Soccer Story review

Arcade-style, five-on-five soccer matches coupled with light role-playing while off the pitch seems like a foolproof concept.

Much like 2017’s Golf Story, Soccer Story complements its recreation of sport with a robust role-playing component. Unfortunately, several questionable design decisions mean it’s more of a messy hoofer rather than a precise shot on goal.

Developed by PanicBarn (Not Tonight and Not Tonight 2), Soccer Story’s campaign opens with an intriguing premise. Following an unfortunate incident referred to as “The Calamity”, the beautiful game becomes excessively regulated. Effectively, amateur play is outlawed while professional matches are controlled by a corporation named Soccer Inc. While the setup is ready to criticize the excessive commercialization of sports, it’s a rather toothless takedown, save for referencing a disgraced former FIFA president.

For better or worse, Soccer Story doesn’t dwell too long on a football-free dystopia. Instead, the protagonist is called into action by the appearance of a magic ball. This leads to the formation of a team of eccentrics and a panda as a head coach. Given the context and PanicBarn’s previous efforts I expected the squad to be a bunch of subversives. But disappointingly, Soccer Story settles for whimsical backstories and mildly quirky humor. As such, it’s difficult to care about the context or the lead character.

Progress in Soccer Story is centered around two activities: role-playing quests and actual soccer matches. The former becomes the bulk of the game’s playtime. Initially, you’ll form a series of errands to win over folks with tasks that range from fixing spilled containers to demonstrating the ability to aim your kicks. The upside is that some of the assignments are physics-based and kicking the ball around is mildly enjoyable. But a downside is a reliance on timed events, which you might have to repeat several times before you’re allowed to progress.

Also, some of these quests are tedious. Dribbling challenges feel like sluggish races viewed from an overhead perspective. Occasionally, they force players to discover the finish line for themselves, which might be the worst example of a side quest that I’ve seen in years.  Other assignments center around interacting with objects scattered around the environment. Unfortunately, these searches are frequent and quickly become mind-numbing. Later, you’ll have access to new duties like fishing. But here, clunky controls and a lack of tutoring offset any infusion of variety.

At least some of the problems are rooted in the game’s spacious scale. While The Legend of Zelda’s mixture of expansive overworlds and smaller dungeons is formulaic, the title keeps the tempo taut. All too often, Soccer Story’s role-playing feels more like an open world where missions are strewn about, leading to far too much walking around and uneven pacing. If I didn’t have to review the game, I would have given up on it from the monotony. RPGs flourish when combat breaks up the exploration, and I would have preferred some kind of action-driven battles, perhaps against corporate minions.

But instead, Soccer Story’s superior moments are found in the matches and tournaments. Here, you’ll find five-on-five, arcade-style game of footie not unlike Super Mario Strikers. As you face off against a succession of unconventional opponents, sprinting around the pitch is pleasurable, at least at first. From slide tackles, passes, and two different ways to shoot it’s a scaled-down but seemingly respectable interpretation of the sport. But before long, you’ll discover how to swindle your AI opponent, scoring uncontested goals from the midfield.

Inevitably, Soccer Story’s gameplay loop will send you back to the overworld, where you’ll return to the tiresome assignments needed for requisite teammate upgrades. While you’ll gain new abilities, don’t expect the game to provide the wonderfully exaggerated moves found in Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions. And that’s the core problem with Soccer Story. The game never quite capitalizes on its potential. That’s the kind of impediment that will confine any athlete to the weekend leagues.

Soccer Story was played on Switch with review code provided by the publisher.