TopSpin 2K25 Review (PlayStation 5)

by Jim Smale · Published May 7, 2024 · Updated May 7, 2024

TopSpin 2K25 Review, Visit iconic venues, climb the Tour ranks, and experience a bevy of competitive modes in TopSpin 2K25. Learn from tennis legend John McEnroe at the TopSpin Academy and use his knowledge to help you become a Grand Slam champion in MyCAREER or defeat players online in the 2K and World tours.

TopSpin 2K25 Review Pros:

Decent realistic-looking graphics.
26.58GB download size.
Platinum trophy.
You get the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5 versions of the game.
Measurements can be set to imperial or metric.
Links your 2K account.
Uses the DualShock speaker.
The game begins with you playing a match as Federer against Murray. It will do fast-forward sections so you play key sequences.
Shots have a timer bar on them so you can do well-timed or late shots which affects shot placement and power.
The Centre course pass is like a battle pass with free and paid tier unlocks.
MyPlayer is where you create and customize your own character.
Pro Shop is where you buy cosmetics, currency, court passes and boosts with VC credit.
Cross-play support that can be turned on and off.
Online modes – world tour, online exhibition, and 2K tour.
Local Play modes – My career, exhibition, and Topspin Academy.
Topspin Academy is an in-depth tutorial/practice model hosted by John Macenro. It’s all split up by basics, play style, and advanced.
The controls are tight in terms of aiming shots and movement.
You can play a men’s or women’s tour.
The character creator has you starting with a preset, set to right or left-handed, behavior (normal/impassive/exuberant), full grunts system where you can adjust the pitch for each type of grunt like serving or volleying, etc, head preset with full sliders for every part of the face.
The game has prosthetics for your character.
Player attributes can be earned and added to – forehand, backhand, serve, volley, power, speed, stamina, and reflexes.
The locker room is used for changing your gear and outfits.
Gameplay helper options – timing meter, timing feedback, power indicator, rally energy meter, ball bounce indicator, and serve indicator.
The actual act of hitting the ball is you press and hold the button and the bar moves, you then let go of the green bar for a perfect shot.
Challenges act like the game’s own achievements and are always changing as you complete them and earn exp for the center court pass.
MyCareer has five difficulties, set the match format (dynamic/super tie break/short set/topspin/real tennis), and auto-play podcasts.
The MyCareer mode splits the game into months and then into events so you can do training, special events, and then a tournament or match.
At any time you can rest in career mode as you have an overall fitness bar and playing matches will lower it and resting will restore it.
Optional replay button for points scored.
Training modules in career mode are a mix of fine-tuning your skills and mini-games.

TopSpin 2K25 Review Cons:

The game won’t actually let you start playing until you have set up or linked a 2K account.
VC credit is the premium currency that is littered around the game from the season pass to the shop.
Loading times between menus and modes are up and down.
Sells XP boosts for real money.
very basic character creator that doesn’t allow the whacky side of creation to flourish.
The game tries to add in mini-games and more excitement but it just doesn’t have the atmosphere or modes to make the game feel happy and fun.
Online matchmaking feels like it isn’t that well-balanced.
the hit mechanics take a while to get used to as you have to almost retrain yourself.
The opening match just begins and you don’t even get told any controls.
Wooden-looking facial expressions.
It costs real money to reassign your stats/attributes.
Cannot remap controls.

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