Nintendo Switch owners, rejoice! One of the best arcade games of the year in NBA Playgrounds finally has online play.
Developer of the street basketball game, Saber Interactive, has finally brought online play to the Switch version of the title, long after the feature arrived at launch on the Xbox One and PS4 versions.
Online play comes with ranked matches, allowing players to work their way up the leaderboards and challenge their friends and rivals.
The new Challenge feature will allow you to directly challenge another player to a game from within Playgrounds. Saber Interactive says players only have to “agree on a code”, open the online mode, switch to Challenges, enter the code and then face each other. Seems a little too difficult for an online game, but, eh, at least it exists.
NBA Playgrounds has also received a host of gameplay tweaks and improvements.
One thing that has been addressed is the game’s shooting system from jump shots and threes, to dunks, layups and all other types of shot (if any remain …). Saber says it’s “redone the timing”, added a new shot meter to improve accessibility, and “clarified” the entire system (whatever that means).
Also coming are 15 new players, including Isaiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman, all available and unlocked regularly through player packs, and earned during tournaments, as well as when levelling up your profile.
NBA Playgrounds is the closest thing we have to NBA Jam in the modern era, and while it’s not quite as refined or fun as that series, it’s still a fairly solid and enjoyable multiplayer game to play with/against friends. Highly recommended if you’re an NBA fan looking for some casual fun on your Switch.
[irp]
Marty_Mate
Friday 14th of July 2017
The gameplay is much more balanced now, Pre-patch it was just a 3 point shootout but now threes are are harder to hit. There aren't too many playing online though which is a bummer.