NLSC Your source for basketball video games.
We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on how I’m hoping for the best with the forthcoming release of NBA The Run.
NBA The Run, the new NBA Street-inspired arcade streetball game developed by Play by Play Studios, will be released this week. The basketball gaming community has had ample chance to see the game in action recently, thanks to a handful of closed and open betas. Whether you’ve taken part in those playtesting sessions for a hands-on preview of the game yourself, or you’ve seen other people’s footage and impressions, at this point you have a rough idea of what to expect. There’s definitely excitement, though not everyone is impressed. At the very least, there are some concerns.
If you’ve listened to any of our podcasts where Dee and I have discussed NBA The Run, you’ll know that we too have a mixture of complimentary and critical opinions of what we’ve seen and played so far, and feel both hopeful and concerned. We want to see the game succeed, but we’ve already identified some of the key challenges that it will face in its quest to do so. And so, I’m metaphorically crossing my fingers and hoping for the best as we enter the final countdown to the game’s launch. To that end, I’m sharing some last minute thoughts before I get my hands on the retail version of NBA The Run, and we ultimately see how it fares in the weeks and months to come.
NBA The Run Has Promise
In the wake of multiple playtesting sessions, one of the most promising signs for NBA The Run is that there have been positive impressions. There’s been (valid) criticism of course, but people have had a good time playing the betas. It’s clear that the game has an audience that likes its style and design principles, and how it’s shaping up so far. The developers have taken feedback from the playtesting sessions on board and made changes that gamers were pleased to see. As Dee has noted on the podcast, they’ve not only done a great job of being receptive to feedback, but also marketing the game. It’s not the game that everyone might’ve been hoping for, but people are still intrigued.
For my part, while I haven’t spent as much time with the game as Dee has, I did enjoy jumping into the second playtest (shout out once more to ThaLiveKing for hooking us up with some codes). Sure, I wasn’t left thinking that this is definitely going to be a hit on the same level as NBA Street, but I also wasn’t totally repulsed by the gameplay. There were satisfying moments – offensively and defensively – and I wanted to play more. Yes, there are some janky moments and ways in which the gameplay can and should improve, but I didn’t have to work too hard to have fun. When the enjoyable moments outweigh the frustrating ones, games can overcome a bit of roughness.
It’s already inspired an enthusiastic fanbase, though there is a drawback to that which I’ll come back to. However, once again it’s clear that there’s interest in the game, so I’d say it’s going to be given a fair chance. There are some great concepts, like featuring famous street courts from around the world, and mixing things up with different rules and gameplay modifiers that are randomly chosen before each match. The art style is fantastic, and some of the players’ faces are superior to their NBA 2K counterparts. In short, the combination of nostalgia for NBA Street, familiar gameplay concepts, new twists, general quality, and good marketing have all set up NBA The Run for success.
It’s a Risky Premise
With that being said, there is a major drawback to NBA The Run: it’s online-only, PvP. While online play is obviously extremely popular and something that a new basketball video game will understandably look to feature, quite a few gamers have already expressed that the lack of offline play or a solo campaign is a deal breaker. It doesn’t help that there still appears to be some confusion surrounding the fact that it’s PvP only. Yes, the game can be played alone if you wish, but it’s not the single player gameplay that a lot of people have in mind. You’re still playing against other people online; there’s no exhibition play against the CPU, or any local multiplayer options.
That’s not what everyone wants or was hoping for when they heard that a new arcade streetball game was in the works; especially if they’ve been waiting for a sequel or spiritual successor to NBA Street (more on that shortly). Not everyone enjoys online play, where the quality of the gameplay experience is heavily reliant on the skill level and sportsmanship of your teammates and opponents alike. Unfortunately, it’s the only mode of play in NBA The Run. NBA 2K has a toxic online scene that from all accounts is even worse than when I was dabbling in it, but it also offers modes with local solo, co-op, and head-to-head play. There’s other content that it can fall back on.
NBA The Run won’t have that advantage. That means the online gameplay experience has to impress, and keep people hooked long-term. That’s easier said than done when it relies on and can easily be ruined by other gamers! It’s also going to be crucial that there are no connectivity problems at launch. If there are disconnections, or difficulty finding matches, or poor connection quality in general in the first week, it’s going to be extremely damaging because there’s no offline campaign or exhibition games to play instead. The premise of an online-only PvP basketball game is already alienating to a lot of virtual hoopers, so NBA The Run can ill-afford to have any server issues.
