I’m not going to lie: my knowledge of football is pretty minimal. Sure, I’ve seen matches and used to play a lot of Sensible Soccer and Pro Evolution Soccer 6 back in the day, but I’d hardly consider myself a fan of the sport. As such, whilst I was excited to see how Motion Soccer would translate the beautiful game into virtual reality, I don’t really consider myself the best person to evaluate how accurate the game is to real life.

However, what I will say is that even with my general apathy and lack of knowledge about the sport, this is probably the most enjoyment I’ve ever had in a football game. So much so that I can’t wait for the final version to be released.

As an Early Access release, there’s quite a fair few things missing at this point and – as such – this review only reflects its current state. No doubt some of the things I talk about in the review will become outdated as the game nears its full release. 

Many thanks to the publisher for the review code.

IT’S COMING [TO YOUR] HOME
Motion Soccer certainly is ambitious when it comes to making a VR football game. Ever since I first got my hands on the alpha version of the game, I was quite impressed by just how many different ways to play there were. There’s a standard control-based mode, which focuses mainly on the stick and button presses; a more immersive mode where the motion-based movement of the controllers replicate your feet, and a tactical mode that effectively controls like a real-time Subbuteo match where you tell players where to move and who to pass to. It’s a lot to take in, but the simple tutorial does a great job at showing you how intuitive each one is. I never really got the hang of the immersive mode and so never used it all that much, but I do appreciate its inclusion at the very least.

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Regardless of your control scheme, matches play out rather well. Moving the ball around the pitch is relatively easy, particularly as there’s an indicator telling you where the ball is at all times, and you can pass or shoot the ball at the press of a button (at least with standard controls). As you hold the shoot button, you can aim where you want to hit the ball and then easily possess another player to continue control. The possession system works really well, and the game will even automatically detect when your goal is in danger so that it can put you straight into the goalkeeper’s shoes.

At any point during the match you can switch to the tactical view, where you can manage players from a top down view by dragging out the path you want them to follow and clicking where you want them to pass the ball. This mode is also (by default) played in mixed reality, and I honestly found this method to be the most satisfying of the three control schemes.

As for ways to play, there’s quite a fair few modes on offer, with most of them being quite self-explanatory. In addition to the tutorial, there’s a free practice, friendly match, and tournament mode that work entirely how you’d expect. You can even select your local and national team preferences, even if there’s a reasonable chance that your favourite local team may not actually be included (yet).

However, the most interesting game mode to me was probably the career mode that has you playing out certain set-pieces and completing certain challenges based on real-life matches. It’ll play automatically up to a certain point, and then you’ll be placed in control. Should you complete the task, you’ll be awarded one of the three stars before moving onto the next sequence. It’s a great way to get used to how the game plays and learn advanced tactics, whilst also feeling quite rewarding mode in itself too.

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There are admittedly a lot of areas at the moment that have a ‘coming soon’ screen upon selection, including almost all of the career mode and (bizarrely) some of the tutorial elements. However, I also have to note that the developer is extremely fast at pumping out updates. Since gaining access to the preview version, there have been updates coming out most days; some of these have just been minor tweaks, but others contain some far more substantial changes. Even by the time this review goes out, no doubt there will be more added to the game that I’ve failed to mention. I know they’re already working on some big changes, including a third person perspective and a multiplayer mode, so there’s certainly a lot more to look forward to in the near future.

VERDICT
I never expected that I would play a football game again, let alone enjoy one, which makes the success of Motion Soccer even more impressive to me. With such a wide range of control options, there’s definitely something here for all play styles. If you’re after a great affordable sports game on the Quest, then this may be a damn good option – especially when they finally implement the multiplayer functionality.