I’m showing my age now when I say that the Kick-Off series (along with Sensible Soccer) was among my favourite childhood games. I used to spend many hours with my friends playing against one another. But even back then, we knew that the controls weren’t the best, but we could look past it, as well, there really wasn’t much of a high standard of football videogames on offer during that time. So when Dino Dini’s Kick Off Revival was announced, it brought back some fond childhood memories. During the build-up leading to its release, it was made no secret that our nostalgia strings will be pulled, but that’s ok, because many retro inspired videogames have been a huge success in the modern era. So why should Kick-Off Revival be any different, right?
Upon firing up the game I was greeted with very poor visuals considering it was being played on PS4. I know visuals are not everything, as especially in a game such as this one, the value will be in the addictive pick-up-and-play gameplay. So with that in mind, I looked past the graphics that arguably looked no better than a web browser game. Leading up to release, in terms of visuals at least, I Kind of knew what I was letting myself in for, so in that respect, I had already given this game the benefit of the doubt. Sadly, any forgiveness that this game had any chance of having, flew out of the window and straight into Row Z once I started to play the game.
Back in the day it was ok to have a game that essentially works by pressing one button (with the exception of the control stick/d-pad), as many controls or joysticks were restricted to 3, sometimes 1 action button. However, for some reason I expected this ‘revived’ classic to move away from the one-button-does-all formula and actually evolve with the modern day controller, like you know, at least have a separate button for shoot, pass and tackle. But it does not, and even though you can control the power of the pass/shot by holding down the button and add swerve with after touch, it just makes the game feel out of your hands when it comes to controlling the ball and your players, which is really the whole point of playing a football videogame.
Then you have to take into account dribbling, if you can actually dribble the bloody ball to begin with. I know I’m not good at this game, but then I wasn’t that good when it originally released, but I still loved the game. And I know standards have increased incredibly since that time, but for this game to not evolve its gameplay in any kind of way is inexcusable to me. I accept that its inspired by its retro roots, but if you’re not going to make the game look good, at least attempt to make it accessible, if not for returning fans, but to welcome newcomers into this beloved retro classic. Just by making it a little simpler to dribble or adding at least one or two functional buttons, would have gone a long way into making this game at least somewhat enjoyable. Almost everything about playing this game is frustrating, even more so when the CPU seems to get awarded free-kicks and penalties for clean tackles, while I’ve never been awarded a single one!
But what about its various modes I hear you ask? Well you have a one or two player matches, an international tournament (loosely based on Euro 2016) and a pitiful practice mode. Why not have a shootout mode, 1v1 or an indoor 5-a-side? In terms of modes, just like the visuals and its gameplay, this really is bare bones stuff. Ok, I know the game only costs £7.99 on the PSN Store, but even at that budget price I believe it’s asking too much. Perhaps cut that price in half and you might get some honest value out of it. I hear that red/yellow cards, replays, penalty shootouts for cup finals, player attributes and goalkeeper control (yep, that’s right, you have no control over goalkeepers even during a penalty) will be added at a later date via patches and DLC is promised. But seriously, all these are fundamental elements that you would expect to be included in any basic football videogame. In my opinion, it’s just evidence that this game wasn’t 100% complete, but they released it anyway, perhaps to coincide with the Euro 2016 hype.
I really hate laying into any videogame, as I honestly try to find some positives in any game. But it really does pain me to say the things I’ve had to say here, but it wouldn’t be an honest review if I closed my eyes and ignored all of its problems. I really was hoping that this would at least be a game that the football gaming community could enjoy (even those that wouldn’t normally play a footie game), no matter your generation. I feel its over-played its nostalgia card way too much and used that as an excuse to not even attempt to evolve this game in the modern era. It really does sadden me to say, but looking at this game and how it plays, it’s crazy to think that this is a PS4 game. Sadly, for me, this is a nostalgia trip that in hindsight, I would have preferred to leave in the past.
- Dino Dini’s Kick Off Revival will be available for Xbox One later this year.