When Wild Card Football was announced the first thought I had was, "Finally a game that can challenge Madden's dominance". That's what the majority of the football gaming community thought as well, as players were desperately begging for a game that could be an alternative to Madden.
I know mentioning Madden in the Wild Card Football review article might not seem very appropriate, but it's something that needs to be done if we really want to understand the importance of this game.
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It's been a long time since any game that could actually compete with Madden was released. The last NFL 2K game was released in 2005, and since then, the Madden franchise dominated the football space. Because of that, expectations were very high for this game, fortunately, Wild Card Football didn't disappoint.
A unique game
Wild Card Football is a 7v7 arcade game that also involves superpowers. Sorry, I meant to say Wild Cards, which can give you players special powers, or provide your team with a way to change the rules in your favour.
The game does a great job of explaining all of its unique mechanics, with the tutorial game covering everything you need to know about Wild Card Football. This makes it a really easy game to just pick up and play, especially for players who aren´t that familiar with American football.
However, what's truly amazing about Wild Card Football, is that as soon as you enter the game you completely forget about Madden or any other football game. As soon as the ball is snapped you become completely immersed in the game, and you can only think about which play to call or what Wild Card to use.
The suggested plays feature can help you choose what play to run, but you can also channel your inner Andy Reid and choose from a wide variety of plays, on both offense and defense.
Wild Cards are very important and can either turn the game in your favour or completely take it away from you. Learning how to use them is easy, but understanding in which situations you should use each specific Wild Card can take some time.
Some Wild Cards counter others, negating the opponent's Wild Card effect. There are also a few Wild Cards that are much more powerful than others, so selecting a Wild Card is just as important as reading your opponent's defense or throwing a perfect pass to an open receiver.
But as mentioned above, Wild Card Football is an easy game to pick up, so after a few games you will probably have mastered this feature. Once you have done that, the game will become even more fun to play.
Not many, but good ones
The main problem with Wild Card Football is that it doesn't have many game modes. On the other hand, all the modes are quite enjoyable to play and cater to both competitive and casual players in their own unique ways.
There are a total of three game modes in Wild Card Football, and they are called Exhibition, Season, and Dream Squad. The Exhibition is your typical 1v1 mode where you can face the CPU or a friend in a normal game of Wild Card Football. It's the best mode to get used to the game and master its mechanics.
The Season mode allows you to select one of the many Wild Card Football teams, which are made up of real NFL players since the game is fully licensed, and play a standard football season.
Unfortunately, the Season mode is very limited, as you can only select your team and play. You can't do any trades, draft players, hire different coaches for your staff, or train your players so they can evolve and reach the next level. It's still an enjoyable mode to play, but it gets repetitive and boring rather quickly. The mode also doesn't provide the realistic and immersive experience that the Franchise mode in Madden 24 provides.
Wild Card Football most popular mode is by far Dream Squad. As the name indicates, this mode allows you to build your football Dream Squad and has plenty of customization options included. Dream Squad is not just about assembling a spectacular squad, you can also create and edit your logo and uniforms, offering you total control over how your team looks.
Inside the Dream Squad mode, you have the Quick Game, League, and Tour modes. Quick Game allows you to play a standard game of Wild Card Football against other players.
League is the ranked mode of Dream Squad, where you face off against other players, test your skills, and try to reach the highest division possible. In this mode, wins will get you points and help you reach higher divisions, while losses do the opposite. It's the most popular mode of the three.
As for the Tour mode, it's a single-player mode where you have to complete some challenges and will receive many rewards in exchange. If you want a more laid-back and casual experience, this mode is probably the best one for you.
Fortunately, this mode doesn't have any microtransactions, but you have a loot box system. However, the mode is not "pay-to-win", especially when compared to MUT, and you can build a great team with the rewards you get by playing games or completing challenges.
Verdict
Wild Card Football is a game every football fan should try out. It delivers a great gaming experience, with unique gameplay, that despite including superpowers still delivers a realistic experience.
If you are new to American football, then this game is perfect for you. Wild Card Football doesn't have a gigantic learning curve like Madden does, and it will teach you all the rules of the game in an enjoyable way.
There could have been more game modes, which would have captivated players even more. The Season game mode, in particular, needs something more to make it worthwhile playing for a long period. However, all the game modes are quite solid and easy to understand.
It's a breath of fresh air for the football video games industry and provides fans with a real option to Madden, which has dominated the scene in the last two decades.
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