This is the third rendition of this review. It is now recommended. Here is why:
I'm a fanatical Football Manager player, since the nineties I've religiously bought every year's version. And I heard rumours from across the Atlantic of a similar and excellent game covering college basketball, Draft Day Sports... So when Pro Basketball 2021 came out on Steam and showed up in my recommendations I was delighted.
This updated review is after over 80 hours of gameplay. The game has it's moments and if you can work through the inconsistencies and limitations it is worth it. The depth in the game is incredible, it is also realistic in the way that the dynamics of the NBA ebb and flow. Gameplay is opaque, and it took me some time to realise that was on purpose. If you play the game on the basis of having as many 'stars' (as in the 5 star scale players are ranked on) rather than seeing if players fit your coach's style and your team's culture you are not going to find success. You have to dive into the menus to compare and contrast, to understand the way your team is winning or losing, you have to understand this to make sure you make the right trade and draft decisions.
This is where the thrill comes in. I was staring at the 'stars', wanting to have at least a 5 star player and supporting that with two or three other 4 star players wins you the league right? Well no... it really doesn't. As an example I present to you the fantasy drafted Knicks: Ben Simmons, James Harden, Victor Oladipo, Aaron Gordon and Brook Lopez as the starting five. What could go wrong, right?
Yeah, they all want the ball in their hands and there isn't enough consistent shooting in the team. I also didn't have a bench to contribute... first round exit, embarrassing!
So your roster decisions matter, trading Simmons for a less ball dominant guard would have made a difference. Relegating Oladipo to sixth man and playing Anunoby instead would have made a difference. You have to keep an eye on all these things. Once you do, this game comes to live, it is challenging, as in really challenging, and over time you really come to appreciate that. It shouldn't be easy to win the NBA with any team.
That all said, there are massive negatives, the interface is pants, it is really poor, finding the relevant information involves lots of clicks and getting used to all that information and how it is presented takes a lot of time. The match-day experience is on par with watching a four year old play chess. The D-league is a pointless addition, 'managing' in the D-League is basically clicking advance until the end of the season hoping you've won.
But despite all that, I have now changed my recommendation. If you are into basketball, in particular into the mechanics of building a great team? It's worth sinking your time into this. In fact, I might pick up the College variant of this as well now... I didn't think I'd say that smoe 50 hours ago!
