TopSpin 2K25 review – Timing is key

TopSpin 2K25 / 2K Games

It’s been 11 long years since Top Spin 4's release – being a niche sport for a niche type of sports gamer, the biggest issue with tennis games has always been their budgets. Whether it was the player animations on the court or huge deficiencies in their rosters, there has always been something missing. Niche games with niche audiences rarely have huge budgets, not even Tennis Elbow 4 was triple-A.

With a company like 2K involved, you'd expect this issue to be a thing of the past, right? That's what I had hoped, with tennis entering a new golden age. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner could become the new Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic, and have the spotlight on them like never before. There's never been a better time for TopSpin 2K25 to nail it.

TopSpin 2K25 is a serious tennis simulation. The in-game tennis academy could seem pretentious, but you'll really need it to learn the basics of the sport.

Led by tennis legend John McEnroe, the academy is practically essential. The only issue is – as with EA Sports' WRC – that it's a real slow burn. It can be daunting. I'd enjoy it much more if everything was unlocked right away, so more experienced players could start wherever they prefer. It’s still a good idea to focus during the academy though, as some of the career mode tasks can be a little frustrating if you don't know how to perform a topspin or a slice shot.

Difficulty can feel brutal. The gap between Normal and Hard is just too wide. In the former, you can see AI literally stop running so you can get an easy win, while in the latter even someone at the bottom of the ATP rankings can deploy an impenetrable defense.

TopSpin 2K25 / 2K Games

The shots and ball physics are very well simulated, but sometimes the character animations are frustrating. Your avatar may fail to connect a shot or fail to get into the lane to respond to an opponent's attack, even if it feels like it should’ve been a guarantee.

Each type of shot has different implications, and it's crucial to master them so you can use each in the right scenarios. When it all fits together, it flows like watching a Tetris master clear lines. At the higher difficulties, you need to vary shots to penetrate your opponent's defenses. It's not one of those arcade games where you can button-mash your way to victory.

But the real key is timing. Impacting the ball at the most convenient time causes you to catch your opponent off guard, reducing their stamina. It's something Top Spin has always brilliantly accomplished, and 2K25 is no exception. 

It's also delightful to see how details such as hand and body positioning make it easier to nail a Good or Perfect hit, and how this affects the ability to aim the shot. You can also charge your shot, determining the depth of the hit, and the amount of resistance you spend on it. That adds to a complex stamina management process.

TopSpin 2K25 / 2K Games

The MyCareer mode is the centerpiece of the TopSpin 2K25 experience. The structure of this campaign itself is very traditional, with training sessions, special events, and tournaments to be played on a monthly schedule. Nothing we've not seen before in sports games.

It's pretty deep and reveals a surprising attention to detail. It simulates tennis player fatigue over the course of the season, taking travel between tournaments into account. With special events you can unlock houses that, once set as permanent, can reduce the miles needed to get to a new event. That's how you reduce fatigue ahead of a big match.

Fatigue must also be handled during the tournaments themselves, so as not to suffer injuries of varying degrees below a stamina percentage. This leads to managing the calendar just like a real tennis player, forgoing some events to be in top form for others.

There are RPG elements in here, too. Up to a given level, you make progress using XP. Beyond that, you'll need a coach to get to the level cap. You even upgrade your coach by completing dedicated challenges. When distributing the points earned at level up, you can adhere to the style of a different tennis legend each time, so that the game guides you toward certain upgrades. 

TopSpin 2K25 / 2K Games

Some thought has also been put into match formats. Differently from Matchpoint, you can't save during matches themselves, but there are a lot of options based on how much time you have at your disposal for a session. The "Dynamic" system set by default is perhaps too short – mostly being a 7-point tiebreaker, for 3 to 5 minutes of match time – but it helps those who want to progress through their careers quickly.

TopSpin 2K25 does come with its rough edges. Monetization can be troublesome in the same way as other 2K titles we’ve seen over the years. A Pro Shop allows you to buy mostly cosmetic items, but you also have XP boosters that can be purchased with VC. VC is earned by playing but can also be purchased with real currency. That's a problem when your MyPlayer can be used in online multiplayer, not only in single-player modes.

The visuals are perplexing at times. Most of the licensed tennis players look bizarre, revealing little resemblance to their real-life counterparts. The rest are often Lovecraftian horrors whose hair clips monstrously into exposed skulls.

TopSpin 2K25 / 2K Games

Beyond their representation, the licensed male tennis players are few, and the roster has some gaps we would not have expected given 2K's opulence. Where's Sinner? Where's Djokovic? Where's Nadal? The constantly updating ATP rankings in the MyCareer mode only puts that issue under more spotlight, with Medvedev dominating most of the time followed by Alcaraz.

The good news here is there are a lot of official competitions, even ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, as well as all of the Slams. That's never to be taken for granted – Wimbledon and the Australian Open are so big and expensive that they got standalone games over the years.

TopSpin 2K25 deserved a few more refinements, be it on the technical side of things or in the roster. But it has a solid gameplay foundation, and it can be exciting both on and off the court. While hamstrung by a couple of minor shortcomings, there’s more than enough here to give us hope for the future of the TopSpin franchise.

Score: 7/10

Version tested: PS5