NBA Playgrounds Might Be Amazing
(and I really hope it is)
I’ve written before about my obsession with Super Mega Baseball, but for those who don’t know, it’s a simple, arcade-ish take on baseball that combines accessibility and quick games with surprisingly deep and realistic mechanics. It’s quick, challenging, and tons of fun. It also spawned a sequel, one that I hope will be out sooner rather than later. I bring this game up to talk about its uniqueness, though. There are so few arcade-ish sports titles, since the sports video game landscape is dominated by Madden, MLB: The Show, and NBA 2K.
However, on May 9, there will be another entry in the indie-sports game scene. It seems odd to call NBA Playgrounds an “indie” title, since it’s officially-licensed, but that’s ultimately what it is. It’s slated to release for the Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. And from what I’ve seen of it so far, combined with favorable pre-release impressions from reviewers, it looks like it has a chance to be something special.
In a nutshell, the game combines 2-on-2 basketball with arcade-styled play, character unlocks, and official NBA likenesses. It has much in common with NBA Jam, but is aimed at presenting a more modern take on this genre of basketball games. In addition, it’s distinctively different from the hyper-realism of the NBA 2K series.
Polygon’s Samit Sarkar writes:
Indeed, NBA Playgrounds is different from NBA 2K in just about every way except using real teams and players, and it’s even launching during the NBA playoffs — about four and a half months before 2K’s simulation game traditionally debuts. But this game is something you can enjoy regardless of how much you care about basketball, and that’s the real key to its appeal.
Everything that I’ve heard about this game makes me want to play it, and I anticipate picking up a copy on May 9 if the game gets even decent review scores. I could never get into the NBA 2K games, and I’m intrigued by the promise of a more accessible version of video-game basketball. The mechanics of player unlocks also sound fascinating. I love the idea of building my own two-player super team, and of swapping star players in and out of my lineup to find the best combination. And as a loyal Atlanta Hawks fan, I hope Paul Millsap is one of the first players I can find.
Of course, there’s a lot that can go wrong with sports video games. The minute inner-workings of sports like baseball, basketball, and football are incredibly complex. Partially because of this complexity, as well as the difficulty of starting a new video-game franchise, gamers see only a few options in the “sports” genre. But these games are also often the most fun. There’s a reason that NBA Jam is a cult classic now, and that Super Mega Baseball made enough money to generate a sequel.
It’s also significant that this game will be released on the Nintendo Switch. Since there are still so few titles available for owners of this hard-to-find platform, NBA Playgounds will face much less competition in the Nintendo eShop. But whichever of its four platforms you choose to buy it for, Playgrounds is one of the most exciting video game releases that I’ve seen in some time.
