NBA: The Run Review — Nothing But Net

Believing simulations dominate sports games, studio Play By Play wants to reintroduce social, more casual experiences to the genre, beginning with an arcade basketball revival. Citing NBA Street Vol. 2 as a key influence, NBA: The Run brings caricaturistic flair to the courts, with matches streamlined by relentless transitions. Yet, flaming baskets and momentum-based power-ups aside, The Run’s pick-up-and-play action is surprisingly grounded, featuring real-life NBA stars, each occupying a specific archetype, with matches played on real-world courts.

Instead of leaning on fantastical mechanics – the gravity-defying firepower of Rocket League’s vehicles, or the absurd irreverence in Pro Jank Footy’s deck of cards – online multiplayer only NBA: The Run promises to capture and sustain your attention through razor-sharp controls and fluid animation. The question is: does it actually deliver on that promise?

Starting with those controls, they’re incredibly responsive, lending a deliberate feel to every action. Be it a skip pass, between-the-legs dribble, or awestriking alley-oop, whether you’re driving to the net or exercising ball-handling wizardry, NBA: The Run’s immediacy puts you in complete control. However, there is, at first, a visual disconnect between your inputs and certain animations. The motion of picking up a loose ball, for instance, doesn’t share the same precision, with your athlete seemingly able to grab the ball as soon as it’s within proximity. Likewise, leaps often see your athlete’s trajectory shift and correct mid-air.

Now, whilst The Run’s animation elasticity can be jarring on first impression, it’s important to frame this design correctly. What Play By Play is shooting for here is intentional, preserving flow by prioritising frictionless momentum over simulation accuracy. So, where passes, jumps, and dunks might not always be executed from the “correct” spots, the animation’s looseness will fix it for you automatically – and it’s a quirk that ensures the game is easy to play.

"Starting with those controls, they’re incredibly responsive, lending a deliberate feel to every action."

And NBA: The Run’s arcade identity is further enforced by brisk, two-to-three minute matches, with a tournament loop usually taking no more than fifteen minutes to reach its conclusion. Alongside constant transitional play, and short countdown timers minimising half-court offence, the idea is for you to enjoy countless quick sessions rather than commit to marathon playtimes. It’s a design intent that’s closer to Fortnite – where you don’t need to be accomplished to join in – than other, more systemically dense sports sims which can feel intimidating to play online.

And, if Play By Play are hoping to reap modern multiplayer experiences for their casual accessibility, they’re looking much further back for The Run’s character-driven influences. Specifically, vintage arcade titles like 1987’s Tecmo Bowl and 1988’s Ice Hockey, where the athletes in those games each had different sizes, strengths, speeds, and traits.

Adopting this framework, in NBA: The Run each athlete is moulded around an archetype. Steph Curry is lethal from range, for instance, while Victor Wembanyama is a defensive tower block and Giannis Antetokounmpo can power drive at will. While distinctions aren’t always as strongly differentiated as these three examples, it’s still important to synergise the particular strengths and weaknesses of your three-man squad. This isn’t, however, so you can chase a preferred playstyle. No, randomly selected rulesets modify the dynamic of each game – three-point alley-oops, unlimited stamina, one-point per basket, and so on – means a lineup that covers all bases is going to function better across a broad spectrum of variables instead of, say, a team composed exclusively of perimeter-shooting specialists.

Whilst these rulesets inject an enjoyable sense of variety, encouraging you to engage with the entirety of the game’s mechanics rather than hone in on sharpshooting or net driving, they can exaggerate imbalance in character archetypes. For example, rules which emphasise shooting from outside the paint become exhibitions in blocking Steph Curry-types, and if you don’t have a Wenbanyama equivalent in your squad you’re practically cooked.

"In NBA: The Run each athlete is moulded around an archetype."

Still, these randomised rules are fun, providing, predominantly, a satisfying offensive flow. Supported by vibrant visual feedback like screen shake and swift crossovers that are executable by a simple flick of the right thumbstick, attacking the net is expressive and readable. Defence, meanwhile, doesn’t feel quite as good to play. Swiping is imprecise, guarding lacks intuitiveness, and there’s a reliance on AI when the player in your command is out of position as the system doesn’t swap to the most opportune defender anywhere-near quick enough.

The intended equal footing between offence and defence, then, doesn’t fully land. The inability to manually switch players seems like a genuine design flaw, limiting your agency in how you go about disrupting an attack.

And the problems with defending are stacked by a handful of readability issues too. During especially swift transitions (which happen a lot), the camera doesn’t always track the ball, and when all six athletes are occupying the key you can quickly lose sight of the player in your control amidst all the visual clutter. Switching the opposing team to grayscale colours only partially fixes the problem. Certain arenas, such as the concrete backdrop of The Philippines’ Tenement Court, make distinguishing players from one another a struggle, and this is despite the coloured ring at your athlete’s feet.

While the chaos is an intentional design choice, on-court readability suffers too much. In chasing constant motion, NBA: The Run occasionally loses clarity of play.

Elsewhere, the game modes available at launch are slim, although Play By Play intends to iterate and expand post-launch. Solo Mode has you take charge of all three athletes, facing off against another solo-human-controlled team, whereas in Squads Mode you’ll control a single athlete throughout each game, with control handed over to two other humans to complete your team. While matchmaking can be slower in this mode, and it takes a pinch more discipline to function as one third of a unit, it does eventually become more engaging than Solo Mode.

"While the chaos is an intentional design choice, on-court readability suffers too much."

There’s an unspoken sense of camaraderie that carries over between tournaments, not least because your three-man team remains intact whether you win or lose. This consistency means that, over time, you’ll mould your performance around your teammates’ particular styles, and vice versa. If you win a tournament, there’s a sense of satisfaction in knowing you’ve done it together. But, this feeling isn’t tangible; it’s more presumed. See, while Play By Play positions The Run as a social experience, there’s a distinct lack of communication tools between you and your teammates. Without in-game voice chat, or even selectable, pre-determined callouts – like the kind found in three-versus-three football game Rebound – then The Run’s social ambition is undermined. The game fosters teamwork, for sure, but it doesn’t fully support it yet.

That’s not to say the game doesn’t emphasise a meaningful user experience. Indeed, with progression tied to performance, with no monetisation at launch, NBA: The Run wants you to earn your status and feel rewarded while doing it. That said, levelling up speed and in-game currency accumulation is heavily skewed towards winning. With cosmetic prices being slightly high relative to earn rate the game risks feeling grindy if you’re stuck on a losing streak.

Yet, through exceptionally responsive controls, momentum-driven matches, and a playloop designed for short, meaningful sessions, NBA: The Run nails a strong arcade identity. Despite defensive inconsistencies, readability issues, and limited modes at launch. Play By Play has crafted a solid foundation which they’ll undoubtedly build upon.

Whilst this isn’t a basketball sim, NBA: The Run still feels authentically like basketball, and you don’t need to be a seasoned baller to know that capturing the spirit of the game matters more than recreating it.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.