NBA Playgrounds (Switch) Review

NBA Playgrounds is one of the most bizarrely frustrating games I have ever encountered. It had the potential to bring an NBA Jam 2v2 basketball experience to current consoles, but Playgrounds instead bluffs and bamboozles its way to the basket.

Immediately, everything about the game feels rushed. Booting up NBA Playgrounds for the first time prompts a super-quick and vague explanation of how to play. The controls are glossed over quickly without much explanation as to how they are used.

The shooting mechanic is by far the most frustrating aspect; the in-game explanation says the shoot button needs to be held and then released at the right time. That’s it. No further details. While I was still wrestling with the controls, I sternly asked the game what this seemingly mythical “right time” was, in my exasperated frustration. Most basketball games require releasing its required input at the top of the shooting action. This is not the case with NBA Playgrounds. Often, I asked myself, “What arcane blood sacrifice must one perform to score a basket?”

To the game’s credit, it feels like each in-game player possesses a unique shooting style, but the timing feels off in every case. Eventually, I got the hang of it and started draining threes from downtown as it were, but it always felt like I had to release the shoot button earlier or later than felt logical. In fact, it is easier to shoot three-pointers than it is to land dunks or lay-ups. When missing a shot, an “early” or “late” indicator appears above the player, but it is up to the player to interpret how late or early the shot release was. To make matters worse, after putting up yet another brick of a shot, the unfunny, stupidly repetitive, and unnecessarily mean-spirited commentators told me “you need lessons”. This is a slap in the face from a game that barely thought to explain itself in the first place.

The timing of steals is an equal enigma – I just spammed the button in hope of forcing a turnover. Blocking, on the other hand, feels responsive. Some of my favourite moments came when landing a huge block with my man Shaq.

As part of NBA Playgrounds‘ arcade feel, teams can build progress towards a lottery power-up by performing impressive feats on the court. Once activated, a random power up will kick in for the next 30-60 seconds, giving the recipient team a boost such as unlimited sprint, or a penalty for the opposition like a shortened shot clock. Unfortunately, due to its random nature, there is an unfair amount of luck involved. For example, one team might receive a power-up that doubles the points scored from three-pointers, while the other team only gets the ability to run slightly faster for slightly longer. Rewarding good plays with power-ups is fine, but not when they potentially ruin the game’s balance.

Playing against the AI in the Tournament mode was a mostly enjoyable time, despite my early frustrations with the controls. Each 3-5-minute game came with its own challenge, such as performing a specific number of dunks, which was a clever way of experimenting with different playstyles. For one game, I was focused on driving to the ring, whereas I approached another with a defensive mindset and tried landing monster blocks. However, there were a couple of issues I had with these challenges. Completing a tournament’s challenges felt a bit hollow when you ‘re only rewarded with a different ball design. Remember how Lisa felt in that episode of The Simpsons when everyone was going nuts over Malibu Stacy because she came with a new hat? I rest my case.

The second problem; some of the challenges later in the game are disproportionally difficult. After completing a challenge that required me to perform four alley-oops in one game (fine), the next challenge was to drain 10 consecutive three-pointers (not fine). Thankfully, these challenges are totally optional, but they do work for the most part. The leap in difficulty is also reflected in the AI opponents – it is not uncommon to go from smashing a team by 20+ points, to then getting belted by the same margin in the very next game. The tough AI is beatable, but the difficulty spikes did sap my enjoyment of the contest later in the game.

There’s a decent amount of replayability to be had, especially for those interested in unlocking all the playable characters. Playing enough games will net a booster pack with random players that will be added to the playable roster when collected. This system is similar to the Ultimate Team feature in the current EA Sports games, minus the microtransactions. It’s a novel way of unlocking players, but the random nature means you are not guaranteed the specific players you want. The playing roster is diverse, mixing in current NBA stars alongside retired legends of the sport, which is a nice touch for NBA fans.

Although I have pointed out many aspects of NBA Playgrounds I find problematic, it is not a bad game, just a deeply flawed one. Unsurprisingly, the multiplayer is where the most fun is had. Slightly-less-than-tight controls are forgivable when everyone is on equal footing and more concerned with pulling off the craziest plays possible, instead of playing a technically-perfect game of basketball. I do recommend playing in docked mode, as in its current state, performance suffers in handheld mode, including lower quality character models and textures.

While there are many frustrations to be had, NBA Playgrounds does offer exactly what is advertised; a serviceable playground for Switch owners to wreak two-on-two basketball havoc on until the next 2K or NBA Jam game.

Note #1: Vooks will not be providing a score for NBA Playgrounds until the online features are activated. This is to ensure a fair scored review based on all the game’s features.

Note #2: NBA Playgrounds received an update on PC earlier this week which addresses a number of the criticisms listed in this review. No announcement has been made addressing the Switch version yet. Below is a quick summary of the fixes incoming for the PC version as an indication:

• Adjusted shot timing and inclusion of a shot-meter to assist shooting
• Steal action has been improved
• 3-pointers now more difficult
• Requirements for some challenges have been adjusted
• Inbound pass occurs quicker than before