NBA 2K26 Review (Switch 2)

Strikes me as laziness from the devs. No excuse

@BaldB3lper78 Yeah some of these early Switch 2 ports are reminding me of early Switch 1 ports where optimization seemed to be non-existent. Hopefully it gets better.

30fps is completely acceptable in 2025 and anyone who thinks it’s not has unrealistic expectations of this portable system that costs as much as a PlayStation digital.

Not for me since I don't care for sports a lot, but hopefully the players have a good time with it.

2K has been lazy for so long. 30fps with a blurry resolution and basically the same gameplay and features as last year… and they have the audacity to shut down servers after 2 years. This is a rushed cash grab through and through, to me at least.

Shocking!😐 I'm not a fan of live service games but sports games really need to go that route. There are hardly any significant changes from year to year. Just update the rosters. These games aren't worth the prices asked for them

Considering how decent Cyberpunk looks and plays on Switch 2, this is just a pathetic albeit unsurprising attempt.

Don't worry about performance, folks. The Switch 3 Edition will release in 2030 and update the game with PS5-level graphics and 60fps for the bargain price of $90 in a game-key card.

@Paulo Bold of you to assume the Switch 3 won't be all digital.

Inexcusable that this costs as much as Cyberpunk 2077.

This is sooo disappointing. If there is a substantial patch in the future, I may pick this up otherwise it’s PS5 version for me.

I wasn't expecting PJ quoting Britney Spears on an NBA game review.

Man, the Switch 2 on paper is such a leap forwards but devs just don’t seem to be taking advantage.

A Britney Spears reference in 2025? That was a pleasant surprise.

Well they had to close the fruitfull conversation in the “will third party games ever just work” thread. So feel free to leave your honest disappointment here.

I really enjoy your reviews (and other articles). I like the conversational, narrative approach you use. And they're often quite funny! Plus, you're informative on what I feel is the important stuff to know, and it genuinely helps me with a decision on whether to acquire a game, besides also being just a good read. Thanks, and carry on!

I'm not all that interested in this game myself, but I also like to root for these types of cross-platform games on Switch 2. It's a bummer that they didn't offer those cross-platform features, as you mentioned. Do you expect that is Nintendo not playing nicely with others? Or the developers having limited access with the dev-kits? It's a shame that these types of things continue on this new console that they clearly want to stand taller alongside the others.

30fps for action or fighting games just will not cut it..

has there been one switch third party triple aaa game that is 60fps?

@sixrings That's probably a fair argument. But the lack of parity then becomes an issue, if not just in the coverage of it. Which then has repercussions for the perception and subsequent adoption of the title, as well as the console in general. And, as stated in the review, it then prevents access for Switch 2 users with cross-platform features. Which then leads to the same outcomes I just mentioned.

Seems strange considering WWE 2K is 60fps. I guess 2K don't give their sports games the same oversight.

That being said, reflections were the one thing taken out of WWE, and with them being such an expected part of NBA. Maybe that was just what they chose to do. Sacrifice 60 for reflections...

Still, I expect (hope) later iterations will perform better once they have more experience with the hardware

@johnedwin WWE 2K25

Y'all ready for this? 2K sure wasn't

@AussieMcBucket I was being sarcastic. We’re now going to go a whole generation paying the same prices for under performing games all for the benefit of playing portable. At least in the good old days of every portable before the switch you got the games at a cheaper price than the comparable console version. Now we’re just paying for less.

@johnedwin Street Fighter 6, I believe? And Fortnite and Apex Legends, though maybe you'd think those don't count the same.
Maybe some of the Switch 2 Editions - I know you don't mean first-party? Sure, some are from the previous system, but many of them also had releases on PS5 and XSX. So I feel like it would be fair to accept those.

@sixrings Oh, you were? I was replying to the FPS comment; I see you posted another.
But that's a reasonable complaint. Though maybe we don't have to be getting "inferior" versions. Maybe that's on the developers/publishers. Plus, I would argue that on previous portables, we generally got entirely different, downscaled versions of the other games. I'm not sure you could argue that they should knock $10 off the price for a lower frame rate. But I don't know, maybe.

LOL here we go again (I'm sure I've said this in previous articles on here). The common denominator battle always seems to come down to 30 fps or 60 fps. We did this during the entirety of the Switch 1 lifecycle and we're doing it again. At this point I find it so insane with so many of you having other formats of playing a game why even bother with anything Switch(2)? You all should know by now what's to be expected regardless of the bells & whistles under the hood. Is the game fun? Go to town. If it sucks, then no amount of 'frames per second' will make that turd fun. It'll look pretty of course, but still a turd

As a Blazer fan I love seeing Dame in the center of that picture for the article.

