Mutant Football League: Dynasty Edition review for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One

Growing up in the early 90s I was primarily a Nintendo kid, I did have access to a Sega Genesis via a cousin who lived in the same apartment as we did, but generally I was pretty content with my Super Nintendo. However there was one title on the Genesis, that almost made me wish my parents bought me the console that Sonic built. That title was EA?s Mutant League Football. Mind you I had no real interest in football, but something about the inclusion of extreme brutality and dirty plays really clicked with my impressionable mind. Let?s just say many a games were played and many a games were won by forfeit. Somehow I even convinced my cousin to by the hockey spin-off. Alas EA never put out any more titles in the Mutant League line and with their acquisition of the exclusive rights of the NFL license it was a pretty safe bet that this IP would stay buried in the ground.

Nearly 20 years later, crowdfunding titles that are ?spiritual successors? of idle IPs was all the craze. One such campaign headed by one Michael Mendheim was going to bring back the only football game that I cared about. Although the engine they were using was more reminiscent of the TECMO Bowl games, I still happily slapped down money on a pledge. Sadly there were not enough people like me and this first campaign did not get funded. Undeterred by the initial setback, a second campaign was launched 4 years later with a lower monetary goal and a gameplay that is aligns closer to the original. This one succeeded and backers got a playable product less than a year later (Full Disclosure: I also backed this second campaign as well). In fact the first version was actually reviewed by Gaming Age?s own Paul Rosselli and it well received enough that he is quoted on the game?s official site. Mendheim and team has continued to work on the title and a new physical SKU was released including all the post release content they promised in their campaign.

Mutant Football League: Dynasty Edition includes a brand new game mode where you can play through 5 MFL seasons. As the general manager, can you build a team will win multiple Mayhem Bowls, or will you blow the team?s money and get fired in disgraced. Dynasty mode is a slightly more feature robust version of the season mode that the game already has. The mode has you upgrading your players by earning XP by accomplishing tasks on the field. The more you use your players the more likely they?ll progress from being a bumbling rookie to a league legend. You can also adjust the team playbook and acquire new players either through trade or free agency. For those who want to worry less about these features can stick to the season mode that already exists.

Visually the game looks pretty good. You?re not exactly going to see stitching on the player uniform, but it is not an eyesore.  The most impressive species visually would probably be a toss-up between the Bruiser Bots and Demonic Legion that is new to the Dynasty Edition. Each stadium has its own personality and it would be hard to accuse developers of taking shortcuts on this element of the game. The in-game presentation is comparable to any broadcast football game you would see nowadays on any NFL game.

The game?s greatest strength in my mind is how it keeps it simple. As a extremely casual football game player this game doesn?t inundated you with complex controls. In fact the most difficult thing you have to do might be getting the timing down on the kick gauge. A person who played the original Mutant League Football should have no problem picking up and excelling in Mutant Football League.

The writing for the game did manage to get some chuckles out of me, although I definitely saw jokes repeat rather quickly. Eagle-eyed football fans will probably make the most of the humor that can be found in the team and player names.

Mutant Football League is a nice alternative for those that are put off by the Madden juggernaut. Dynasty Edition adds some minor features, but it?s an affordable package which can easily appeal to fair-weather as well as lapsed football game fans. Digital Dreams delivered on their crowdfunding campaign and then some. Now who do I have to speak with to get a Mutant Hockey League?

Note: Nighthawk Interactive provided us with a Mutant Football League: Dynasty Edition Nintendo Switch code for review purposes.