NFL Rivals

Overview

NFL Rivals brings the excitement of American football to the mobile gaming arena, catering to both Android and Apple users. As you manage your player roster and guide your team to victory, the game aims to captivate players with its gameplay mechanics and leaderboard-driven progression. However, while it demonstrates potential, certain areas prevent it from achieving greatness.

Gameplay

The gameplay in NFL Rivals blends quick thinking and strategy, challenging players to outscore their opponents. The game follows standard NFL rules, featuring real teams, players, and team-building mechanics. Once you've built your team, matches typically begin with a kickoff, after which the offense attempts to advance the ball by either running or passing. Successfully executing plays results in points from touchdowns and conversions.

However, it's important to note that NFL Rivals places a heavy emphasis on offensive gameplay. The defensive side is controlled automatically, limiting direct player involvement. On offense, you decide which plays to run and manually control your players, whether passing or rushing. The game progresses through all four quarters, and the winner is determined by the team with the highest score at the end.

As the game progresses, the significance of your team's stats during offensive plays becomes increasingly apparent. Interceptions, incomplete passes, and tackled teammates add layers of challenge to the experience. To address these hurdles, improving your cards and power score becomes crucial. While in-game tokens can be earned through gameplay, the presence of paid options, granting significant advantages in team building, raises concerns regarding potential pay-to-win tendencies.

NFL Rivals offers a range of game modes and various league and event leaderboards, each catering to different play styles and team compositions. While the standard story mode welcomes all players, additional leaderboards unlock special prizes contingent upon your team's configuration. Additionally, experience points provide the means to level up your players, augmenting their stats and overall effectiveness on the field. As you collect more players than fit in your squad, you can sell them for additional XP to improve your main players.

Despite my limited NFL knowledge, NFL Rivals managed to captivate my attention, resulting in extended play sessions. The allure of improving my team's competitiveness prompted me to invest in some in-game items. However, the game's visual presentation requires refinement, as certain animations, particularly the kicking animation, verge on the comical side. While there is a risk of repetitiveness due to the similarity between plays, the increasing significance of team stats necessitates honing your skills during offensive maneuvers.

Overview

NFL Rivals looks surprisingly good for a mobile game, with fluid animations, smooth collisions, and clean visual effects that make every play feel legit. Even the home screen and UI are polished, making it easy to see why the game has racked up so many downloads on both Android and iOS. The sound design adds to the experience too, with hype music and impactful sound effects that match the fast-paced action of the NFL.

The game throws you into a quick and simple tutorial, breaking down the controls and mechanics in a way that’s easy to pick up. NFL Rivals mixes digital collectibles with the sports genre, something that’s been done before in EA Sports games, but this one stands out for how it handles team building and management. Unlike Madden, which focuses on simulating every aspect of the sport, NFL Rivals is a more streamlined, arcade-style version of the game. The focus here is on building your team, acting as the GM, and controlling only the offensive plays—defense is completely automated. It’s fun, no doubt, but after grinding through leagues and seasonal events, the gameplay starts to feel repetitive. You’re not actually playing against real opponents in real-time—just an AI-controlled version of their team. That takes away some of the excitement, especially if you’re used to competitive sports games where quick reactions and strategy matter.

One thing I do like, though, is how player packs are pretty easy to get for free. Just by leveling up and playing normally, you can earn packs, though they mostly contain lower-tier players. But sooner or later, you’ll hit a wall in competitive play, where pay-to-win players with stacked teams start dominating. It’s the usual free-to-play model, where spending money gives you an edge, but at least the game doesn’t force it too aggressively. The Web3 side of the game comes into play with NFT-based player cards that can be bought, sold, and traded on the Mythical marketplace. It’s a cool mix of NFL card collecting and actually using those players in the game, giving collectors and casual players a little extra incentive to chase after rare cards.