women, all in fundamentals and very anchored on the mallet at the low post, this mode offers a more "pure" aspect of basketball, rid of some of its charms and more centered on the applied execution of the systems. In addition, priority is given to female voices on the tracklist side, so we see no reason to deprive ourselves of a detour via the WNBA between two 360 windmills in traffic.

JVFR

Back, women's basketball is perfect for basketball aesthetes and fans of the "European" game

NBA 2k22, what about the PC version? (by Rémi P)

We could answer "not much", so great is the disappointment. No “Next Gen” on the horizon since this year again, we have to be content with a simple skin from previous versions slightly improved, with team updates. Still happy you tell me! Faced with the multiple enticing trailers of the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions, it's hard not to be salty, not to say very angry. The content is similar to the PS4 and Xbox One versions, with a career mode confined to a large yacht instead of a flashy city, but our dashing RTXs deserved better. So fans of King James, Giannis or Evan Fournier (cocorico) will have to wait another long year before, hopefully, moving to a version worthy of the name on PC.

NBA 2K22 sur PlayStation 5, l'avis de JVFR

NBA 2K22 is the canon episode on which Visual Concepts will rely to establish its domination on this new generation of consoles. Better balanced and still just as sharp, the reference simulation still needs some adjustments on the gameplay side - suspicious shooting success, very calm pace of play, super-powerful offensive rebounds - and still needs to refine the new version of Career mode, but its overflowing generosity and his impeccable realization undoubtedly ensure him the title of Most Improved Player, a shoe size from that of unanimous MVP.

NBA 2K22

Impeccable production, immense content, balanced gameplay even if some shortcomings remain: NBA 2K22 is an indisputable reference on PlayStation 5, coupled with an ideal companion for the exciting season ahead.