It is no surprise that 2K Games is going to be releasing NBA 2K21 on the next generation of consoles and during the PS5 reveal event the first look at NBA 2K21 on PS5 was shown – it will also be coming to Xbox Series X, but this footage was rendered on PS5. For some reason, there seems to be a lot of focus on the how sweaty they can make the NBA stars, rather than a look at something like actual in-match gameplay.
This is all in-engine, being rendered on PS5, but it’s worth remembering that in-engine does not translate directly to gameplay visuals. Instead it’s on a level with a tech demo, showcasing the absolute graphical potential of a game engine.
Still, it can be indicative of what the game will eventually achieve. The NBA series has always been able to push the visual boundaries of a sports game thanks to the nature of the sport, with closed off arenas keeping the focus quite narrow and allowing to pack detail into the player characters. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will allow them to take that raw detail to the next level, possibly using ray tracing to create the more realistic lighting effects.
However, in terms of actual gameplay, it seems to come down to the SSDs. There’s a real fluidity to the animations in the trailer, potentially using new animation streaming and blending techniques, and 2K say that the game action can get going in less than 2 seconds.
Full details on new game modes, features, platforms and pricing will be available later this year, but NBA 2K21 will likely be a cross generational title for PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Dom played the predecessor NBA 2K20 on Switch and said:
For Switch-owning sports fans there’s nothing that comes close to NBA 2K20. Boasting great visuals, stellar gameplay and a feature-rich range of play types, there’s something for everyone, and while VC is still a ‘feature’ that we’d rather didn’t have a place in modern sports titles, it’s been balanced back in the favour of actual gameplay.
You can read the full NBA 2K20 Switch review here.
Source: PS5 Reveal Event