The Community Could Make or Break NBA The Run
On one hand, it’s awesome to see that the desire for choices in the basketball gaming space and willingness to support a new property has led to NBA The Run cultivating a dedicated community, even before the game has launched. On the other hand, such devotion can quickly mutate into toxic fanaticism, and I’ve already seen some of that. Unfortunately, the game has some very vocal supporters who are trying to shout down all criticism. In particular, they try to dismiss unfavourable comparisons to the NBA Street games, usually with snide remarks about NBA The Run being a different game, NBA Street being in the past, people just being blinded by their nostalgia, and so on.
The problem is that when you make a game that’s meant to be a spiritual successor to another property, comparisons are both inevitable and fair. Even if the concepts are slightly different, you can compare the games on a technical level, and hold up the old title as the benchmark. Beyond those comparisons, there are clearly people who have become too invested in the idea of NBA The Run being The Next Big Thing and a huge success, to the point where they don’t want to hear any criticism, no matter how valid and well-reasoned. Ironically, this kind of cheerleading threatens the potential success of NBA The Run, since it’s standing in the way of constructive feedback!
Shooing away anyone who doesn’t just want to be a cheerleader isn’t only antithetical to seeing a game improve, but it also discourages the kind of support that a brand new title needs to cultivate. It reminds me of the discourse around the NBA Playgrounds games. So many valid criticisms were dismissed with “They’re not NBA Jam or NBA Street”, conveniently overlooking that they differed from those classic games in some questionable ways, among other problems. And now, both NBA Playgrounds games are largely forgotten and irrelevant, removed from digital storefronts with the servers for NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 set to shut down in August. Just some food for thought!
Admirable Responses from the Developers
Thankfully, though the voices trying to stifle criticism are loud, they are a minority. Moreover, it also appears that while the developers appreciate the enthusiasm, they are still listening to people who have constructive feedback to share. They’ve tweaked the tuning in response to complaints and criticisms during the closed and open betas. Your mileage may vary as to whether they’ve made the right changes so far, but the important thing is that they’re willing and able to finetune the experience. They’ve even been able to change their approach to animations that were poorly-received, and add a dribble move button. It hasn’t solved everything, but again, they’re listening.
This bodes well for the game’s potential to improve and grow post-launch. Now, it’s still vital that it makes a great first impression, and keeps people hooked beyond the first week. However, even if NBA The Run is well-received at launch, it can’t be a completely finished product. As more people get their hands on the game and figure out any exploits and so forth, tuning and balance fixes will be essential to maintain a healthy and accessible online scene. More players and variants will have to be added, since the launch roster is a little thin to say the least. I do believe that some offline content and modes of play will need to be added for the game to be truly successful.
Once again, the developers have been open to criticism and suggestions for ways that NBA The Run can improve. I wish they were a bit more enthusiastic about adding an offline campaign, and with all due respect, I think the decision to make the game PvP only was a myopic one to begin with. Still, I appreciate their dedication to the project and willingness to hear constructive feedback above the din of the fanboys. I must also commend Play by Play Studios for being so willing to allow people participating in the closed betas to not only freely share their impressions, but also their gameplay footage. Their confidence in the product and gamer-friendly approach is admirable.
Fingers Crossed
I won’t lie. As much potential as NBA The Run has, there’s also a chance that it will crash and burn. If nothing else, interest may peter out after a few weeks or months because of the lack of content and offline play. Many basketball gamers have been hoping for a revival of the NBA Street series, or a suitable spiritual successor. Again, the comparisons are inevitable, and not unfair. Even if people are willing to accept that this is something new, they’ll still have expectations from a quality standpoint. From what I’ve played and seen, I can absolutely see gamers enjoying NBA The Run, but I can see others being disappointed by the gameplay, or the fact that it’s PvP only.
Nevertheless, it has a shot at succeeding. It’s clearly piqued gamer interest, and I think it can be fun enough on the sticks to keep people playing; even if they’re traditionally not big online gamers. Play by Play Studios has also done a superb job of promoting NBA The Run and cultivating a fanbase that’s eager to support the game, and give it a chance to grow and improve with post-release updates. As much as I believe it was a miscalculation to not include any offline modes beyond practice, the developers are trying to do everything right as far as listening to sensible suggestions and thoughtful feedback. This isn’t some cheap cash-in on nostalgia; they want to make a great game.
Of course, passion doesn’t always guarantee success, but in this case it certainly has me hoping for the best outcome for NBA The Run. I’d like to see the developers’ hard work pay off, and for us to have a fun new basketball video game to play. I think that NBA The Run has already achieved something important in demonstrating that the NBA license isn’t out of reach for smaller developers, or indeed anyone apart from Take-Two. As Kobe Bryant famously once said though, job’s not finished. I hope that the retail version of NBA The Run will allay my concerns, and that it’ll realise its full potential with strong post-release support. Again, I definitely have my fingers crossed.
