Saber Interactive has a knack for bringing fast-paced, arcade-inspired sports fun to the market. What began with NBA Playgrounds continued on with WWE Battleground and now includes Wild Card Football. The game features seven-vs-seven play and fast offense alongside different rule sets and the ability to enjoy pro football players on the roster. Having the NBA Playgrounds gameplay engine being used for pro football makes a lot of sense as it’s one that nicely handles quick action without slowdown and having hundreds of players available, just without the NFL license, still offers up an authentic feel for the experience as a whole.
For anyone who grew up on NFL Blitz or even the more arcade-centric 16-bit and 32-bit football games, Wild Card Football aims to keep that same level of action intact. We really haven’t seen a game like this since the NFL Street days in the PS2 era and having something like the Wild Card system that allows for power-ups to be used brings a lot of that arcade fun to modern hardware. The usage of Wild Cards in-game allows for momentum shifts if things work out in your favor – or they can give you another obstacle to overcome during a tight game if dame fortune isn’t smiling upon you at that point in time.
There are 150 cards to use and anyone who loves a good card battle game, including something like Slay the Spire, may want to check this out just to see how a similar mechanic can affect a football game. Being about to summon walls to impede foes or add invisibility to your player for a sneaky hit or ball grab can come in handy. You can also bust out a stat boost or break some rules and do so without penalty to gain an advantage.
The high level of customization is something I love because having the ability to craft a team down to the logo, uniforms, colors, stadium, playbooks and even Wild Card decks adds a level of customization that fully-licensed games just aren’t going to be able to provide. Local and online multiplayer is available for all kinds of bragging rights and you can even top leaderboards with full crossplay enabled.
Wild Card Football features regular exhibition games, a challenge mode to improve your skills, and events to help unlock new players and cosmetics. Wild Card Football is available now on Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One/Xbox Series consoles and PC via Steam for $39.99.
