I'm thinking of Stardew Valley, especially in 2016 release version more and more as the years go by. Even with the exposition the game does give you, there's little calm compared to when I first looked at an open field, with no mind for what was to come. As such, I planted my crops.

Fifteen parsnips quickly turned into a beautiful garden filled with crops, fences, decorations, and plans. I watered every plant myself, every morning, and I watched as I progressed and built somewhere I wanted to be, but didn't realize it.

Set to the backdrop of the smallest, woodsiest town one could possibly conceive, Stardew Valley, in my mind, is a monument to a generation that more than anything, simply wants a break. That's what the game was for me. Even as a pixelated version of myself toiled in the fields, I relaxed knowing I'd do it all again in fifteen minutes, and that for at least fifteen minutes, that's all I had to do.

Try this game out, take a break.

I was asked to write this review by a friend, and I figured it would be a fitting first one on this website. As a bit of an author's note, this is moreso a review of the entire NBA 2k franchise as a whole, as opposed to this specific game. I intend to look at gameplay as its developed over the yearly release model, as well as the trends these games represent in both the technological, and economical sides of the video game industry.

I suppose to begin with, yes, these are mildly competent basketball games. You can perform a variety of flashy and fun dribble moves, layups, dunks and shots that all Feel nice to play. The systems at the very basis of the game are all sound and a genuinely enjoyable couch basketball experience. That's why the rest of what I'm about to say feels so tragic as both a basketball fan, and someone who plays a lot of video games.

For better, and certainly for worse, the NBA 2K games have genuinely been on the cutting edge of the industry for some time, despite maybe falling off through the pandemic.

Graphically, when these games try, few games look better. This, of course, is funded by both the yearly release model, and microtransaction HELL.

One of the first experiences regarding microtransactions in gaming i personally remember comes with NBA 2k's Virtual Currency model, and later their own loot box system within the MyTeam game mode.

There is hardly anything besides a basic game you can do within 2k that doesn't involve spending vc, drip feeding it out as gameplay rewards and offering it in multitudes for packages that look quite cheap. Looking cheap Every Time they shove them in your face. Expecting $5 here, $5 there, until ultimately a $60 game has become an $80 dollar one, and so on up the price ladder.

Say what you will about the morality of the model, but it at one point had fully become the industry standard, showing that in the mid2010's the folks at 2k had their finger on the pulse, yet that's not quite the only thing needed to make a good game, is it?

For as good as 2k's finance department is, the execution of plans by their game development department leaves a lot to be desired. Between 2k18, and 2k22, not a single mode in the game has been altered or added outside of MyTeam or MyCareer, the two game modes which require you to spend the most VC in order to progress through the ranks and ultimately create a better roster, or player, respectively. If 2k cannot monetize it, they do not care about it.

Despite what seems to be a genuinely forward thinking dev team with a solid foundation based in basketball and significant technological acheivement, the NBA 2k franchise, even with its massive pool of resources and ideas, has failed to innovate on anything besides it pricing model in a decade and a half, and ultimately, isn't worth more than 2 stars in any iteration.