The World Cup has begun and countries all over the world are battling it out for soccer supremacy. People everywhere are on the edge of their seats, watching as their hometown team either lose or win. It’s a nail-biting affair to be certain and a far cry from the general excitement of the event. This is a time that certainly doesn’t benefit those with anxiety; trust me I know, I’m a very anxious person. Thankfully, the tournament comes to an end in July and now you’re left with a soccer ball-shaped hole in your heart. What do you do then? Well, you could play FIFA 18 or you could play Soccer Slammers, coming to you from the good folks of Atooi, developers of Mutant Mudds and Xenodrifter.



Developer: Atooi

Publisher: Atooi

Digital Only // $9.99US // 5+ Hours Played // Review Copy Provided

Soccer Slammers is not your average simulator. There are no off-sides nor fouls here. This is a free-for-all. It is an arcade experience that offers fast-paced action and requires quick reactions. However, on a console that has FIFA 18, my single player experience was very lackluster.

Upon booting up the game, you have the option of choosing one of two modes. You can play a quick match or have a go at your own World Cup Tournament. The issue for me was that without any rules to adhere to it turned into button mashing. I wasn’t engaged enough to continue playing and despite the fast-paced nature of Soccer Slammers; It felt dragged out.

Those matches and game modes have timing options. You are able to select how long you’d like each half. I can only recommend picking the minute option. Two minutes was alright but I chose four minutes once because I was curious and I grew bored of it quickly.

In FIFA 18, you’re able to choose your difficulty from several options that range from amateur to professional. Soccer Slammers takes an interesting approach to this by tying a certain skill level to each time. I was elated when I saw that Portugal was rated the maximum, but that’s beside the point.

This feature is genius to be honest. Hear me out – in real life every team has a differing play style. This will either make them a chore to face or a walk in the park. By doing it this way, Atooi are able to sort of mimic this effect with the game. I got to hand it to them here, I liked this method.

I’ll be blunt with all of you, Soccer Slammers was not an enjoyable single-player experience and it’ll get repetitive fast. I do have to say though that what it lacks here, it makes up in spades when played with a friend. Thanks to its fast-paced style and rebellious game-play, there’s a lot of fun to be had here.

What’s more, they have a very authentic sounding audience so that every time you score, they roar! However, other then the sounds of the crowd, there was very minimal music. Even then, it was just a few seconds loop.

As you can see from the images I’ve provided, Soccer Slammers isn’t the most graphically intense game. In fact, it sort of resembles another title on the eShop that goes by the name of Slayaway Camp. I do however want to point out that they still managed to keep true to the real-life uniforms that each country wears. If you’re Portugal, you will see that familiar red of theirs. Alternatively, playing as Spain gets you their white kit.

Overall, I can’t recommend this game to anyone who is a single player connoisseur. This title will unfortunately not provide hours of fun in that regard. However, if you find yourself hosting a party with a couple of friends, boot up a game of Soccer Slammers and let the good times roll. This is a serviceable experience to have with friends and introducing drinks would only heighten the laughs. For those looking for a “purer” soccer experience, I would recommend foregoing this title and going FIFA 18.

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