NBA Bounce from Outright Games and Unfinished Pixel brings us a fast-paced, family-friendly basketball experience that allows you to play as official NBA mascots. Learn more in our NBA Bounce review!
NBA Bounce from Outright Games and Unfinished Pixel brings us a fast-paced, family-friendly basketball experience that allows you to play as official NBA mascots. You’ll get to pick from the 30 different teams in the NBA as you play on team-themed courts, choosing between playing as the different NBA mascots or as characters you can customize… that is, once you start to unlock the mascots! This is a fun, all-ages experience that certainly has some NBA Jam vibes going on, offering a more arcade-style, over-the-top take on basketball. Want to play as part of the Chicago Bulls? Sure. More of a Boston Celtics fan? That’s an option. Is it the Los Angeles Lakers that catches your eye? Then go for it!
As you take on a series of 3 vs. 3 matches, you’ll get to dive into the different game modes that NBA Bounce has to offer. Your options for this one are going to be Pick-Up Game, Party Mode, Tournament, Season, and Practice. Pick-Up Game is what would usually be called Quick Game in other releases, since it allows you to take on a single match right away. Party Mode offers some fun twists to the regular arcade-style basketball experience. You’ll be running into a series of game modifiers during your time with Party Mode that will help to keep you on high alert at all times. What are some of the modifiers available for Party Mode? The modifiers include Gold Rush, which will reward you with extra points as you nail successful shots; Ball Pop will make the ball start to flash, which will unleash a confetti shower; or you could get the Extra Point Zones modifier, which activates special circles that will pop up, allowing you to score extra points by shooting from them.
Tournament will have you taking on a new tournament in which 8, 16, or 32 teams can have a go at it as you try to come out on top. Season will allow you to take on a full season while playing as your favorite NBA team. You can set the quarter duration, shot clock, as well as the difficulty, choosing between Rookie, Advanced, and Pro. You’ll be taking on the Western Conference or the Eastern Conference, depending on which team you pick, and try to become the champion. As for Practice, well, it will give you a chance to practice.
You’ll be controlling your character by using the left analog stick or the D-Pad on the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con, sprinting through the court by pressing and holding down the R button. When you have the ball, press and hold down the Y button to shoot. You can try to dunk the ball by sprinting toward the hoop and pressing the Y button when you’re near it. You can pass the ball to your teammate by pressing the B button. You can do this while on the ground or as you try to shoot the ball. Press the X button to try to get a rebound.
You can press the X button to jump and try to block a shot. Press the Y button when you don’t have the ball to try and steal it. If you press the B button when one of your teammates is jumping, you can perform an alley-oop. If you’re taking on this one on your own, you can switch between all three members of your team by pressing the B button. That way, you can try to remain on top of things and keep the action going.
NBA Bounce brings us a fast-paced, family-friendly basketball experience that allows you to play as official NBA mascots. You’ll get to pick from the 30 different teams in the NBA as you play on team-themed courts, choosing between playing as the different NBA mascots or as characters you can customize… that is, once you start to unlock the mascots! This is a fun, all-ages experience that certainly has some NBA Jam vibes going on, offering a more arcade-style, over-the-top take on basketball. Want to play as part of the Chicago Bulls? Sure. More of a Boston Celtics fan? That’s an option. Is it the Los Angeles Lakers that catches your eye? Then go for it!
You can unlock additional items to customize your character’s look, as well as work your way toward unlocking all of the team mascots. Completing the rookie and pro practices will reward you with a Viking hat. Score 3 consecutive shots without breaking the streak in a match, and you’ll get an always stylish, colorful miner’s hat. Pick the Chicago Bulls as your team and win one match, and you’ll get to unlock Benny the Bull! NBA Bounce is out on Nintendo Switch with a $49.99 price tag.
Disclaimer
This NBA Bounce review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Outright Games.
