NBA 2K20 Review: 5 Ups & 4 Downs

4. No Spam Zone

This year's incarnation is, as always, packed with the usual array of gameplay tweaks, with Visual Concepts and 2K Sports promising their most realistic basketball experience yet.

They aren't lying. Out of the box, 2K20 has that same familiar-but-difference feel as any other version of the game initially has, with notable improvements in ball handling, dribbling, and defensive assignments paying off in particular.

2K20's most notable alteration is in how it handles sprints and drives. The stamina system has been tweaked to the point that relentlessly spamming the sprint button is no longer an effective tactic, with players wearing out quicker than ever. Instead, gamers must now treat stamina as a resource to be managed, saving their drives for when it really matters, forcing a smarter, more careful playing style.

While this has led to some criticising the game for being "too slow," we reckon it's a big improvement. This is supposed to be realistic, remember. There's nothing realistic about exploiting an unrealistic gameplay mechanic to gain an advantage.