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[Helios]

NBA 2K20 is currently the second-worst Steam game of all time

User reviews for the game on Steam aren't hugely positive at the moment

www.pcgamesn.com

Basketball sim NBA 2K20 launched late last week, but it looks like it’s had a bit of a rocky start, as Steam user reviews go. The game has already gained around 1,800 user reviews on Valve’s videogame platform, but only a fraction of these are positive – just 16% at the time of writing. According to a site that ranks games based on their user scores, it’s (currently) the second “worst” game on Steam.

As reflected on site Steam250, 2K’s latest installment in its NBA videogame series doesn’t seem to have been a huge hit with players so far. The site offers, according to its Patreon page, “a collection of over 100 automated Steam game rankings based on user votes – the thumbs up or down given with each review – designed to help players find the best games on Steam.”

The site’s list of the “bottom 100” Steam games – its “Hall of Shame” – has it in second-to-worst place, only above a racing title called Flatout 3: Chaos and Destruction. On Steam itself, the game’s reviews are summed up as “overwhelmingly negative.”

While there are some positive reviews, they’re pretty few and far between. The less positive reviews cite various reasons for not recommending the game, but common themes seem to be the game’s microtransactions, similarity to NBA 2K19 (like its taskbar), and some glitches. As Kotaku highlights, the hashtag #fix2K20 has been doing the rounds on Twitter, following players’ experiences of some reported in-game hiccups.

This follows some recent controversy over an NBA 2K20 trailer that in some ways looked more like a casino ad. Videogame content rating company PEGI recently said that it didn’t count as gambling under its current criteria, though it added that it was “very aware it may get too close for comfort for some people.”

 

[nush]

Review bombing will do that.

 

[xrnzaaas]

I hope that those negative reviewers will remember not to make the same mistake again with NBA 2K21...

Who am I kidding, of course they'll buy it.

 

[MightySquirrel]

Deservedly so. The same nba2k game from 10 years ago, but with new roster for full price. The only thing that 'improved' is monetisation.

 

[MightySquirrel]

Somehow Ea and 2k keeps getting away with gambling mechanics present in both fifa and nba2k titles for years.

 

[Lanrutcon]

Burn it to ground.

 

[STARSBarry]

And yet it has still sold astronomically well...
this is the issue with Fandoms they just keep buying no matter the cost and no matter what content is being supplied.

The fact this will undoubtedly turn out to be super lucrative and successful pisses me off.

 

[Fuz]

But they still buy it.

Somehow Ea and 2k keeps getting away with gambling mechanics present in both fifa and nba2k titles for years.

Isn't the head of ESRB some of EA's higher-ups? Did I remember wrong?

 

[mcz117chief]

Totally deserved. The amount of mtx, loot boxes, pachinkos, slot machines, card packs etc. etc. is far FAR beyond insane levels. Not even the shittiest mobile games have such ridiculous monetisation (I hope).

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Do you have to pay for the songs in the game yet?

 

[Jack Videogames]

This is the basketball game with a literal, honest-to-god, lootbox casino right? Play shitty games, get shitty prizes reviews

 

[Vawn]

Yes, user scores are beyond useless.

 

[hunthunt]

Must be hilarious to the guys at Take2 to think that the people that reviewbombs still buy the game year after year, a game they know how bad it is.

 

[Graciaus]

I see they fixed the tags on the store page. Had some interesting choices.

 

[Orpheum]

They'll keep doing this shit because people buy it...

The last NBA 2K game i played was 2K15 and i quit after i realized my player was a dumbfuck who couldn't do anything with the Ball aside from dribbling on the spot. Buying upgrades??? fuck no.

 

[Trogdor1123]

Where is the trailer?

 

[mckmas8808]

Review bombing will do that.

Exactly. Does anybody actually think NBA 2K is the 2nd worse game of all time?

 

[Life]

These sports games need to die - in order to actually be better. I'm talking FIFA,PES,NBA etc. Yearly releases at full price is a joke. They should be doing updates/patches for at least 2 years, before releasing another fully priced version.

Fighting game franchises are a good example of this.

 

[Mihos]

I have at least 100 games in my library that are worse. Mostly from 'complete library' purchases.

 

[MightySquirrel]

I hope that those negative reviewers will remember not to make the same mistake again with NBA 2K21...

Who am I kidding, of course they'll buy it.

it's not the same as to not buy some shooter game as there's 20 other very similar ones. nba2k is the only somewhat decent basketball game out there - simply put there's no alternative.

 

[FranXico]

Exactly. Does anybody actually think NBA 2K is the 2nd worse game of all time?

Introducing actual gambling in the form of slot machines makes it a terrible game, yes.

 

[MightySquirrel]

These sports games need to die - in order to actually be better. I'm talking FIFA,PES,NBA etc. Yearly releases at full price is a joke. They should be doing updates/patches for at least 2 years, before releasing another fully priced version.

Fighting game franchises are a good example of this.

True. It seems that 2k releases one engine per generation and all of it's 10 games that gen will look identical and play nearly identical with very minute changes. If you want new basketball game you have to wait for another gen. it's crazy.

 

[MightySquirrel]

Same identical situation with fifa from ea. And they have the nerve to put so much gambling stuff in their games.

 

[Fox Mulder]

It'll just eventually take governments to regulate videogame gambling. There’s no amount of shaming or review bombing that will work. Too many people still buy these, they make hundreds of millions of dollars from MTs alone, and the review boards won’t rate it properly.

 

[angelic]

Exactly. Does anybody actually think NBA 2K is the 2nd worse game of all time?

