Should You Play This NFT Soccer Game?

Mythical Games released its blockchain-powered mobile soccer game FIFA Rivals two weeks ago, and we’ve been testing it out to see if this iOS and Android game is worth your time.

Due to the sheer size of the soccer fanbase, Mythical Games told Decrypt that it believes the title could be 20 times larger than NFL Rivals, its most popular crypto game that launched two years ago.

In a nutshell, FIFA Rivals feels like an even more simplified, crypto-infused, and online-playable riff on Score! Hero, a cult classic mobile soccer game. At first, this isn’t an issue, and its online capabilities are a strong suit. But after a couple of weeks on the virtual pitch, the gameplay is too repetitive to keep me coming back for more.

Pack grind

FIFA Rivals has you build your own squad of players acquired through packs, and then face off against other players online. 

In this sense, it is very similar to EA FC’s Ultimate Team mode, with each player having unique stats that improve as their rarity level increases. One thing that sets it apart from EA FC is that players can be leveled up for a nice stat boost if you have multiples of the same card and sufficient in-game currency.

Screenshots from FIFA Rivals. Image: Decrypt

By leveling up a card five times, it will reach its max five-star level. Once that has been done, the player can be minted as an NFT (on the Polkadot-powered Mythos Chain) by pressing the “Transform” button and spending the Voucher in-game currency. Then voila, your card is now tradable on the Mythical Market.

You can earn packs, in-game currency, and players by completing tasks, competing, and logging in every day. Over my two weeks of playing, this proved to be a fairly easy and enjoyable grind, as I felt like I was opening packs after every game.

On the pitch

Once you’re on the pitch, FIFA Rivals feels almost like a turn-based soccer game, in which you swipe your finger across the screen to control where your players run, pass, or shoot the ball. The first team to two goals wins. This is where the game’s striking similarities to Score! Hero appears.

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Score! Hero is a great game that I loved throughout my childhood, and the online element of the game adds a fresh feel to FIFA Rivals. However, it is missing much of what keeps the original title’s gameplay feeling fresh and varied.

Screenshots from FIFA Rivals. Image: Decrypt

In Score! Hero, you’re thrown into a wide range of difficult scenarios that force you to be creative to complete the level. By contrast, every attack feels the same in FIFA Rivals, turning the gameplay stale very quickly. 

This issue isn’t helped by the “super ability” that pushes all players away from you and makes almost any shot a certain goal. It feels like a cheap win.

Players are only given a limited time to make their moves in FIFA Rivals, which adds a welcome layer of pressure and speed to the gameplay that Score! Hero lacks. That said, it is also the source of a lot of frustration when inputs sometimes struggle to register. I found that moving the camera was particularly janky, with my swipes often being ignored.

Still, it took me 20 games to get my first loss, which only came once I faced someone with a significantly better squad than mine. My wins weren’t particularly challenging or fulfilling, as it felt like I just walked through my opponents, and my loss felt unjustified due to the notable squad imbalance.

That kind of balance issue is common in fantasy-style sports games where “whale” players can pay for massive advantages, but it’s still frustrating to feel counted out before you’ve even touched the ball.

To purchase an epic Luis Suarez, the player that my opponent destroyed me with, I’d have had to splurge out $34 on the Mythical Market for an NFT. That’s not including boots that can be equipped for a stat boost, one of which recently sold for $4. To get Lionel Messi, widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, you must purchase all five fragments to craft him, one of which recently sold for $131. The good stuff gets pricey, particularly for a game that’s free to play.

Ultimately, FIFA Rivals is a solid game with a satisfying pack grind and core gameplay that takes inspiration from a classic of the mobile soccer game genre. However, in its current form, the game failed to keep me engaged for long.

If Mythical Games can make improvements to FIFA Rivals’ general gameplay that can keep players hooked for the long haul, then we might have a new soccer legend on our hands. But for now, FIFA Rivals has hit the crossbar—we’ll see if it eventually scores the rebound.

Edited by Andrew Hayward