Well, one more year. One more NBA. Sports games are already drawing their cards and 2K and his NBA2K could not be less. The publisher has shown today the first gameplay of NBA 2K23 and what will be its improvements at the playable level.
Just over a month until we have a new NBA 2K on the street and although we knew that Devin Booker was going to be this year’s cover player (Michael Jordan is the one with the super edition), we still had to know what they had spent their time on from one year to the next.
Here is the list of improvements, starting with the change in shots which was personally a step backwards in the last edition:
- Threw– The main change this year is the addition of shot attributes, which give each shot mechanic unique stats that help determine its effectiveness. There are also five new shot meters to choose from, with a further 15 unlockable through Seasons over the next year.
- Pro Stick Improvements– Move combos have been added to the Pro Stick, introducing new options for scoring and dribbling. Dunks have also received new commands, ensuring players can slam exactly how they want.
- Skill Moves and Adrenaline Rushes: New move combos give players even more ball handling and scoring options for their offensive arsenal. In addition, to avoid excessive dribbling, Adrenaline Rushes have been introduced, three power-ups that are consumed every time a player makes an explosive start. Once all three drives are used up on each possession, players will notice their speed and acceleration drop significantly for the rest of the play.
- Defending– Defensive play includes major additions aimed at creating more realistic on-the-ball defense, blocking, and stealing. This year, blocks have been adjusted to be more true to life, producing more logical outcomes, with the correct players stopping opponents when they time their block attempts well. There is also a clear improvement in ball safety for good matadors, and much more.
- Insignia– New tiered badge system for PlayStation® 5 (PS5™) and Xbox Series X|S players where there will be 16 badges per attribute category: eight at Tier 1, four at Tier 2, and four at Tier 3 , with the idea that players need to equip a certain number of badges at lower levels before they can equip the badges at higher levels.
- domains: Although the Primary and Secondary Domains remain the same, the Team Domain has been redesigned. It now works as a cooperative team system, with all members sharing a single meter. The new design makes a lot more sense and does a better job of representing what it means to be good as a team and take control of the game as a unit.
- Artificial intelligence– PS5 and Xbox Series X|S players will notice improved ball handling, pick and roll execution, defensive tendencies, and coaching decisions by the AI.
We will see what all these improvements translate into when we try to test it and that they have taken into account the opinion of the community (they always say they have it, although another thing is that it is true).
We leave you with the first gameplay trailer that we don’t know if it will be updated by the time the season starts, since the theme is hot and there are several players who can change their jersey at any time:
NBA 2K23 It will arrive on September 9 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series.
