2K21 guy here and need some honest opinions

[DanSF49]

I have gotten into 2K21 for the last few months, pretty much the only game I have been playing. Now that EA has their game out along with 2K23, I'm looking to purchase one of them. I've been watching videos and reading posts on here and I'm still on the fence, not sure what to get. Can you guys chime in with your thoughts considering I'm coming from 2K21 and I'm on the PS5. I see EA is on sale for $50 so I was thinking of grabbing that one. Thanks in advance

[MrArlingtonBeach]

Quote: Originally Posted by DanSF49

So have I have gotten into 2K21 for the last few months, pretty much the only game I have been playing. Now that EA has their game out along with 2K23, I'm looking to purchase one of them. I've been watching videos and reading posts on here and I'm still on the fence, not sure what to get. Can you guys chime in with your thoughts considering I'm coming from 2K21 and I'm on the PS5. I see EA is on sale for $50 so I was thinking of grabbing that one. Thanks in advance

I don't have a next-gen system, so I have not played EA's game at all. But I have 2K21 and 2K23 and have had both since their release dates. And I have tried to keep up with all news and info on EA as much as I possibly could!

Overall: In terms of going from 2K21 to 2K23, there are some areas in which the game is dramatically different, while in other ways the game is very much the same. 2K23 has leaned into more "arcade" things, like skill points, club fittings and consumable golf balls which enhance your attributes. It's not like in 2K21, where clubs were purely cosmetic and your golfer had no attributes. Your character now gets an archetype with strengths and weaknesses, and you can build upon that with fittings and golf balls.

Visuals: 2K23 looks better than 2K21, but even from just watching YouTube videos, it's clear to see that EA's golf game is the best looking one out there. Makes sense, as it's the only one totally optimized for next-gen consoles.

Gameplay: I won't speak to EA, as I've not played it. But if you're familiar with 2K21, you'll pretty know what you're getting with 2K23. There have been some tweaks to the gameplay, but it's pretty much the same. 2K23 also has a 3-click swing option (as does EA), but the 3-click in 2K23 is much different than the traditional style seen in golf games past.

Courses: EA has many major championship and iconic courses in the game (31 total now, including the holy grail that is Augusta), and they have just added Oak Hill for the PGA Championship. They will be adding the US Open host, the Open Championship host, the BMW Championship host, and the Ryder Cup host later in the year as well. 2K23 has the course designer, and an endless supply of user-made tracks to play. Along with those 2K23 also has 26 real-life official courses in the game, and will be adding others like Pinehurst No. 2 at some point.

Single player modes: EA's game seems to put a focus on career mode and the single player experience. There are lots of challenges to complete, sponsor gear to collect, and major championships to win. 2K23 has a career mode that does have lots of the more "minor" real-world PGA Tour events (John Deere Classic, 3M Open), but it is sorely missing the licensed majors. There also really isn't much to do in 2K23 aside from play the career mode rounds...you just go from one event to the next and that's it. You do have rivals to defeat that give you gear, but you just keep cycling thru them once you beat them all. 2K23 does allow you to swap courses from a curated list to change some of the hosts of the fictional events on the career mode schedule, helping change things up a bit.

Online: 2K23 has a ranked matchmaking system that allows you to play against other players online in turn-based, 9-hole matches. You can level up and get rewards within the mode. There are solo matches (1v1) and duos (2v2), and duos are alt-shot. You can also play casual matchmaking games or play Topgolf online, too. And 2K23 still has societies, as well. EA has simultaneous online play with up to 16 players in a match. It's not turn based, and you can see the other players on the course at the same time in real time. All online matches are stroke play, as far as I understand it - there's no alt-shot or match play events within the matchmaking on EA's game (please someone correct me if I'm wrong!). EA does offer daily, weekly and seasonal tournaments in various difficulty levels (Arcade, Tour, Sim, etc), where you try to finish in certain tiers to get rewards.

If you liked 2K21, you'll probably like 2K23. In fact, I like 2K23 quite a bit, despite some of the shifts to "arcade" kind of things.

And just to put my 2 cents in, speaking from my own personal feelings, if I had a next-gen console, I'd have EA's game as well. Career mode is a big deal for me, and 2K's isn't the best. Meanwhile, EA has all the majors, Augusta, other big-time courses like Kiawah, Whistling Straits, St Andrews, etc. I could see a place in my game collection for both 2K23 and EA PGA.

Hope this helps!

[lowpaiddonkey10]

Agree with Beach. Pick up EA now and get 2k23 when it goes on deep sale. There are enough differences between 2k21 and 2k23 to warrant a purchase.

[MrArlingtonBeach]

Quote: Originally Posted by lowpaiddonkey10

Agree with Beach. Pick up EA now and get 2k23 when it goes on deep sale. There are enough differences between 2k21 and 2k23 to warrant a purchase.

Seems you can get PS5's version PGA 2K23 right now for $25 and PS5 EA PGA for $50, so you could get both EA and 2K23 at the same time for $75, which is not bad at all - considering EA PGA was $70 just a month ago on its own.

Just something to consider.

[kehlis]

A lot of it depends what you’re looking for to be honest. How do you play 21 and what kinds of things are you looking for in a golf game? Both new things do some things better than the other.


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[DanSF49]

Quote: Originally Posted by kehlis

A lot of it depends what you’re looking for to be honest. How do you play 21 and what kinds of things are you looking for in a golf game? Both new things do some things better than the other

I've mainly just been playing the MyCareer mode, but its starting to get stall after a few runs through. Its the same thing over and over again, along with Justin Thomas at the top of the leaderboards all the time.

[MrArlingtonBeach]

Quote: Originally Posted by DanSF49

I've mainly just been playing the MyCareer mode, but its starting to get stall after a few runs through. Its the same thing over and over again, along with Justin Thomas at the top of the leaderboards all the time.

2K23's career mode is quite similar to 2K21's. The only real reason to play it in 2K23 is to get the rival and sponsor rewards/gear. Once you're done with that, it too will feel stale - it has gotten to that point for me.

And for me, leaderboards are better in 2K23, but I still have Tiger Woods winning quite often and is always at the top of the FedExCup standings.

[DanSF49]

@MrArlingtonBeach, I wanted to say thank you for the great breakdown you gave on your earlier reply! I wish you had a PS5 to tell me how much of a difference it is between the 2 games when playing on the next gen system.