NBA The Run Testbericht (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, & PC)

It’s been a minute since we’ve had a game like NBA Jam and NBA Street. All this time, NBA 2K has been keeping us fans of hooping culture busy. But it’s never quite the same, is it? Realistic simulation doesn’t quite capture the thrill of streetball. When you’re moving so fast, you can barely process what you’re doing. It’s only when you make that slam dunk that it hits you how unstoppable you’ve been on the court. And your teammates, too. Let’s not forget that it takes teamwork to get past the defense and score. And on the other side of the coin, to put together a deliberate and coordinated strategic block and steal, heading in for a three-point play.

NBA The Run is unlike most sports games you’ll find. It’s stupid fast and brazen, too. You throw all caution to the wind, pulling off clever tricks and twists opponents won’t see coming. And it just goes on and on for matches on end. Before you know it, the sun’s coming up, practically forcing you to turn in and catch some sleep. NBA Jam and NBA Street, despite their relatively niche audience in the basketball space, remain revered and nostalgic pastimes that some of us still head back to every now and then.  And now, Play by Play Studios is coming in with potentially the next streetball sensation. Do they deliver? Let’s find out in our NBA The Run review.

All the Stars

NBA The Run is a fast 3-on-3 street basketball game, following in the footsteps of NBA Street and NBA Jam. They share the same veteran developers, who are so passionate about streetball that they had to bring it back for the modern platforms. But even when accessible on current-gen consoles, NBA The Run plays much like NBA Street. You have your generous selection of NBA stars. Stephen Curry, Victor Wembanyama, Kevin Durant, and many more. A total of 32 stars you can choose from, carefully considering their varying capabilities on-court. 

During the matches, it might be difficult to spot stark differences in the players. But they sure do have subtle uniqueness around their signature styles. If you choose Victor Wembanyama, then you’ll be lucky to use his height for blocks and dunks. Other players may be all-rounded, and you can then tweak their individual stats to your play styles. It’s certainly not an in-depth customization system that gives you free rein over the exact kind of player you want, but it’s a distinct enough difference among the players, enough to notice and exploit. 

Around the World

The lack of a character creation system aside, you have your diverse picks of streetball courts from around the world. A distinct enough collection as well, featuring iconic courts in New York, Beijing, and Venice Beach. These are all laid-back streetball courts without any broadcasting. They look pretty cool, with stylish designs and an atmospheric feel of streetball culture, whether it’s the concrete jungle surroundings of New York or the sunlit backdrop at the beach. 

Culminating the settings is the audio, both sound effects and commentary. Streetball icon Bobbito Garcia is back in all his glory, for better or worse. His high-energy slang really makes NBA Street’s return feel real and here to stay. He’ll hype you up when you make flashy moves that pay off. But just as well, harsh, if you make stupid mistakes. Streetball ain’t for the faint of heart. 

Cherry on Top

It’s one thing to have a diverse roster of players and courts, and another to randomize them so that every new match feels different. You never know what to expect going into a new match, and that’s where NBA The Run brings it home. It always feels like a new experience joining a match, taking the time to settle into your new surroundings, before the actual frenzy begins.

That’s another point of surprise because the rules of the game change as well. You might play the usual three-point system. But that can change in exciting ways. Say, dunks now score three points, while all other shots only accrue one point. You might have a countdown for how long you can hold onto a ball. Still, some rules can have teams competing toe-to-toe. Whoever’s the first to reach 30 points wins. 

In and Out

Typically, the matches are very quick. You won’t be in a match longer than a few minutes before you humbly take your win or loss. And that’s just perfect because you can quickly re-queue and redeem yourself in the next match. Losses are never really points of contention. Rather, learning points from which to adjust your strategy and experiment with new treats and tricks. 

You’re often discovering some new trick you haven’t tried before, whether from making a mistake or witnessing someone pull it off with grandeur. And you get to try it near instantly because matches never overstay their welcome. In no time at all, you’ll be in another match, throwing new tricks at the wall and seeing what sticks. 

Team Up

If you further think about it, it’s a welcome system that makes it so you never have to stick with a team you don’t like for too long. Without any communication channels, it can be tough to coordinate moves with teammates who aren’t on the same radar as you. Some may simply decide not to pass the ball to you. But no fret. You’ll soon ditch them for a potentially better team, and the little frustration will have been worth it when the momentum kicks in.

Because it really does. The Knockout Squads game mode in NBA The Run is electric joy. Whether on the offense or defense, you’ll often be on the move, strategizing when to be on the move, or creating space for your teammates. The offense and defense sides of gameplay both have pretty deep and strategic tactics to try out. You can effectively shove opponents to snatch the ball from them, jump up to block them, and perform dribble tricks you had no idea NBA The Run had in its bag of tricks.

Managing Chaos

While Knockout Squads is likely where you’ll spend most of your time, NBA The Run has another relatively fun mode called Knockout Solos. Rather than control one player in a team of human players, Solos has you control a team of three against another player. It’s pretty much like you imagine in other sports games, where the player you control is the one currently holding the ball. And on the defense, you can freely move from player to player, maximizing positioning and skill.

Skill is where the catch is, where they have to balance out. Or else, your team will be stuck with players who only thrive in one thing. You want to balance out strengths and weaknesses, and manage how your players thrive in their roles. 

I’ll sneak the Knockout Friends game mode here as well because it’s setting up a private match for players to compete against AI. The AI is intelligent enough, smartly positioning itself on the court and blocking and stealing the ball at crucial times, though it can be wonky sometimes. 

Online Only

You’ll notice that I haven’t mentioned anything to do with single-player campaign or challenges because NBA The Run is an online-only game. Apparently, the reason for this terrible judgment is the small-sized developing team. They assure fans that more content will be coming soon, once they’ve had more time to work on things. And I want to leave it at that because the new content could potentially be pretty awesome, bringing the NBA The Run experience full circle. 

I’m looking forward to more NBA stars and streetball legends, more courts around the world, and more game modes, including single-player and offline modes. It’ll certainly make the grind to higher ranks easier, as well as increase replayability. At present, you can only unlock cosmetic rewards. So, jerseys, animations, taunts, etc. Or the badges and banners you may have seen with some players. That’s perfect, ensuring that online matches are fair game. 

Still, nothing beats a proper career mode. Some kind of personal goal to set for yourself and work toward fulfilling. The satisfaction that a career mode adds to a sports game has been sustaining the greatest titles around. Otherwise, the gameplay, as is, barely needs much restructuring. It’s fast and fun, with potentially highly addictive tendencies. Well, the animations could use a little more smoothing out, so the players’ movements don’t look jerky.

Verdict

The faults in NBA The Run have nothing to do with its current offering. Instead, it’s the glaring lack of an offline mode or couch co-op. You also have other minor gripes, like a lack of a communication channel for the online matches and jerky player movements. But I don’t want to linger on what the game lacks, when what’s currently on offer is so much fun. This is the best of streetball returned to us with all of its hype and energy intact.