7 Soccer: a sci-fi soccer tale

The story in this futuristic soccer is serviceable but won’t leave a lasting impression. Set in a dystopian future where Earth has been enslaved by alien invaders, the only escape lies within the enigmatic Dome, a place accessible only to those who prove themselves on the soccer field. As a player, your mission is clear: rise through the ranks, conquer the competition, and earn your way into the Dome to secure freedom. Story bits are presented as walls of text. The controls are simple and easy to grasp, embracing an arcade-like feel. Your core mechanics revolve around movement, passing, and shooting, with directional control playing a key role in your accuracy. There’s no aim assist here, which means passes won’t always land perfectly, and while the goal is massive, precision still matters. Defense and offense share similar mechanics, with actions changing depending on whether you have possession. A sliding tackle helps disrupt opposing plays, while a dribble nudges the ball forward to maintain momentum. Another action allows you to either switch players on defense or perform a spin move to evade defenders when attacking. The lack of a sprint button can make the game feel slow at times, but it does encourage strategic player switching and positioning. Teammates operate on their own, rushing toward loose balls or tackling attackers, but overall, the defense can feel unreliable. Tackles sometimes feel luck-based, with defenders missing the target, leading to frustratingly easy goals for the opposition. More often than not, the best strategy is to let the AI handle defense and hope for the best. After a brief tutorial, you join one of ten teams vying for a coveted spot in the Dome. To rise to the top, you must face off against the remaining teams and accumulate victories. Matches are short and snappy, with half-times of one, two, or three minutes, allowing you to complete an entire league run in under 30 minutes. However, the lack of overtime means that securing an early lead can be an easy path to victory. You can simply waste time by kicking the ball away from your goal. Customization is nonexistent, but before each match, you can select one of three perks: a super shot for increased shooting power, better goalkeeping for improved save rates, or enhanced shot precision to reduce attempts above the crossbar. While these perks provide minor advantages, none feel particularly game-changing. The difficulty ramps up once you enter the Dome League, where you face tougher opponents with superior speed and defensive capabilities. There are 20 teams, and you can play against any you want. Despite the increased challenge, securing an early goal remains the most effective strategy. Winning matches in the Dome League earns black market tickets, which grant entry into the Dome itself. Here, the traditional soccer format is replaced with a series of skill-based challenge rooms. Instead of dribbling across the pitch, you’ll be tasked with striking targets, defending your own targets, or navigating tricky obstacle courses. It starts fine, but later stages show unbalanced gameplay that depends on luck and not on skill. Ball handling is also changed. Once you reach the ball, movement is locked, and you can only kick it at the target. Adding pressure is a "weariness" bar that steadily increases over time and spikes when taking damage. If you become too exhausted, you’re ejected from the Dome and must earn another ticket to continue. Although progress through the Dome is saved, the number of tickets is limited. To fix this, you have to beat the first boss. This unlock the same boss in the main menu where you can beat it quickly for enough money to buy one ticket. Bosses, just like everything in the Dome, are unbalanced and simply cheaters. The organist, for instance plays sound waves that catch you in a stun-lock and you can't do anything against it. Then you go to a robot whose goal is blocked by board that can only be dropped with a powerful strike or by luring the robot to destroy the boards. And last criticism, some achievements are broken.

Great idea but the gameplay wasn't enjoyable for me, it is too static and slow.

It was a good idea with a good setting and story behind it, but sadly I believe it is not worth your money or time. Clunky and full of spelling errors. Needs updates and polishing. In its current state, it's like something one would expect from a free flash game...

Gioco atipico devo dire, dalla difficoltà che personalmente trovo un po' elevata. La parte davvero interessante inizia nel Dome, con le sfide sempre a base di "calcio" e i boss (almeno i tre che ho visto finora) con carattaeristiche particolari. Un plauso alla storia che si sviluppa man mano che si superano i boss e che sembra farsi interessante. In generale quello che manca è l'appeal grafico, ovvero, manca di carisma se vogliamo, in compenso le musiche sono ottime. Do un pollice su per l'incoraggiamento e l'impegno; ho l'impresisone che lo sviluppatore sia alle prime armi, ma ha delle buone idee che vanno sviluppate meglio e quindi voglio dargli il mio incoraggiamento.

Buona idea di fondo (calcio+narrativa), cattiva realizzazione: in questo stato 7 Soccer non è un prodotto in grado di reggere la concorrenza del resto del calcio indie su Steam a questo prezzo. I maggiori punti negativi dopo circa mezz'ora di gioco: storia interessante ma raccontata male, grafica da freeware/shareware di metà anni 2000, controlli legnosi che rendono il gameplay decisamente fastidioso. Personalmente ho trovato terribile la necessità di dover cambiare manualmente il giocatore controllato, e dei portieri semi-automatici forse renderebbero ancora più user friendly un gioco che, bene o male, ha la necessità di essere arcade e immediato per avere lo spazio che merita. Inoltre gli spazie la profondità del campo non sono ben definite: spesso ho provato a fare staffilate dalla distanza che secondo il metro di giudizio del gioco finivano sempre alte a portiere battuto, senza che io umano avessi modo di capire dalla grafica quanto erano effettivamente lontane dal gol. Spero che questo progetto si possa riscattare perché la versione freeware non era male e perché il mondo ha sempre bisogno di nuovi indie calcistici.