It’s 2003. You get home from school, toss your backpack across the room, grab a snack and a drink, and fire up your PlayStation. As you tear open your snack, the opening notes of They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) begin playing through the speakers as NBA Street Vol. 2 loads onto the screen. Before long, you are completely lost in one of the most creative and entertaining basketball games ever made.
For many of us, memories like that have stuck around for over two decades. So when NBA The Run was announced, it was hard not to get excited. Maybe this would finally be the modern spiritual successor we’ve been waiting for.
Unfortunately, it isn’t.
That’s not to say NBA The Run is a bad game. In fact, it’s a fairly good imitation on the surface. It features 3v3 basketball, a colorful street-inspired art style, and even brings back Bobbito Garcia, whose commentary and one-liners are easily one of the game’s highlights. The problem is that once you get onto the court, the game feels much closer to NBA Playgrounds or NBA Jam than NBA Street. The gameplay is far more arcade-focused and fast-paced than it needs to be, often sacrificing balance and strategy in the process.
The content offering is very thin. There are no true single-player or franchise modes, and perhaps most disappointingly, no couch co-op or local multiplayer. To go along with that, there are seven courts in the entire game and the game’s roster currently is only 43 players, which includes five rookie variants that must be purchased using in-game currency (unless you purchase the deluxe edition, which includes three of the five) and another five “Street Legend” characters that are locked behind level progression.
As for gameplay, the current balance feels off. Matches often devolve into players repeatedly spamming the steal button and launching deep three-pointers. Certain shooters feel almost automatic from long range, while steals can feel nearly impossible to avoid at times. The result is a game that can be fun in short bursts but often becomes frustrating rather than competitive the more you play.
The game’s only mode, Knockout, revolves around tournament runs. Players select a squad of three and compete against other three-player teams, advancing through a bracket in pursuit of the crown. Alternatively, three human players can each control a single member of the squad, which, in my experience, is a running simulator where nobody ever passes the ball or plays proper defense, but I can see the appeal if playing online with people you know.
To add variety, tournament matches at random may feature modifiers that change the rules of each game. Some matches reward additional points for dunks, others grant bonus points when scoring while “In The Zone,” and some simply switch scoring to traditional basketball values, where shots are worth two and three points instead of the one and two-point system commonly used in streetball. The modifiers help keep matches from feeling identical, but they aren’t enough to overcome the game’s larger issues.
“In The Zone” serves as this game’s replacement for the “Gamebreaker” mechanic from the NBA Street series. Unfortunately, it is a downgrade. Activating it lacks the excitement that made Gamebreakers so memorable. Instead of feeling like a reward for being creative and utilizing more complex dribbling or finishing a crazy alley-oop, it often feels useless and barely changes the flow of the game.
The biggest disappointment is the complete lack of a soundtrack. For a game that openly is inspired by the NBA Street series, omitting licensed music feels like a major missed opportunity. Those classic soundtracks were a huge part of the atmosphere and identity of the games that inspired NBA The Run, and without it, the menus feel somewhat lifeless.
Despite all of these criticisms, I don’t hate NBA The Run. There is fun to be found here, especially if you’re a fan of arcade-style sports games. The presentation captures some of the visual charm of the old street basketball titles, Bobbito’s commentary is a welcome return, and there are flashes of potential throughout.
The problem is that there simply isn’t enough content, polish, or originality to make this game be worth the $30 price tag. If you’re desperately looking for a modern basketball arcade game, you may find some enjoyment here. But if you’re hoping for the next NBA Street, you’re likely to walk away disappointed.
If you are interested in trying the game out for yourself, NBA The Run is now available on PS5, Xbox Series X & S, and PC for $29.99 for the Standard Edition or $39.99 for the Deluxe Edition. A review code was provided by the publisher.
