Game review: Sociable Soccer 24 (Nintendo Switch)
When it comes to soccer/football video games, nothing has come close to the impact EA Sports has with its famous FIFA series. The FIFA series was dominant until EA Sports lost the FIFA license a couple of years ago. Now, the series is known as EA Sports FC.
EA Sports' biggest rival was Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer series, but that franchise kind of fizzled out when the game became free to play. If you don't like simulated sports titles, you may want to play a newer game called Sociable Soccer 24. The game is out now for PC and Nintendo Switch.
Despite Sociable Soccer 24 not being fully licensed by FIFA, the game still has over 13,000 real-life players in the game. This is quite impressive even though the game doesn't have the actual team names or jerseys. That being said, I did find an Australian league in the game with a team called Wellington that somewhat represents the real-life Wellington Phoenix team.
The only major thing that Sociable Soccer 24 is really missing when it comes to players is that there are no female athletes or teams. If you want to play as women's soccer players, you are better off buying EA Sports FC 24 instead.
Since I reviewed this game on the Nintendo Switch, gamers shouldn't expect Sociable Soccer 24 to have the best graphics on the market. While EA Sports FC 24 strives for realism on the PS5 and Xbox Series X, Sociable Soccer 24 is more arcade-like in its appearance. The graphics have a retro-like appearance that is appropriate for a casual game on the Switch.
Speaking of being casual, Sociable Soccer 24 might possibly be one of the easiest and most accessible soccer games I have played in recent years. The game pretty much has a minimal control scheme that players of all ages can learn and master in a short amount of time.
On the Switch, you press the R button to sprint and the L button to change to the closest player. You can pass the ball to the nearest player using the B button, and the Y button chips the ball. Lastly, the A button is to shoot for a goal.
The only thing I did not like about shooting the ball is that it feels like there is only one animation to score goals. It doesn't matter how long you press the A button, you get the same style of shot every time. This is unlike in EA Sports FC where you can hold the button longer for a more powerful shot.
If you are on the defensive side, the controls are pretty much the same but the R button can be used to tackle other players. You cannot really control the goalkeeper's action until you pass the ball to them. I also found it hard to control the goalie when it was a penalty shootout.
There isn't really any difficulty setting in the game other than how you choose to play the game. If you are feeling lazy, you can set the game to 'Coach' mode and this is where you can let the AI play the game for you!
The other two options are Casual and Hardcore modes. Casual makes aiming easier because the game targets players automatically when you pass to them. In Hardcore mode, you have to aim at other players manually. That being said, I found the game to be super easy to play, no matter what mode I was using.
In keeping with the arcade nature of the game, Socialable Soccer 24 also has a short time limit. A full game lasts only a few minutes, so you can play lots of matches in a short amount of time. The game also has both offline multiplayer so you can play a ton of games with friends and/or family members as much as you want. Sadly, the Switch version doesn't have online multiplayer yet, but it is said to coming very soon after launch.
Sociable Soccer 24 also offers several game modes that are sure to keep you occupied for hours on end. You can start a career with any team, or you can choose your own team with the players that you are given at the start of the game with card packs.
World is probably my favourite mode in the entire game because this is where you can compete to win lots of championships and trophies. The first thing I did in this mode was to play as the Wellington team to win the Oceanian Nations Cup. There are lots of championships to acquire, so the single-player offering is quite large.
Lastly, there is Friendly mode, which is the game's Exhibition mode. This is where you can just choose any team to play and it's just a friendly match of soccer/football. You can play as Wellington or New Zealand to try and make them win against bigger and better teams!
There aren't many flaws I can find in Sociable Soccer 24 aside from the lack of online multiplayer for Switch owners and its simplistic graphics. I do think the game needs a shot meter of some sort because scoring goals look the same every time I press the A button.
Anyway, Sociable Soccer 24 might not be the most realistic game out there, but its accessible nature is sure to please kids and parents who might not be hardcore gamers. I think this game is worth getting if you or anyone else in your family are casual gamers.
Verdict: 7.5/10
