Back in the 90s, there weren’t a lot of great Football (Soccer) games apart from “Sensible Soccer” which managed to create a perfect blend of arcade action while capturing the moments we love about the world game.
The creator of Sensible Soccer Jon Hare later evolved the game through a Kickstarter campaign into the Sociable Soccer series and the latest “Sociable Soccer 24” is out now on multiple platforms. I’ve been playing the game for review on the Nintendo Switch.
The question is, does this style of game have a place in a world where EA FC (formerly the FIFA games) dominates the world football video game landscape?
I guess you could say that while FIFA (yeah I’m still going to call it that) is a simulator with arcade elements, Sociable is on the other end of the spectrum being an arcade game with some simulator elements. It’s borrowed from other titles including Football Manager and created a more simple to play family friendly football game.
There are three main game modes Career, World and Multiplayer. In career, you take a club to the top of the league using over 13,000 licensed players provided through an “Ultimate Team” style card layout.
World Mode is where I found I spent most of my time as you compete for around 80 trophies using competitions you know, with slightly different names.
Then there’s Multiplayer where you can play against friends online and offline. Playing multiplayer is the real gem of the game. Matches are short, fast-paced and great for when you have friends over for a few bevies and a couple of snack plates with some soccer antics.
The game has over 30,000 players and 1,000 teams so unlike playing in Fifa you do come across players you’ve never heard of because they don’t exist. A lot of the time it’s replacing team names with names that are related to the club instead. As a Newcastle United Fan, I do get to choose the team as “Newcastle” as the teams are generally named after the city they are based.
I don’t find licensing to be a huge issue, and certainly, the way the game is set up with an ultimate team-style card system is more about building the team you want rather than playing with the players that are rostered on your real-life team. Try to look away from the names and look more at stats and position.
The gameplay is fast and arcade-like, the passing is direct and the goal-scoring is simple. It feels like it’s built for a mobile device with very few button combinations to learn, which is also the charm. At its most basic level, any player of any level can immediately play the game with very little instruction. This is the most accessible football game available today.
Sociable Soccer 24 is a fun arcade game that is easy to pick up at any time and enjoy a quick game. If I were in for a longer gaming session I’d be reaching for the EA FC 24 disc instead but they are at opposite ends of the scale in terms of gameplay and general vibe. It’s weird to think, but comparing two soccer games like this is like comparing Super Mario to Doom, yes they are both video games, but the styles are very different and target completely different audiences.
There’s also the argument that no one has managed to nail a football game for the Nintendo Switch yet. The Mario Strikers game is good fun, but it’s Mario, not “Declan Rice”. Sociable Soccer seems to be a perfect fit for the handheld features of the device.
I enjoy the more cartoon-style graphics, from the “Fortnite” looking players to the cartoonish referees and managers, it adds a lot to the overall fun feel of the game.
If you want a quick hit of football fix and one of the rare reasonably priced video games in the modern age then Sociable Soccer is worth a try. It’s a 7 out of 10 and is available on Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox and Steam.