I haven't bought a new basketball game in a few years now. Is the monetization still super aggressive? I kind of miss playing the newest and prettiest but with the lack of competition and the overt greed it makes it hard to justify making the purchase.

I can't believe you wrote that many words to say 'I only like games that are 60 fps.'

This is a handheld sir. I think you need to transfer off Nintendo Life to save yourself the horror of playing games at the same frame rate all movies have been played at. (Actually that was 24.)

I am so absolutely sick of people making graphics their primary concern, and it's been like this for my entire life. But it's doubly concerning when you're complaining because the cheaper handheld can't do what the absurdly expensive systems can.

You praise this cash grabber and then slam it for something that's not even realistic to request from a game at the start of a console life cycle.

@Ganner it shouldn’t be hard to understand we want to commit to one eco system.

@Misima sir. This is not a portable. It is in fact a hybrid. Neither the pros of being portable (lighter and cheaper) nor the pros of being a console (powerful and reliability). So sir there will be complaints. Please understand.

Btw the switch 2 is the same price as a ps5 digital where I’m from. So there will be comparisons. Please understand.

"It's a hell of a lot of fun right now - and you can be damn sure they'll patch a lot of that fun out."

This is how I know your know what you are talking about. And I fully agree with the review

@johnedwin ironically yes and it's from the same 2k: WWE 2k25 is 60fps on Switch 2 and looks awesome too. Plus Street Fighter 6

@Stegiand I feel like with this system people are always going to be pointing to cyberpunk and or street fighter 6. No different than the Witcher 3 miracle port on switch. Just because one company manages to do it well doesn’t mean every company will be able to. The better metric is what’s happening generally across the board. And well that’s 1440p switch one games. So good luck with anything actually next gen.

Seems like a lack of time and effort affected this game. Hopefully next year's release will be 60FPS since that's what PS4 and Xbox One had.

@sixrings I am not ready to give up though. This is brand new hardware that is supposedly 10x more powerful than Switch 1. It also has advance tool such as DLLS that can vastly improve performance. Why are we ok with developers putting minimum effort and release games that are a marginal improvement over the switch 1, and then charge full price $70? At least we can provide negative feedback

@Stegiand I’m not ok with either the developers or Nintendos decision to release this as the only option for Nintendo fans at the cost it would have to be to include a screen and a battery and the tech inside. If there was a tv only switch at a reduced price I’d be giving a lot more passes. But this is an expensive system so people are going to be frustrated.

Well, Switch 2 users. Time to get used to 30fps (+upscaled from some ridiculously low resolution) games from lazy devs who have a lot of excuses on top of that. Not mentioning prices and GKC. Life couldn't be any better!

Oh this is disappointing. Much like you, I got in to Basketball through the 2K games. In fact, it was lockdown, I watched the Playoffs (in the bubble) and became a Heat fan. Subscribed to the League Pass every playoffs since then, and really got in to the games. I had high hopes for this on Switch 2. I actually enjoyed 2K20 on Switch back when I played it, but then experienced the game on the 'big' consoles and it was a totally different thing. Smoother, sharper, just better in every way. I really wanted a good handheld option this year but, alas, I'll wait for next years version (or pick this up for a fiver at some point next year...)

@Misima But the Switch 2 isn't cheaper. It's more expensive than a Series S, which runs the game at 60fps. It's on par with a digital PS5, which runs the game at 60fps. There are plenty of games on Switch 2 running better than this. There are no excuses.

@Altaria_97 That's the biggest issue for me with these games. Want to boot up an old version to play offline career mode? Tough luck, servers are gone. Absolutely no excuse not to let players play their career offline with no servers. We should be holding devs more to account for things like this, I'm amazed it's legal. Effectively locking off your game after two years.

@Alex79uk the argument is this is a portable. You have to compare this to a steam deck. The problem is most are not comparing to a steam deck because that is such a small part of the market. It’s natural to compare to Xbox or PlayStation. And that’s where the disappointment is.

@electrolite77 again this portable costs the same as ps5 digital in Canada. And in any world this thing costs more than a series S. But comes with half the storage so add that and a pro controller and this isn’t exactly cheap. (The fact the old sd cards don’t work is a real crusher)

Perhaps wwe makes it work because there’s less wrestlers in a ring at any time then there are basketball players on a court.

