Mario Strikers: Battle League Reviews
At its core Battle League is a brilliant arcade-style football game, offering fantastic multiplayer fun. However, the lack of single-player modes, the exploitable AI and the small launch roster mean solo players may find it lacking.
Whether this game is for you, again, depends on whether you’re looking for a competitive multiplayer arcade-style game. If that’s for you then Mario Strikers: Battle League has plenty to offer. With its fun presentation—and the good time I had with Toad as my star striker—along with its satisfying gameplay and deep controls, Mario Strikers: Battle League gets the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Next Level Games has created a solid foundation for a title, but that’s all it is: a foundation. It’s a barren representation of what could be.
Mario Strikers: Charged had almost perfected the formula well over a decade ago and, in comparison, Battle League feels like a watered-down version. It has much simpler gameplay, fewer characters and stadiums, much less single-player content, and a fraction of the attitude of Charged.
Mario Strikers: Battle League provides some fun, fast paced action within arenas that can be a tad too claustrophobic at times and in general is a bit lacking in content.
Mario Strikers: Battle League Football is the latest Mario sports title on the Nintendo Switch. Though I have never played any of the Mario Strikers games before, since many people think highly of the series, I was eager to get my hands on it. I was especially excited to see how the title would run on the Switch, as I enjoyed the fast-paced action and gritty art style used in the trailers. Was my first experience with the series a good one? Find out in this Rapid Review.
Unfortunately Nintendo failed to bring the gamers a worthy successor to the series.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Despite the shallow offline single player mode, overall I’m enjoying my time with the game on my own, especially when I play online. However, I’m finding that the deeper, more complex mechanics are a definite barrier when it comes to casual play, making it hard to recommend this as a “bring-all-your-friends” party game, though by all means it feels like one on the surface.
Underwhelming content offerings and bizarrely imbalanced CPU players make single player a no-go. And without the variance or roster of its peers, multiplayer can’t carry all that weight.
Developer Next Level Games is able to outmatch most sports titles on Nintendo Switch, but that is only because of Battle League’s deep gameplay mechanics and stunning visuals. Battle League is a ridiculously fun entry in the Mario Strikers series that is also plagued by an overwhelming lack of content and competitive options.
Mario Strikers: Battle League is a welcome return for the sub-series, with engaging gameplay that papers over the thin variety of modes.
Having a lackluster character roster, as well as the little variety in terms of modes, does hurt Mario Strikers: Battle League’s. However, gameplay does save the day here. While simplistic, its zany, yet fun gameplay loop makes things interesting.
Mario Strikers: Battle League is weird and surprisingly fun sports title that combines strong mechanics with a unique atmosphere. If you aren’t a big sports person, it’s best played in bursts, but for a soccer game, it’s actually incredibly enjoyable.
Overall, the game is very good and deserves good praise. Ignoring the minor mishaps, this new Mario experience will open new possible sports-themed games in the future and I personally hope that happens. For those who want to try the game first, I highly recommend downloading the demo version and experiencing the tutorial to get deeper knowledge on how to play the game.
Although Mario Strikers Battle League performs poorly in terms of low playable character count and single player content, it is a great party game with great gameplay and local multiplayer support for up to 8 players.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Mario Strikers Battle League is a game faithful to the term 'easy to learn, hard to master'. Everyone can enjoy it without any concerns due to its simple controls as well as the exciting visuals are easy on the eyes. However, the lack of game modes and characters can make the game easily tiresome for those who don't fancy about sports that much.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Super Mario Strikers is the best Mario sports game for Nintendo Switch yet, but it still feels like style over substance.
Mario and friends return to the field with a lot to love, but in a package that comes with its own limitations due to a lack of content.
If Mario Strikers: Battle League is going to thrive, it'll be in the competitive scene and with friends gathered around laughing and having a good time, and sometimes that's all you need.
"Like every other Mario sports game, realism is thrown out the window in favor of ridiculous gameplay. The final product is mostly fun, but overcomplicated systems feel destined to frustrate casual players."