Street Power Football Recensie (Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 & PC)

If there is one game that deserves—no, needs a sequel, it’s FIFA Street. Sadly, a void has been left in the asphalt, and all that remains in its wake is a trove of oh-so-familiar franchises that, to be honest, haven’t altered their course in the past decade. With Street Power Football, though, there’s a slither of hope buried behind the goalpost. It might not be FIFA Street, much less Mario Strikers — but it has its heart in the right place and the ball on the right side of the pitch. The question is, how does it stand in a world that is somewhat devoid of competition?

It takes less than two minutes to decipher the purpose of Street Power Football. As the closest thing to FIFA Street, it slide tackles its way into the fold and aims to score a memorable goal, not with the intent to belittle its biggest rival, but to remind fans of the sport that there is a market beyond the conventional realm of licensed football. It knows what the fan base wants, and it knows that, should you put enough of that old-school street culture into a game, then you can attract more than the target demographic.

Here’s the bad news: Street Power Football, contrary to what it says on the tin, isn’t that good of a football game. See, while it has that thirst for street ball and the glitzy animations, nineties throwback remixes and nutmeg polish to score a worthy goal, its presentation, lack of excitement, and poorly optimized gameplay sadly make it rather difficult to bond with. Moreover, as it doesn’t quite serve as a career-oriented game, but rather, a selection of mini-games and ego-inflating autobiographical sequences, there just isn’t a lot for you to enjoy here.

Arguably the worst thing about Street Power Football is its gameplay. Unlike your modern football game, controls here are unfathomably wooden and sluggish. Passing, shooting, and performing tricks, for example, are made to feel stiff and without technical flair. And unfortunately, this same issue carries over to most, if not all of the game modes. It wants to be stylish, but it also fails to implement an airtight control system that just feels good to rinse out. Regrettably, you are left with a collection of mini-games that don’t quite add up or leave a lasting impression of your right foot.

I had a lot of frustrating moments in Street Power Football, most of which were built around a lack of transparency in the rules, in general. And, if it wasn’t the rule that was sullying the experience, it was the stiffness of the atmosphere—the wonky transitions, the snail-like movement, and the simple fact that it had no fluidity in its design. It should have felt slick, smooth, and satisfying. The thing is, I never quite felt any of that.

Don’t get me wrong, Street Power Football has its mind in the right place. Its priorities, however, are set in the gutter. Or at least, on the opposite end of the pitch. For instance, the career mode—an option that is accompanied by the usual fixed 2v2 and 3v3 modes—doesn’t allow you to soar through milestones and earn a name for yourself. Instead, it tasks you with aimlessly fumbling through a series of mini-games and trying to get a leg up on a ladder that, frankly, you couldn’t care less about. It promotes growth, and it leads you to believe that you’re en route to “becoming the King” of street football. In reality, though, it isn’t quite as prestigious.

While I can find it within myself to compliment the visuals and the vibrancy of the world, Street Power Football does have its share of graphical issues. The animations, for example, are laughably poor, and, weirdly, the game’s frequent use of green screen tech is anything other than a sight for sore eyes. It’s all a bit messy, in that it doesn’t deliver a clean, striking, and elegant palette with a lot of detail to elevate its overall aesthetic. For Fortnite fans, it might hit home. But for those who crave a well-written love letter to street football, it will leave a lot to be desired.

Unfortunately, the lack of shelf life is a major problem here. Given that you have no real goal to shoot for outside of the standard trick-based mini-games, there just isn’t much for you to write home about. Naturally, you have daily tasks to complete, as well as credits to earn to help fuel your passion for apparel and tattoos. But other than that, there isn’t a lot to chant about. With no tournaments, no major online presence, and no career milestones to claim, what you essentially have is a drawn-out tutorial that meshes biographical stories with brief interactive gameplay sequences.

Given the little amount of content that Street Power Football has, it’ll be awfully difficult for die-hard fans of the sport to find something worth holding out for here. In short bursts, it can be great. But for the long term, it can also begin to lose its appeal before the ninety-minute window meets the whistle. And that’s a major problem here: the fact that it talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk. Oh, it works as a serviceable street game. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t make for a great football game.

Verdict

In theory, Street Power Football should be the ideal love letter to FIFA Street, given that it has the field to compete in, the rule book to lean on, and the beating heart of a community that wants it to succeed. But it’s the little things that drag this ode back. With a lack of confidence in its ability to construct an authentic tool for street football, as well as its general lack of polish, flair and competitiveness, it just falls short in more ways than one. And that’s a shame, really, as there could be a rather good game here.

It’s best to approach Street Power Football with a pinch of salt. Or, at least, with the intent to set the bar low enough so that you won’t feel disheartened when it turns out to be a meager collection of mini-games than a full-fledged street football sandbox. Frankly, it isn’t the next FIFA Street. Heck, it isn’t even in the same league as FIFA Street. That said, if you can just about forgive its barebones presentation and its poor optimization, then you might just find a reason to stick around until half time.