NBA The Run review: Uncovering the Hidden Crisis Threatening Basketball’s Future
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Developers have been quick to listen to the community and patch the game where needed, and right now these three rookies all need to be toned way, way back. It’s understandable to want to make them good enough to entice people to play as them, but there’s no excuse to make Dybantsa better than Durant and LeBron out of the gate, make Peterson functionally better than Steph Curry in every way, or Boozer to be the best offensive big man next to Nikola Jokic.
Regardless, it’s fun to see these discussions unfolding on Reddit and inside the community. This is the first time I can recall a sports game being discussed in the same vein as League of Legends or Rainbow Six Siege — deep, hardcore esports titles. Not that the input requirements are as taxing, or it’s quite to that level, but this is a competitive game with a chance to really mave waves long term, which is also the achilles heel here.
It’s impossible to discuss the future of NBA The Run without addressing the 10,000-pound elephant in the room: NBA 2K27 is coming. It’s the yearly sports title that no matter how much it can frustrate people, still absolutely dominates the space when it comes to breadth of modes. Ideally there would be a competitive niche that NBA The Run can dominate alongside 2K — but the roadmap for updates feels a little too slow and ponderous when a juggernaut is baring down on the already small community The Run has built. Players are clamoring for NBA legends, opportunities to add the greats from the past into this new format — but it might be another month or two before any meaningful changes are made. Compound this with growing frustration at a slower-than-average progression system and the imbalance of the rookies (which can only be unlocked at rank 25) and it makes for a questionable impression picking the game up late.
If you look at NBA The Run as a game right now then it’s just okay. It’s a fun experience that feels good with its fast-paced, arcade-style gameplay. When looking at the game as a foundation for something in the future, that’s where this gets really special. Developers have built a game which really is unlike anything else we’ve seen in sports games for some time — opening the opportunity to blend real-world athletes with online metagames to make a fascinating tournament game that has real esports potential.
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