With NBA 2K22’s September 10 release date coming up very soon, 2K Sports has now shared lots of new details on how the game actually plays and what’s new this year on the gameplay side.
After releasing the first gameplay trailer, 2K Sports has published a deep-dive blog post that runs through the big changes for gameplay this year. In short, 2K says its goal for NBA 2K22 was to deliver faster-paced gameplay, more responsive player movement, and more skill-based offensive abilities. The developer also sought to deliver these changes across both generations of consoles so if you’re among the contingent of people who can’t find a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S right now, or don’t want to upgrade, NBA 2K22 should offer the goods.
Starting with shooting, NBA 2K22 has a number of changes in store, the most obvious of which is its new shot meter that now has a “dynamically resizing” make window.
“This window will expand when you’re taking high-quality shots with good shooters, but will shrink when heavily contested, shooting with a low-rated shooter, or fatigued,” 2K said.
In NBA 2K22, the game will reward players who take smart shots. “We’ve heavily focus-group tested the new shooting mechanics with players of all skill levels and believe this is the best that shooting has ever felt in NBA 2K,” the developer said.
2K also made changes to finishing in NBA 2K22, with the goal is requiring more skills to finish a play at the rim. Thanks to a “revamped” blocking system, defenders will make it more difficult to finish a play with a flashy dunk. There are also timing meters for alley-oops and skill dunk attempts, but only on new-generation consoles. Players who successfully complete a dunk can mark their achievement with new celebrations that are now in the game. There is also a Dunk Style Creator so players can customize the type of dunk they want to use.
On defense, 2K said it has rebuilt the shot content and blocking systems, and thanks to this, players will now see snatch blocks and volleyball spikes that weren’t in previous games. NBA 2K22 also delivers some improvements to steals, with a greater focus on a specific player’s steal attributes. For example, low-rated stealers will now see slower animations and better stealers will find more success getting the ball away from the offense. And generally speaking, player movement on defense should now feel more realistic, 2K said.
“For floor defenders, body-up rides and bumps feel much more rewarding as the motion team has dramatically improved the feel of on-ball defensive movement,” the developer explained. “Unwanted ‘bump steals’ and snatchy body ups have been reduced in favor of giving both the ball handler and on-ball defender more freedom of movement and respected input. Shifts, launches, stops, and cuts all feel much tighter, and with even more new gen foot-planting improvements, you’ll see a lot less sliding on both ends of the floor,” 2K said.
For dribbling, NBA 2K22 makes some changes to give players more freedom and control to get by defenders with flashy moves.
“KD’s big hesi crosses, Harden’s around/thru the leg moves, Steph’s quick machine gun crosses, and Luka’s methodical rock back and forth dribbles are all now under the gamer’s direct control rather than a preset movie,” 2K said.
Overall, there are a “ton” of new combinations, cancels, and chains that players can utilize in NBA 2K22 to get around defenders. You can see some of these in the gameplay video above.
This is just a small sampling of what’s available in the full blog post, which you should read if you’re looking to learn everything there is to know about what’s new this year.
NBA 2K22 launches on September 10 across PS4, Xbox One, and PC, as well as PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. There are some differences between the various editions of the game, and you can read up on this in GameSpot’s NBA 2K22 coverage.
Preorders for NBA 2K22 are now available.
Source: Gamespot
