Soccer Story Switch Review

Football is probably the most popular video game in the world, following on from the popularity of the actual sport. RPGs while popular in their various forms tend to have a different audience and mechanically cannot be more different to a sports game. This genre mash-up would be a complete surprise had it not been for the success of Golf Story a game that mixed a golf game with an RPG. That game was by a different developer, but Soccer Story looks to capitalise on that game’s popularity and expands on this nascent genre.

The game tasks you with reinvigorating the sport after a cataclysmic event during a match changed the world forever. Since then the game has been banned outside of officially sanctioned events in controlled stadiums run by Soccer Inc, and even more autocratic and greedy organisations than FIFA if that is even possible. The player is your typical RPG protagonist, the saviour of the sport who will return light to a beleaguered world.

As with any RPG you can’t just fast-forward to the end, you have to grind your way to the top. You will wander the land taking on missions and side-quests all in the name of improving your and your team’s skills so that you can bring the game back to the people. The quests are scattered across the map, requiring you to almost pixel hunt for the trigger, being an item or a location. Once triggered you will be faced with a soccer-themed task, a task that will enable you to increase your skills for the upcoming big matches. Doing these tasks increases your popularity among the populace leading you to your ultimate goal.

During these tasks, you will dribble through cones, make precise shots on target and generally perform a bunch of training exercise-type skill checks which when successful awards you with skill points that will allow you to raise the stat of your choice in your team. This allows you to build the team to suit your play style, it’s not Football Manager level of customisation but it is enough to allow your team to be as personalised as you want it to be.

As you level up you will gain in reputation allowing you to take on better teams, these are your boss’s battles as to progress you as a team and narratively you need to beat them. Matches tend toward the arcade style of the game rather than the simulation of FIFA. This is in keeping with the overall style and themes of the game being a cutesy pixel art style game. Not quite casual, but not quite a hardcore RPG either.

The issues with the mechanics of the game arise here, controls are too simple, even for a game that is supposed to be as simplistic as this one. Pitches are small so the few skill moves you have aren’t as useful as they would normally be. Boosting past players and crossing into the box is possible, but there are no quick turns to bamboozle defenders and keepers are preternaturally skilled meaning that the majority of direct shots will be blocked or saved meaning that you have to rely on rebounds to get ahead. While the RPG side shows promise, the football side needs some work should the game get a sequel.

For the competitive amongst us, there is a local competitive mode for up to 3 players. The mode isn’t a deep one and is great for a quick party game or a short pick-up match on the playground or during your lunch break, but isn’t going to scratch any long-term competitive itches for groups of friends to create memories playing.

Soccer story is a decent attempt to enter into the nascent sports RPG genre, but it isn’t the must-have game that it may have become, especially in a World Cup year. Thankfully it is cheap and provides a great distraction, especially over the holiday period.