Wild Card Football

Saber's arcade-like interpretation of American football is a few yards shy of a touchdown.

Wild Card Football is an ambitious take on the sport, with a decent mix of modes and pleasing depth for those keen to go all in. The offline Season mode may keep a lot of Switch players going, but once you dive into the Ultimate Team-style 'Dream Squad' you'll eventually feel the pull to take your hard-earned fantasy roster online. That's where a lack of fluidity and clarity in gameplay can really bite. A sport as frantic as American Football needs a slightly slicker performance level than we found here. However it's only just short of a first-down, so if you're happy to live with the compromises then this may still be worth a punt.

Look at Wild Card Football as a late-round NFL draft pick that dramatically overachieves on the field. People likely didn't expect much from it, but what they have now is a pleasant surprise.

Wild Card Football makes a play at zagging where Madden is zigging by offering a zany arcade-style take on the sport, but it doesn’t quite live up to its potential. Its NFLPA license adds some authenticity by including real NFL players (but not their real NFL teams). A plethora of modes gives you an opportunity to experience the game in a variety of ways, with the card-collecting Dream Squad being a standout for its extensive customization.

Even if the graphics were perfect, Wild Card Football would still suffer from the fact that it’s not very fun. The Switch has a big, football-shaped hole in its catalogue, and Wild Card Football would clearly love to fill it, but it’s pretty clear that the results fall well short of a first down.

If you're tired of Madden's raft of bugs and incremental improvements, Wild Card Football offers a completely different take on the sport that's simply focused on fun. Given the choice this year, you'll find me on Wild Card's field.

Wild Card Football's arcade experience succeeds in its main aim: to be above all a fun experience. We enjoy creating our own team, customizing it and using our powers to overcome any opponent. Nevertheless, matches quickly become repetitive, and the only interest is to play online. Frustration can set in if your opponent takes a malicious pleasure in waiting until the end of the countdown. Perhaps I'd have liked even shorter quarters, and why not cut the game in half? Technical problems also seem to greatly hamper the game on certain platforms.

If there is one word I could use to sum up Wild Card Football it would be Potential. It's a lot of fun and with some refinements it could be a very compelling annual must have for fans of the sport.

Wild Card Football is an interesting attempt in the return of arcade football, although it too often feels like a half step.

Wild Card Football manages to capture the essence of the sport in an arcade format. I’m torn about the Wild Cards, as they add variety to each play but they can also give an unfair advantage. Luckily, you can disable these and just play a standard match. However, the issues lie in the content. Dream Squad is fun but the slow progression makes it feel like a grind and the lack of other modes hinders the overall experience.