On the court itself, NBA 2K23 has seen improvements in every department. The story here, which sees you go head to head with another rookie called Shep Owens, survives the cut, but it's yet another sign that last-generation consoles are struggling to keep up as the best parts of this year's MyPlayer experience have been discarded here. Where newer consoles get a vastly improved 'City' to skateboard around, we have to put up with a watered-down G.O.A.T Boat neighbourhood instead. The MyPlayer portion of the game has also seen big changes this year but, unfortunately, this is another area of NBA 2K23 where the Switch loses out. Getting rid of contracts was a widely requested change over the past few years and, honestly, it feels so good not to have to go messing in menus every few games to make sure your players are ready. In more positive news, MyTeam - our go-to mode - sees a host of improvements in 2K23, including the removal of the game's annoying player contracts system, and the introduction of the excellent Clutch Time as one of the main ways to earn those VC points and level up your squad. We suppose there has to be a point when the new generation of hardware pulls away, and this certainly feels like that moment with regards to NBA 2K. It's a real shame this headline content has had to be cut but it seems it's just a step too far for the older consoles to handle. Unfortunately on Switch - as well as on PS4 and Xbox One - the brand new MyNBA Eras mode hasn't made the jump from the flashy next-gen versions of the game, so we're missing out on a whole bunch of fun retro action from across the Magic, Jordan and Kobe eras. This is no throwaway mode, it's a full-on history lesson to sink your teeth into that really brings MJ's early career and biggest NBA moments back to life. Here you'll take part in 15 specific challenges based on events from across MJ's career, with each and every one of them presented in exacting detail, featuring era-specific stadiums, kits, commentary and screen filters that give the whole thing a delightfully aged look. Let's kick things off with that new Michael Jordan Challenge mode, which feels like a fully fleshed-out and richly rewarding part of the game. However, NBA 2K23 is worth getting a little more jazzed about than usual, as it combines an excellent new Michael Jordan Challenge mode with, what we reckon, is the best on-court action we've seen from the series thus far, even if this Switch port has had to make some cuts here and there.

Yes, it's sometimes difficult to muster much excitement for these annual instalments, and it's easy to dismiss them as just another incremental update that looks and plays almost identically to the previous season's effort. It's once again reached that time of year when another entry in the NBA 2K franchise slam-dunks onto our consoles.

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