@Alex79uk Does the S come with a screen and battery? Those aren't free.

People seem to think dollar equals quality. Dollars spent go towards hardware that are not 1:1. The power is not there. The Switch 2 has a lot of added expense for a 120hz screen that the other systems offload on you to purchase. The switch 2 is really like buying a system and a TV at the same time. So unless you want to spend 1000 dollars there are compromises.

That's my point. Stop complaining about the compromise. It's an upfront aspect. I feel like this is a person who wants to live in the mountains with no neighbors and also on the beach. You can't have both.

If you want high frames you need to spend a lot of money and/or sacrifice resolution and/or performance. These things aren't good compromises with a handheld system. Calling it a hybrid is just pure bs. The dock can provide some overclock cooling and some upscaling tricks but it's not a new system. It's a handheld that can output to tv. At this point we are 90% of the way to that being the same as a console and that's wonderful. But in that 10% the issue remains that we can't have frames, resolution, and cheapness.

I will stand behind my statement that the 120hz screen was a mistake. Nintendo should have stuck with OLED 60Hz and had the screen component cost 60% of what it does now. Mainly because a lot of you tech crazy folks would have had your expectations limited. The only game that takes advantage of this is an indie that's like a Gameboy game.

I hear there's a handheld that's going to cost 1500, go get that and then complain every hour when the battery runs out.

But what we don't need is reviews that say a 9/10 game gets a 6 because the frames are locked to 30. 30 with no dips is solid and what you need to expect on the Switch 2. If that's not good enough for you, I recommend selling your system and chase that dragon elsewhere.

This is essentially the Switch 1 version with MINOR upgrades. Theres no way this shouldn’t be running and looking way better.

The subtitle made me laugh out loud.
Top drawer 👏

@electrolite77 we understand. You’ve explained it. That doesn’t mean that we’re happy with the trade off.

Also for years portables were made relatively affordable because they offered smaller games that didn’t need as much power. Here we are trying to make a portable do things it wasn’t meant to do at no longer a discounted cost.

Lol just a lazy port

I don't think there's anything wrong with demanding more on a platform that demands so much from one's wallet. Yes there are compromises we have to accept on a hybrid vs dedicated system, but only so much. Ports like Outlaws should be the norm, not... this.

"a super solid 30fps"

Just like you point out the bigger issue is blurriness so hoping it's not too bad 🙈

Over a quarter of my NS2’s onboard storage? For that?

Yep nope. They could put Shaq, Penny, Nick, 3-D and Grant (both Horace and Hill) in their prime on the Magic lineup and I wouldn’t.

What happened to 10x more powerful?

@Whirlwound switch 2 users are going to have a hard time dealing with these file sizes. And for 30fps Vaseline effect. Been there done that.

@BaldB3lper78 On a game of this scale, the answer is hardly ever as simple as "devs lazy." Deadlines exist, budgets exist, and — more importantly — executives exist, and they set the figures for the two former things.

A poor effort, for every Outlaws and Cyberpunk there's this.

@sixrings Erm...
Irony is, 30FPS always will be a standard for consoles, not PC.
And there are games that require 60FPS for the minimal comfortable gameplay, especially if talking about online multiplayer.
@johnedwin I remember playing GGXX#R with 30FPS on Windows. It was a terrible experience.

30fps is what we had with NBA 2K on the Switch 1, I would expect the Switch 2 to deliver 60fps or why bother?

@Vyacheslav333 what world are you living in. Since Xbox one X I have been playing sports games in only 4k 60fps. Are there giant open world games that are 30fps. Sure. That’s not what we’re talking about here.

@JayJ and apparently we won’t have a 60fps ea sport soccer game since fifa legacy edition.

@sixrings Yeah 30fps being a standard was more of a PS4/One gen thing. Ever since the PS5/Series gen started up 60fps has become the standard.

@JayJ don’t worry. We will have to just buy the best model tv to compensate for the actual hybrid we’re supposed to love. Let me trade in my tv for vrr just to make this damn thing run half decent.

To be fair a oled screen did hide a lot of switch ones faults. Good thing Nintendo decided to ditch that with switch 2. Now we can clearly see the faults once again.

@sixrings I honestly laugh at the entire concept of prioritizing a TV for the Switch 2, I have never even docked my Switch 2 once, handheld gaming is it's entire appeal to me.

So what im reading is, skip this year if you wanted it on switch 2 for portability.

Kinda sucks because madden on s2 is brilliant. 2k25 on s1 was ok but definitely had some issues visibly.

