When I was given the chance to review a soccer game at the same time the World Cup is going on, I was ecstatic. Soccer was one of my favorite sports growing up. Growing up I would play any soccer video game. Whether it was FIFA street, FIFA, or Mario strikers, kicking a virtual goal was something I always looked forward to. I was hoping Soccer Story would bring back the love I have lost for the sport. I was hoping Soccer Story would bring back the joy of being on that virtual pitch, unfortunately, it did not and I’ll tell you why in this review.
Published by: No More Robots
Released: November 29, 2022 (PC, Playstation, Switch, Xbox)
Let’s start with the story. In Soccer Story your character plays the role of a soccer savior as he/she tries to bring back Soccer into a town where even speaking of soccer is prohibited. Now, this premise sounds cool! I thought the intro to the story was very promising, well I was wrong. The story this game tells you is very bland. I didn’t care for any of the characters nor did I care that soccer was banned or that you were trying to restore it. It just simply did not catch my attention. The story did have some cute moments here and there but for the most part, the rest of the story is very unforgettable.
Missing the Shot
Another area where Soccer Story completely misses the mark is in its side quests and story missions. One of the things that frustrated me the most with Soccer Story is how the missions don’t have a clear direction. One of the early missions will have you searching for your team captain. The quest will tell you that he is on the North East part of the map. Well, I spent fifteen minutes trying to find this character without clear direction or help from the game. It’s 2022, a direction marker should be added to your game. As for the actual quests, well they are just fine. These quests are not that creative, I was never in a hurry to do more of them. Talking about quests let’s jump over to gameplay quickly.
Playing Soccer in this game feels okay. If you have played a soccer game before you’ll feel right at home. You have a button to shoot, pass, and run faster. There are also skill trees for you to upgrade to better your player but again, I didn’t care much for it. Other than running faster for a longer period of time I didn’t see a big difference in how they play with upgrade skill trees.
Where Soccer Story shines the brightest is in its presentation. The Super Nintendo art style this game has is beautiful! Areas feel different and even the characters look is charming. The music does bring me back to a simpler time in gaming.
Soccer Story Summary
Soccer Story had a lot of potential at the beginning. The story was captivating but loses its charm quickly. The gameplay is very simple and the quests are quite honestly not that interesting. With the year winding down and the backlog of 2022 continuing to grow, I don’t see myself going back to this game.