As much as I tried to understand what was actually going on during the Super Bowl last weekend, at the end of the day my allegiance and undying love is firmly bestowed upon football (or soccer, if you’re reading from the United States or Australia). While euphoric highs are so often followed by crushing lows, nothing is more cathartic than seeing the ball rocket into the corner of the goal, and the popularity of excellent simulation titles such as Football Manager Touch 2017 ($19.99) suggests that I am not alone in my borderline-zealous reverence for The Beautiful Game. However, on the multiplayer side of things, there haven’t been many titles that have really set the App Store alight, at least beyond limited local play in something such as Pixel Cup Soccer 16 ($0.99). Solid Soccer (Free) is determined to revitalise the stagnating genre, and offers full online tournaments with a bare bones yet intuitive focus on the basic (and arguably most important) elements of the sport. While the game first soft launched in October, today Solid Soccer has finally released worldwide for free on the App Store, so if you’re a fan of the sport be sure to strap on those trainers and get stuck right into this newest football title.
My first impressions of Solid Soccer were decidedly positive – while I was already enamoured with the beautiful cel-shaded art style, the controls were extremely easy to grasp all the while offering a deceptive level of precision. However, don’t go into Solid Soccer expecting the same level of control as the console FIFA titles, or even many of its contemporaries on the App Store. While a game such as the aforementioned Pixel Cup Soccer 16 may attempt to emulate the successes of mainstream soccer titles, Solid Soccer has adopted a touchscreen-friendly control scheme that is perfectly suited to short sessions on the iPhone, with virtually all actions executed through dragging on the device’s display. While this does mean that the gameplay elements boil down to passing, dribbling, tackling and shooting, this more simplistic approach works surprisingly fluidly in practice, and in my first match I tidily put away Andorra with some nuanced passing, culminating in a decisive 2-0 victory.
Aside from its unique mechanical approach, Solid Soccer also lets you challenge opposing teams from all over the world in a series of online tournaments, as you slowly get promoted through the leagues in an attempt to emulate the underdog success of teams such as Leicester City and achieve eternal glory. You are also able to level up players, as well as win cards and achieve star players. Again, don’t be expecting any licenses or contemporary football legends such as Mesut Ozil in this game – the developers are determined to ‘focus on the fun stuff’ in Solid Soccer, and if the free-to-play mechanics aren’t too heinous (there are no ads, at least), it appears Raketspel have gone some way to accomplishing this aim. Download Solid Soccer on the App Store now, and be sure to let us know your thoughts, impressions, or anything remotely related to soccer on the game’s forum thread.
