Topspin 2K25 review: live to serve

Introduction

I have have vivid memories of playing Pete Sampras Tennis on the Sega Genesis and Virtua Tennis 2 on my friend’s Dreamcast. The TopSpin series then picked up the mantle for satisfying swings and rapturous rallies, but has laid dormant since 2011. Well after over a decade, the premier tennis game is back on console.

TopSpin 2K25 brings a comprehensive career mode, and some new gameplay mechanics that up the skill needed to take home the trophy. But with some shortcomings at launch, is is more grand slam – or unforced error?

Take centre court

Even TopSpin pros can expect to be soundly thrashed on their 2K5 court debut. No matter how long you spend designing your custom character – from their play style and celebration to the diaphragm grunt they emit when hitting the ball – either Naomi Osaka or Andre Agassi will humble you with a serve I imagine would knock out a horse. 

Much like EA FC 24, WWE 2K24 and Madden NFL, Topspin 2K25 let you live out your pro fantasies. But unlike those titles, which lean more towards the fantasy aspect, here the focus seems more on the “professional” part. The MyCareer mode charts your progress over multiple calendar years, with training and management tasks slotting in around actual matches.

Attributes need levelling up and fitness levels must be maintained to stand a chance at Wimbledon, the US Open, Casablanca Stadium, or the handful of other fantastical courts from across the globe. Think EA FC 24’s Ultimate Team and you’re not far off the amount of grind involved. It gets rather repetitive, too.

New balls, please

And yet the underlying gameplay is so, so addictive. I find myself forever wanting to play another game. Certain defeats are rarely turned into unlikely victories, but that’s more on me than it is the game. I want to win, and the game challenges you to achieve that.

I blame the shot timing meter, which changes speed based on a range of factors and makes returning shots much harder as rallies get longer. Serving has also progressed from a simple button press to a trio of analogue stick inputs. Previous games in the series gave you plenty to think about, but now every single point feels hard-earned.

Naturally for the current console generation, the visuals are top tier. The courts are all mapped perfectly, with grass and clay surfaces getting churned up under foot as each match progresses. You almost want someone to call “quiet please” before you pick up your controller between points, and force the rest of the room into silence.

Most of the real-world tennis stars are also perfectly recreated, from John McEnroe or Serena Williams. But there aren’t many of them – just 25 at launch, split between present-day players and past greats. Big names including Nadal and Djokovic are missing. At least 2K says more are coming.

It’s a similar story with the online multiplayer modes, with more promised later down the line as free downloads. As veterans of sports video games will know, nowadays, something like TopSpin 2K25 will live and die by its online content. You need a constant rotation of new competitors living thousands of miles away. You need online to learn different playing styles and techniques. That’s tricky to do with half an online offering at launch.

Live to Serve

Ultimately there’s a level of freedom found in other sports franchise titles that doesn’t seem apparent in Topspin 2K25. In EA FC 24, success relies on formation and personal tactics; you can play it safe with five at the back, or overlap your defenders for a more aggressive style. Madden NFL lets you glaze over the downfalls in your game with good tactics. There’s a lack of consequence here, which may be down to the source material. At its very basic, tennis is a sport of back and forths, but the more emotional elements of the sport aren’t conveyed.

But with all that said, Topspin 2K25 achieves something that all sports games need to be successful. It’s incredibly addictive. There’s a steep learning curve right from the beginning, but the game wants you to be better.

TopSpin 2K25 verdict

Given the franchise as been on the shelf for over ten years, 2K25 feels like a solid start for TopSpin’s return to the court. It looks the part and has deliciously complex new game mechanics that are certain to being players back into the fold. Dedicated tennis fans will love the insightful Academy training mode, too.

Once the developer fleshes out the character roster a little more, and expands the multiplayer offering, there’ll be something special here – though the repetitive slog of a career mode may put off those only interested in the single-player aspect.