Yes, because it's not a game, it's a grift.

Imagine Pac Man in 1980 or so. He moves half the speed of the ghosts unless you add credits. That's the NBA2K franchise.

 

[stranno]

I liked the zombie maps of FlatOut 3

 

[mckmas8808]

Introducing actual gambling in the form of slot machines makes it a terrible game, yes.

But the 2nd worse of "all-time"?

 

[xrnzaaas]

it's not the same as to not buy some shooter game as there's 20 other very similar ones. nba2k is the only somewhat decent basketball game out there - simply put there's no alternative.

Well in my defense I'm not a big sports fan so I don't understand the obsession to buy the new edition mostly for the updated rosters.

 

[DedEmbryonicCell]

Wonder how many of those positive reviews were just sarcasm?

On steam most of the positive reviews are just sarcastic, and it's awesome ..

My favorite one is: Recommend Thumbs Up

I'm an avid gambler

10/10

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Well in my defense I'm not a big sports fan so I don't understand the obsession to buy the new edition mostly for the updated rosters.

I think it's less the updated roster itself, and more that you don't want to be playing an outdated version, regardless of the actual content.

But I think 2K's actual core mechanics are shit, and the game as a whole is even worse, so what do I know?

 

[Helios]

But the 2nd worse of "all-time"?

Steam reviews are not an out-of-10 rating system. It's Recommended or Not Recommended. Make of that what you will.
Though the user review score on MC is not any better.

 

[DeepEnigma]

But the 2nd worse of "all-time"?

Maybe the metrics of how gamers judge games are shifting?

 

[theHFIC]

NBA 2K21 Epic Game Store exclusive.

You can't get bad user reviews if the users can't write reviews.

 

[mckmas8808]

Steam reviews are not an out-of-10 rating system. It's Recommended or Not Recommended. Make of that what you will.
Though the user review score on MT is not any better.

LOL!!! A 0.8 user score?!?! HAHAHA!!! Okay so gamers are trying to send a message to the devs and publisher obviously then. A 79 Metascore actually shows that something is wrong with a game of that type though. That's low for a well made sports game.

Maybe the metrics of how gamers judge games are shifting?

Maybe. That's why I toss user score dumping out and don't take it seriously. The score isn't what matters, it's the point that the gamers are trying to make that matters at this point.

 

[Caffeine]

NBA 2K21 Epic Game Store exclusive.

You can't get bad user reviews if the users can't write reviews.

I think it will happen borderlands 3 is already on there. from the same parent company.

 

[Cravis]

Not surprised by this. I bought 2K19 when it was on sale for $2.99. I was like sweet, haven’t played a basketball game in a long time so it’s worth to at least try. Once I saw all the micro transactions I was like well it’s obvious why it’s only $3.

 

[Larogue]

Steam reviews are not an out-of-10 rating system. It's Recommended or Not Recommended. Make of that what you will.
Though the user review score on MT is not any better.

 

[Tygeezy]

I'm a big basketball fan, but I could never get into basketball sims. I always preferred the arcade style games like NBA jam.

 

[Lupin3]

Well deserved!

 

[Screamer-RSA]

lol I'd bet most of these review bombers bought NBA 2K19 last year, and review bombed it then also. Suckered into a sale every year. I see 2K didn't even bother to change the name of the game this time, it still says NBA 2K19 in the taskbar.

 

[DeepEnigma]

lol I'd bet most of these review bombers bought NBA 2K19 last year, and review bombed it then also. Suckered into a sale every year. I see 2K didn't even bother to change the name of the game this time, it still says NBA 2K19 in the taskbar.

For real?

 

[flacopol]

I think the want to push the boundaries to the max in the gamble-all-family-rated-game , and after a regulation appears they low the casino mechanic a little bit and then copy that business model to other 2k games

 

[Soleil rouge]

Yes, user scores are beyond useless.

Tell that to Dave Chappelle.

 

[Petrae]

It’s a well-deserved dubious honor, because this game is ASS. Even if you put aside the “Who put a basketball game in my casino game?” stuff, shit like broken servers and lost progress— all because the game practically requires online connectivity— earn the game all the flak it’s getting.

It’s not the first time that Visual Concepts and Take-Two Interactive have screwed the pooch in this regard. The yearly iteration sells millions every fucking year. Maybe, just maybe, these assclowns should spend a little more time making sure shit works and less time sticking their grubby and greedy paws into comsumer wallets.

Consumers do bear a measure of responsibility because blindly buying the game as-is every year enables Visual Concepts and Take-Two to keep doing the same shit without improving. That said, there’s absolutely a large amount of harsh and angry criticism that deserves to be flung at the developer and publisher here. It’s obvious where their priorities are, and the player experience is at the bottom of the fucking list. They’re shitheels, but they’re rich shitheels who really won’t care about people being angry unless it affects their bottom lines.

 

[Helios]

For real?

 

[angelic]

Poetic justice.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Reviews continue to look worse and worse, this is why we need to move away from reviews.

 

[lukilladog]

Reviews continue to look worse and worse, this is why we need to move away from reviews.

And who is gonna hold game makers accountable?, IGN?.

 

[Teletraan1]

Don't you have to own the game to leave a review on steam? This series had been a shameless nickel and dime fest for years. People still buy them. They were practically giving the previous one away with unskippable ads. 2K was one of the reasons I bought a Dreamcast. Now I wouldn't even install this if I got it for free.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Lol, this just continues to get worse. But honestly, it's kind of refreshing to see a game getting review-bombed for a reason that isn't petty.