Review: Top Spin 2K25 – Let's go for the Grand Slam

It might seem like not, but there was a time when tennis games were part of the basic basket of sports video games. Come on, at the time the competition between Top Spin and Virtua Tennis It gave us some really solid titles that fans really enjoyed. Now, almost 2 decades later, Top Spin 2K25 appears and tries to take over a place that we don't know who really wants to occupy.

Hangar 13 is the development team that was in charge of giving life to Top Spin 2K25 after many years of absence. We can even say that it was an iconic title from the first Xbox, but after 4 installments, nothing else happened. There may be several reasons, including the popularity of tennis in the world. Why go back now?

Come on, there are tennis games on the market, but they are not so transcendental or that they attract the public's attention. Yes, it sounds like a negative scenario, but it is reality. They could give them away and they are not going to play them. Even if they had licenses, they won't touch them. What has to happen for white sport games to be popular again? Well, Top Spin 2K25 I might have the answer.

Let me tell you how well the work was done by the Hangar 13 team, which does not have many games under its belt, but does have experience and resources to develop experiences that players will enjoy.

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A more exact and less arcade tennis is what Top Spin 2K25 offers

It is very debatable what a sports video game should be like, especially when there are several that are annual franchises that do not seem to have changes or adjustments between one installment and another. The question one asks oneself with Top Spin 2K25 is where should you point? Arcade or simulation? The easiest thing would be for it to be a title with four buttons to make different endings, but you can go further.

Top Spin 2K25 It offers several particular features that are between arcade and simulation. The first thing is the accuracy and parameters with which you make a shot. For example, you have to make placed shots, which will not be solid or strong, but they go to the right place. From there we can start the shot with full power, which is very close to the good execution of a top spin or direct shot.

Then, a bar appears that at the end has a kind of green space, when you prepare the shot a line moves that can go very fast or slow depending on the difficulty, if you execute well, the shot will go perfectly where you want it to go, no necessarily with power, but with good placement. Let's say that hitting that green signal as much as possible makes your shot sure to stay on the court.

From these precepts the game of tennis becomes complex, since there is no room for error. The moment you answer a ball wrong, you will be lost and you may lose the point for taking the ball out of the court or, failing that, you may leave all the freedoms to your rival. This makes the game very challenging and there is a lot of fun in it.

Good combination of physics and animation

The main problem with sports games is that they either focus on movement animation or collision physics. Be careful, it is not the same to compare a game of tennis with one of American football or basketball, however, what happens in Top Spin 2K25 It is a clear example of how both sections can be balanced in pursuit of a pleasant experience.

The first thing you should take into account is that animation is important because all forehand, backhand, top spin, slice or lob shots have different shapes and rhythms to be executed. Now, add the physics section: the ball does not bounce the same on clay as it does on the ground, much less on grass. Even the movement or height of the tennis player you are playing with.

Top Spin 2K25 It doesn't do this task perfectly, but it does it in such a way that it manages to make a game in which you have to worry about all the factors. Now, the problem is that it becomes perhaps too exaggerated in accuracy. Sure, those are its rules, but it seems that it punishes you a lot if you don't master them and that can generate some frustration in the players.

Sometimes overcomplicating a sports game can cause the player to not feel part of the experience. The ideal is to try to bet on fun rather than putting a kind of door that cannot be opened so easily. As I mentioned, the execution is satisfactory, but it does take a lot of practice to reach that goal.

Playing a career fulfills the task of showing you how hard the life of a tennis player is.

Maybe Top Spin 2K25 be from the 2K family of sports games: you know, NBA, WWE, PGA Tour, etc., but that doesn't mean it handles the same. For example, it would have been great if it had a kind of story mode dedicated to a particular tennis player in which you relive his most notable matches. You already have John McEnroe teaching you how to play, well you should have something like the WWE Showcase where you relive those extraordinary moments of a famous tennis player.

On the other hand, the microtransactions are not as wild and nailed as with NBA 2K. Here, for the moment, they are certainly measured and without falling into some unnecessary ridicule. Let's say we're fine there. Now, the number of players is not that large. It seems that many more licenses are needed. If Roger Federer is there, then Rafael Nadal should be there. If we have John McEnroe, then we should also see Jimmy Connors. Come on, there are many historical ones that would work with this title. The point is that it was a much more humble production than the other titles.

Career mode goes perfectly with what a professional tennis player experiences every year: training, tournaments, breaks, injuries and much more, all with the opportunity to climb the ATP rankings. Your player progresses with training and the results of the tournaments, which are carried out in a very agile way; with sets to win 6 or 7 points or as if trying to follow volleyball rules where you have to stay with the service all the time to add points.

The player design tools aren't as nailed down as those in other 2K games, however, Top Spin 2K25 It fully fulfills the task of giving you enough freedom to be able to make a tennis player from scratch or perhaps recreate a legend. You have to be very detailed and meticulous, but if you can, you can. It's not like they're going to put so much effort into this section, but at least, I feel happy to have made my version of Ryoma Echizen from The Prince of Tennis.

It is not a graphic marvel like the other 2K sports games

The tennis players who come out in Top Spin 2K25 Sometimes they look good and other times, not so much. For example, they seem to have strange eyes, like bulging eyes. Then, in the replay shots, the animations look weird. When you're playing, the player's movements don't look as clunky as they do in slow motion.

Well, beyond this very important section, Top Spin 2K25 It does look very good when it comes to presenting the courts. Of course there are the 4 grand slams with their respective stadiums and brands, but we also have several Masters 1000 series events that look very good. The sound effects when hitting the ball, the finish of each court shows that here they wanted to give a lot of fan service to the player and they achieved it.

The visual and general experience of the game fully fulfills its purpose. It does not require, at least at this time, falling into pretensions of animations made with AI and then a special engine that does more than what is required in a sports game. Although we have a very demanding game in its execution, we also enjoy a gaming experience that fans of the white sport are going to enjoy a lot.

The online section was compliant, at least in a controlled environment, which is what we had access to. Despite not having an efficient connection – in terms of what the game wanted – the matches turned out to work quite well. I hope this is replicated when the game goes on sale, because the challenges with other players in the modes that require an Internet connection can be very entertaining.

Should you buy Top Spin 2K25

As I mentioned, the offer of tennis video games has not been strengthened for several years. Sega hasn't made a Virtua Tennis since 2012 and this series returned after more than a decade. Come on, we can say that the sport itself may be to blame, which may not be so popular, however, in the past, it was a reference for several generations of consoles. Because there are consumers, there are only a few that need to be given to them with an experience that is entertaining.

Top Spin 2K25 It is a demanding game that is not so easy to master. It has more concepts of a simulation experience than an arcade one, which can be frustrating for some players. The balance between animations and physics makes the gaming experience entertaining. We need more players, both current and legends. Hangar 13 made an applaudable good effort to get tennis fans back in control as if they were using a racket.

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Let's play Top Spin 2K25 on PS5 with a code provided by a 2K Games representative in our region.

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