*A code for Soccer Slammers was supplied for review by the game’s publisher Atooi.*

Every four years there comes a time when this Switch reviewer get’s football mad. It’s World Cup time baby, and I can’t wait to see some of the best teams in the world lock horns with each other over the next couple of weeks! And yes, when I say football, I mean FOOTball. Not throw the ball and run into each other ball, which they play in the US.

To capitalize on this football mania, indie devs and publishers Attoi have created Soccer Slammers, a 2v2 arcade football game with local multiplayer. Though I do eagerly anticipate the start of England’s demise in the World Cup, I have to wonder if Soccer Slammers is the football game I want to be playing whilst I watch the tournament.

The Story

Since it’s a football game there really is no story. However, I will tell you about my greatest run in the World Cup mode that I had with Belgium.

The first game was against merry old England. The English team came out fast, netting three goals before I’d even had time to think. A blocky character that looked suspiciously like Wayne Rooney netted all three goals. I slowly got myself back into the game, scoring three goals but conceding another. Half-time hits and I’m only one behind, it’s 4-3. However, the blocky Rooney comes out again and pings three goals past my rather blasé looking goalkeeper. The full time whistle bows and it’s 7-3, I loose the first game of the tournament.

The second game is against Tunisia. I feel abit more confident. I know my team’s skill is way above theirs, I just have to play well to win. This time around, I come out and score 3 quick goals, boosting my confidence that I’ll win. Nevertheless, after some sloppy play from my AI team mate it’s 3-3 by half time. It’s squeaky bum time, if I don’t win this game it’s over for Belgium’s hopes in the World Cup. During a tense second half,I go behind twice but manage to settle for a draw of 9-9. Progression now depends on the final game against Panama.

The tension is palpable during the Panama game. I know the only chance to progress is with a win, any other result and I’m out of the competition. Again, I take a strong lead early on in the game. However, this time I keep a three goal advantage by half time. My confidence is high, I’m playing the best football of the competition and I know I can beat these guys. They know it too, the second half is a total walk. The game ends at 9-1 and Belgium are going through to the last 16!

Our next opponents are Poland. Playing against them is on a totally different level. I go behind by 7 goals early in the first half. I manage to stem the flood of goals and even get four back by the half time whistle. It’s 7-4. If I can just keep this tempo going, maybe, just maybe, a miracle will happen and I’ll win the game. Sadly though, the football Gods were not on my side. Yet again, this plucky Poland team nets another 4 goals in quick succession. I do my best to get some consolation goals, but it’s no good. Final score: Poland 11, Belgium 6, Belgium are out of the World Cup…

The Game

The game has two different modes: Quick Play and the World Cup Tournament. Quick play let’s you and up to three friends play locally against each other in high tempo, high scoring 2v2 matches. Or if you have no friends like me, you can play alongside an AI partner against a totally AI team. It’s not entirely clear, but I feel like players can choose between being the striker or defender for their team. This is because when I played, one of the players definitely seemed better at shooting and the other better at tackling.

At first the controls of the game seem very simple. A is to shoot, B is to pass, Y is to tackle and R to sprint. However, the more you play, the deeper the controls become. There is a charged shot and a one-two pass, which definitely help against difficult opponents.

There is a huge roster of teams to choose from in the game. Firstly, in World Cup mode you can choose any of the actual teams taking part in this year’s World Cup. Furthermore, with the team you choose, you’ll play against that team’s actual opponents in the World Cup too, which I think is pretty cool! In Quick Play mode there are even more teams and countries to choose from, including a Mutant Mudds team for fans of that series. Each team has it’s own individual difficulty level, so playing against Panama definitely feels different to playing against Brazil. This makes the game feel as realistic as it can. I would have hated to play the game to find out every team is mechanically the same but with different skins!

Honestly, when I first started to play the game I really didn’t like it. I thought the difficulty was way too high, as I was loosing games consistently by a number of goals. However, after taking a different approach and starting with the easiest teams first and working my way up to the more challenging, I found the game much more enjoyable. This is because playing against the easier teams let me learn the strategies of the AI. Like in any football game, once you learn how the AI plays and how to play around its techniques, you can almost always beat any opponent. I’m not quite there yet with Soccer Slammers, but I feel like I’m getting better at the game, which makes me continue to want to play it!

Art and Music

Though the block art looks quite simple, I actually really like it. I like the different expression of the eyes when a player is tackled and when dust particles form when a player sprints.I feel the style fits well with the Attoi brand and is very reminiscent of Totes the Goat.

The music and sound design are fine. The crowd sounds like a crowd should, but you can tell that the audio file was most likely bought from an assests store. However, I really liked that the sound the ball makes when it hits the post of the goal. The ding really gets you frustrated if you hit the post in a very close game.

Problems

The main problem I had with the game is that each match felt a little scripted. What’s frustrating is that the AI would always come out strong at the start of the first and second half and score 3 or 4 goals. No matter what I tried, this always happened with some of the better teams. Now I understand that my skill level may not be that high. Nevertheless, I think the same can be said for new players, and going down 3-0 is the first 10 seconds of the game may be enough to stop people continuing to play it.

Furthermore, I feel like charged shots are a little over powered. As long as you are aiming at the goal, a charge shot will go in. It was so frustrating to go behind so early in the match, fight your way back to a tie, then have the AI score a charged shot from inside their own half! This is especially annoying when the goal keepers seem to just stand there and do nothing. I honestly think Soccer Slammers would be a better game if the goalies weren’t there, they are that bad!

Moreover, in single player mode I thought it was a strange mechanic to not let the human player control both players on your team. I think this would make the game much more fun as the player has full control of how they play. Instead, when you don’t have the ball you just have to hope and pray that your AI partner doesn’t give possession away or do something stupid!

Finally, I was really disappointed to learn that the is no online functionality in Soccer Slammers. This game would be a perfect and fun game to play online with friends. I think Atooi missed a huge opportunity not adding it to the game. However, I understand they’re a smaller company and an online function takes a lot of resources and money to implement.

Summary

All in all, Soccer Slammers is an ok football game.The matches are short and given a little time and practice can be very enjoyable. The selection of teams gives the game some variety, however, it is obviously a smaller game and at times feels like a cash grab to coincide with the World Cup. I feel like Atooi missed a huge opportunity in not adding online multiplayer. I think if the game had an online aspect, it’s life span would stretch way beyond the end of the World Cup.

That’s why I give Soccer Slammers by Atooi my rating of

What did you think of my review? Will you be picking up Soccer Slammers on your Switch? Which team will you be routing for in the World Cup? Let me know over on Twitter or hit me up on Discord

Like this: Like Loading...