(Note: this is not the same game as NBA 2K21 on Xbox One/PS4/PC, which is more like a 2/5 since it’s basically just NBA 2K20.5.)

Despite the series’ own fans’ claims that it’s “trash” (while still playing it every year), at its core, 2K is still a good game. I mean, that’s why we keep buying it—I’ve played some 1000 hours of 2K in the last decade. The signature gameplay is still fun and customizable, with tons of sliders and modes to suit all kinds of players. The game looks fantastic. New-gen consoles have solved the issue of slow load times from past entries in jaw-dropping fashion—it is a true game-changer. This is particularly noticeable in my favorite mode, the flawed but endlessly enjoyable franchise management simulation. A few small new additions to the game are smart and keep it fresh.

However, sometimes it feels like the game is working against its own fun. It is absolutely plagued by pace-breaking, unskippable or only partially skippable cutscenes and interludes in almost every mode, including sponsorships and TV tie-ins in something as simple as a pick-up local multiplayer game. Career mode is a slow, painful grind in which the game repeatedly reminds you that you can pay real money to level up and make your valuable free time actually fun.

That career mode features a pretty entertaining story featuring actor Jesse Williams. The experience playing as a star college player is actually some of the most fun I’ve had in 2K recently. Creating your “build” is intuitive and brings to mind a normal RPG—if only it progressed like one from there. Once your NBA career starts, the story ends and the game completely changes from fun to grind mode. I no longer have the patience for this arbitrarily padded mode, which also features strange decisions such as forcing you to press multiple buttons each time to not have to actually sit and wait on the bench when you get subbed out.

This is just one demonstration of how the game frustratingly works against itself and does not prioritize fun, but believe me that it is not the only. The game is still worth buying each year for dedicated fans—this is not a “vote with your wallet” situation because we simply are not going to get another option. EA’s NBA Live briefly emerged as one, and I actually quite enjoyed its stripped-down approach, but it flopped. It’s just frustrating as a fan to see how this game could be an easy 9/10 experience and is content being more like a 6.5.