@Runex2121 I hate to break it to you but most sports game iterate on each other so I wouldn’t expect massive gains. That said you think madden is great on switch so this might be up your alley. I wish I would have realized how iterative this hybrid was before I bought it. Mistakes were made.

The game does not run at a locked 30FPS. It's an unstable frame rate that can jump up to 40FPS, and even 60 FPS on replays. The game is smooth, and its night and day from the Switch 1 2k games. For a single player, Franchise mode is all you need.

@Cyberbotv2 it’s better that is an uncapped frame rate. That means when switch 3 is here it will stable it out to 60fps. I wish all switch one games were uncapped. Now we’re playing locked 30fps switch one games on switch 2. Think of the long game. That’s what we have to do.

2k is basically the new EA.

@TheExile285 I’m wondering if the lack of Switch 2 dev kits is the problem with the bad optimization. It’s almost like some of these ports are kind of guessing at the optimization.

@AussieMcBucket Yeah, this guy got himself noticed by just doing a great job. He always has something interesting to say and has the best puns.
Makes me miss Kate and Jon just a tiny bit less.

@PinderSchloss Totally agree.
Yeah, I miss them too. Though I think Kate is still technically here. Just sort of an adjunct writer, now.

For most of my life, Basketball was a game where people ran up and down a court, scoring and then letting the other team score. There was no discernible defence, no strategy...

Reminds me of when my Canadian dad would join to me to watch England's Premier league or Champions League or World Cup soccer games, and he would say:

"Wow, when we were kids we didn't know you were supposed to pass backwards!"

Since the GameCube, I always buy one NBA 2K (and one Fifa).

This looks rough, but next year - I hope - we will have a better product. Then I will buy,

@sixrings Im well aware if iteration and fully expect it.(ive been buying sports games since they first appeared on an Annual basis)

This year was a toss up for me since i wanted it portable, but it looks and sounds like the change isnt big despite a hardware upgrade. So next years will likely be better. Iterative is fine, but it needs to be more than a standard iteration if it crosses platforms.

@Misima I can't argue with any of your points, you make a good argument, but I still expected, or perhaps, hoped for more on the Switch 2 from this series.

@Misima it’s 2025 and still equaling smoother framerate with better graphics? No sir, refuting 30 fps in favor of 60 has everything to do with gameplay and fun, and very little with graphics. In fact, it’s the opposite of being a graphics wh… err, “snob”: many of us would prefer to have less bells & whistles and appropriate gfx cuts in exchange for a smoother experience. This was true in 1982 when I got my first console, was true when Dreamcast gave us consistent 60fps for 3D games, and it’s still true today.

@DashKappei in 1982 I had a black and white tv. In 85 my first nes was on that black and white tv. Perhaps we should really be anti graphics snob and go back to the good old days of just fun. Hey the og game boy was black and white. It can be retro.

Btw 30fps is the exact opposite of a smoother experience.

@electrolite77 no worries sir. I’ll speak for myself. But you represent yourself as well. Neither of us are approaching these discussions exactly with a petition on us. That said if I read the room correctly there are more than a few negative nellys just as there are a few “good enoughers”

@Alex79uk Maybe if they didn't push for a 120hz system they might more money for the system to push for solid 60 with all the graphics.

I seem to be the only person who was pointing that out. Are people that incapable of 4d thinking?

@sixrings I wouldn’t base any opinions on the people in here. The views in here rarely reflect the outside world, you just have to look at the charts. You should try asking colleagues or friends down the bar what they think of resolution, framerates or 98 inch tvs. Nobody in here can solve your problem.

@sixrings I think you misunderstood me mate, we’re on the same page. I was replying to the member making it look like if we care about framerate it means we’re gfx snobs, when in reality framerate is directly tied to having a better gameplay experience and not looks. I for one prefer a game to cut some bells and whistles if that means getting a smoother framerate, or at least give us options! We had 60fps for ages and on much lesser hardware, it’s a choice to go 30 fps and not a necessity due to hardware’s limitations. However, even tho I disagree with said choice, it still makes me cringe so hard reading “lazy devs”, so disrespectful and usually a comment made by people who haven’t worked a day in their life and have no idea how difficult and tricky gamedev is.

"ps4 level tech" is just trolling at this point.

@betterman definitely. It’s kinda appropriate to say it’s usually a “ps4-level experience” if casually talking, but definitely not tech. Architecture is much more modern and has plenty of great features that are simply not possible on PS4/Pro.