Goals

GOALS gets the gameplay aspect spot on, it’s fast, fluid and handles quite well as football games go. As you may have guessed, though, there is a big question mark of a pay-to-win element hanging over its shoulders. Yes, the game is totally free to download and play, but if you’re someone who sinks some money in early on, you may have an advantage over opponents. Think of the squad building as Ultimate Team, but with randomised players; you can buy packs of cards and potentially pull higher-rated players. Computer& Video Games If you don’t want to spend money, though, there appear to be enough players diving in and getting into the grind. Rewards are fruitful if you invest heavily in playing matches and hitting challenges. There does seem to be a potential to build a great squad without spending if you keep playing. Personally, I do feel that GOALS has some serious legs if they keep events, matches and cosmetics interesting enough to keep smashing the hours in. With more modes en route in the near future, they need to keep it fresh and not do what Rematch did and drop the ball.

GOALS delivers exactly what it promises, a responsive, scripting-free football game where your own skill decides everything. The decision to drop official licences in favour of unique, procedurally generated players, paired with a genuinely arcade feel, makes it surprisingly inviting even for someone who usually avoids the genre like I do. It is still held back by static attacking AI, thin launch content, and lingering questions around its pack economy, yet the foundation is solid enough to keep pulling me back onto the pitch.

Ultimately, Goals is barely worth the time it takes for you to download it. Sure, it can be an enjoyable experience with how seriously it takes itself in the gameplay department, with the lack of assist tools, but everything around it feels so dull, forgettable, and half-baked that any good intentions the developers poured into it just get lost in the myriad of mediocrity this thing oozes.