Super Soccer Blast review for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4

Last summer, I reviewed a game called Super Tennis Blast. It wasn?t much to look at, and there weren?t a tonne of gameplay options, but I really liked it nonetheless.

This summer, I?m playing Super Soccer Blast. It?s not much to look at. And there aren?t a tonne of gameplay options, but I really like it nonetheless.

I?m noticing a trend here.

The reason Super Soccer Blast works so well is awfully similar to the reason Super Tennis Blast worked so well: it doesn?t try to do too much, but what it does do (soccer in this case, obviously) it does very well.

This is actually much more impressive in Super Soccer Blast?s case. There aren?t a lot of really good tennis games out there, so simply being competent makes you stand out. When it comes to soccer games, by contrast, you?ve got the annualized FIFA titles that do a pretty exceptional job of recreating the sport in video game form.

Now, Super Soccer Blast obviously isn?t a FIFA competitor, and if you go in expecting bells and whistles, you won?t find them. But if you just want a simple, straightforward soccer match where you get to pick a team and guide them through an international championship tournament of some kind, you get that here.

You also get a game that?s awfully easy to pick up and play. The controls don?t go too far beyond shoot, pass, and tackle, but that?s what makes it so fun. Moreover, the difficulty level is just right — the opposition is never easy to beat no matter what skill level you?re playing on, but you never feel like you?re up against AI teams that are literally impossible to beat, either.

All this means, of course, that Super Soccer Blast isn?t a particularly deep game. Notwithstanding the existence of a player/team editor, you can?t really control that much. You don?t get to swap in new players (either during or between games) and you can?t change your tactics or formation. What you see what you start up the game is what you get.

But that?s what makes Super Soccer Blast so refreshing. It knows what it wants to be — a slightly more modern-looking version of a ?90s-era soccer game — and it gives players just that.

Unfinished Pixel provided us with a Super Soccer Blast Switch code for review purposes.