Mario Strikers: Battle League clubs scratch the FIFA itch

digitaltrends.com:

After 15 years off the pitch, Mario is once again lacing up his cleats. Mario Strikers: Battle League is coming to Nintendo Switch next month bringing soccer back to the Mushroom Kingdom. The surprising series revival will mark Mario’s third sports outing on the Nintendo Switch, and the stakes are a little high this time.

While Mario Golf: Super Rush featured excellent golfing systems, the package itself was thin. There wasn’t much to do outside of its short, shallow RPG story mode. Post-launch DLC brought more courses, but the experience felt lacking compared to past Mario sports games. Battle League will give Nintendo the chance to rally, potentially putting its long line of Mario sports titles back in players’ good graces.

I got a glimpse of what the new Switch game has in store during a hands-off demo. While it’s still looking light on content, its online integration looks to fill in those gaps. For those who love playing titles like this with friends, Mario Strikers: Battle League seems like it could scratch a co-op sports itch that’s usually reserved for FIFA.

In Mario Strikers: Battle League, players compete in 4v4 (plus a computer-controlled goalie) “Strike” matches. The sport resembles soccer, but it’s much more aggressive. Characters can tackle one another, use Mario Kart-esque items, and even knock each other into the electric fence surrounding the pitch. There are no red cards here.

What immediately caught my eye was how hysterically brutal the animations are. When characters smash into an electric fence, they light up like a cartoon cat who’s just stuck a fork in an outlet. In one match, I watched as Toad smashed a ball into a goal. Wario tried to block it, but the force of the ball sent him flipping through