NBA THE RUN was my first sports game (and it’s pretty fun)

Would it surprise you if I said that as a horror games journalist, I don’t spend a lot of time playing sports? Terribly shocking, I know – I can pull off a nice speedrun in Resident Evil 4, sure, but my actual running speed is akin to a wobbly pigeon with its legs on backwards.

I don’t spend much time in the sports gaming world as a result of my usual disinterest in sports, but ended up netting more hours than expected with NBA THE RUN. It’s a fast-paced and funky basketball game that’s ideal for folks who want a bite-sized play session. Here’s Kyusai’s full NBA THE RUN review.

Simple and stylish

Developed and published by the team at Play by Play Studios, NBA THE RUN is an online 3v3 basketball game that aims to keep things fast-paced and stylish. While it’s certainly got its quirks, there’s a fair amount to love here.

Unlike most of the games I’d usually be reviewing, there isn’t a story or world to begin by critiquing – the game has three modes and they’re all decently simple to understand, which makes it easy to hop into the game as a new player.

There’s Knockout Squads, which lets you play with two companions against a team of three, Knockout Solos, which lets you play with your own team of three against another, or Knockout Friends, which lets you focus on private tournaments.

I spent most of my time playing in the Knockout Solos mode, playing with three of my own players against another player’s trio. I found the gameplay to be the most responsive and enjoyable here, but all three modes had a unique style of play that I can see different types of gamers getting a kick out of.

If you’re someone who enjoys playing competitively against friends and setting up mini tournaments, Knockout Friends may be the ideal game mode for you, for example, but Knockout Squads may be better for folks who like competitive online matches where there’s a real sense of progression.

There’s a decent variety of maps and rule sets on offer, too, with the amount of points needed and special match modifiers changing each time you queue up.

I found that every round felt different, meaning it was beneficial to switch up my team and choose new players to experiment with. Based on the amount of basketball player names that I could recognize, I’m pretty sure that fans of the sport will like the variety of athletes featured here.

To simplify it drastically, gameplay consists of shooting and trying to score points – surprising, I know – while blocking and defending the ball from the opposing team. Matches are short, usually ranging from 5 to 10 minutes. This felt like the ideal runtime, as the style of play is fast and snappy.

There’s the ability to shove and steal from the other players, which I found incredibly funny, along with flashier dunks and court movements that came with glitchy visual effects. It’s the sort of game where if you practice your button combos, you can pull off tighter movements, rewarding time investment.

Surprisingly intuitive

I had been initially worried about diving into NBA THE RUN as I’ve never played a basketball game before this, but I found the introductory process to be decent.

While other players certainly put me through my paces, the game did a good job of letting me get used to the style of play. The basic controls are mostly intuitive, the interface is easy to parse, and there’s a small offline feature where you can practice different movements and styles of shooting.

I had hoped for there to be more of an offline and single player offering with the game, if only to get more practice time in without getting immediately rolled by other players, but it is a multiplayer-first title, so I can’t complain too heavily; admittedly, this is like being upset that top esports titles don’t have narrative-led campaign options.

The art style was a highlight for me – I find that competitive multiplayer games can look weird and clunky if they aim for a realistic art style, so the stylization of the players felt like a fantastic choice.

There were splash screens for each individual map, which was both a blessing and a curse. The visual style was great and the screens had been designed to fit the game’s aesthetic nicely, but the actual animations on these screens looked clunky and disjointed.

If you’re so inclined, there’s a vibrant in-game store on offer, selling players, outfits, dunks, taunts, badges, and banners, all in-line with the game’s leveling battle pass system.

I’m not as violently opposed to battle passes as some gamers, but some players may dislike this addition. The more you play and win, the more you’ll level up, and the more resources you’ll get as a result, meaning you can pad out your collection.

Performance-wise, NBA THE RUN was fine enough, if a little disjointed in places. I played on PlayStation 5 and found the experience to be decent, but did find that a few of the fixed camera angles – what is this, Resident Evil? – meant I couldn’t actually see my active player or the ball in some cases.

The splash screens could be a little clunky in their animations, as mentioned, but other than this, I didn’t encounter any other quirks during my time with the game. There weren’t any game-breaking bugs or major hoops to jump through.

For my first sports game, I had a lot more fun with this than I expected to. NBA THE RUN certainly has some quirks and room to improve as the game grows, but it’s lively and upbeat, with a style of play that’s easy to get the hang of.

If you’re a fan of online sports games and want a game that’s easy to pick up for short bursts after a long day at work, it’s worth considering. It doesn’t feel like the most technical basketball game, it’s more of an arcade style of play – and if that’s your jam, then you’ll have a ball here.

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