Mario Strikers: Battle League

Next Level Games goes three-for-three on brilliant Mario soccer games, but at launch Battle League's content is thin on the ground.

Mario Strikers: Battle League may be barebones, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. More characters, customization options, and game modes could really help improve the game, but the package delivered on release still holds incredible replay value. It’s a game worth coming back to over and over again, whether with friends or by yourself. Over-the-top action and the stylized Mario look make Mario Strikers: Battle League one of the most fun sports game experiences, I just hope more is added soon so it doesn’t get stale after a few months.

15 years after the release of Mario Strikers Charged, a new entry, Mario Strikers Battle League, makes it ways to Switch to offer fans more of a zany Mario-esque soccer game.

While that's not necessarily a problem for those just looking for a good time, it does make me wonder why Mario Strikers: Battle League can't just invent its own sport and be done with it. The significant changes to design in terms of gameplay make it feel utterly unfamiliar to those who enjoy soccer, while it's adherence to some of the elements of soccer make it less ambitious than it could have been. In a lot of ways, Battle League feels like the blueprint for Nintendo to expand its sports offerings into its own inventions, rather than continuing to pair up its characters with an existing pa...

However, the biggest downside to Battle League is that there just isn't more to it, because we've seen that Next Level is capable of delivering more. Even if there are DLC characters coming down the road (Daisy fans, I hope you don't think I forgot about you), it won't fix the relatively low number of items, the gimmick-free stadiums, or the lack of substantial unlockables. This package could and should be so much better than what it is.

Mario Strikers: Battle League is a good soccer game. Its potential greatness is marred by its complexity. The soundtrack and art style offer enough to tempt gamers into trying it out, and if they can grok many nuanced gameplay systems, then this soccer game might have legs. Still, issues with scoring and collision detection hold this latest Mario sports game from being a champion.

We finally have a sequel to Mario Strikers Charged, but the Switch outing lacks content and interesting items to keep this soccer game engaging.

Mario Strikers: Battle League is a fun and chaotic experience let down by a lack of content and personality.

“Mario Strikers: Battle League delivers the deepest Mario sports experience yet, with surprisingly nuanced soccer gameplay. There's just not much to do once you've mastered those skills.”

Mario Strikers: Battle League is a game that’s carried mostly by its local multiplayer and gameplay. There was so much missed potential for this game to shine brighter than its predecessors. From the lack of single-player modes, content, and limitations to its online, it’s very tough to justify buying the game in its current state.

Those who were starving for a new Mario Strikers game will likely get a lot of playtime out of Mario Strikers: Battle League despite its general lack of content, but those who need a little more meat on the bone will likely come away disappointed. The core gameplay is great, but there's not much to the game beyond that.

The criticisms leveled at Nintendo’s Switch-era sports games for being too barebones weren’t taken on board for Mario Strikers: Battle League, which somehow includes even fewer things to do than Mario Tennis Aces and Mario Golf: Super Rush. Like those games, Battle League’s core gameplay is fast-paced fun, but not fun enough to prevent it from being dramatically overshadowed by a complete lack of things to do.