Play dirty to win in “dystopian” soccer management sim Illegal Football 

Ourshow Games announced on January 29 that they are developing a soccer management sim with a twist. In a world of corrupt management and fixed matches, Illegal Football will see you train up your own super team and lead them to victory. The game will be coming to the PC (Steam) in English and Chinese, release date TBA. 

Illegal Football is described as a “dystopian style football game.” The world of football is in chaos, and as a senior football manager, you will need to work out the best way to succeed in this corrupt world. One day, a mysterious tycoon asks you to form a national football team that can win the World Championship. Fortunately, money is no object, and you are going to need it. 

Unfortunately, your country’s players have really let themselves go, indulging in life’s pleasures. They are in no fit state to kick a ball, let alone break through the opposition’s defense to score a goal! So, you will have to find your would-be dream squad in all kinds of unlikely places, such as retirement homes, bars, bathhouses and temples.  

The game will be presented in chapter format, taking you through all kinds of twists and turns as you start out building your team and hopefully take on the World Championship. The players and managers you hire might seem pretty useless at first but they each have their own hidden abilities. For example, second striker Li Yi has high ball possession due to his experience protecting his football in the slums as a kid. Each player also has various status attributes like agility, composure and anticipation. 

The coach, Mr. Tie, also comes with an interesting range of abilities. A famous former player turned coach, Mr. Tie previously spent time in prison for bribery. You can take advantage of his skills to manipulate the game with all the cash you have. Playing dirty will be important in Illegal Football. 

Although the exact game mechanics have yet to be revealed, it seems you will be able use your money to do all kinds of underhand dealings. For example, you will be able to bribe the referee and get him to issue red cards to the opposition, make him ignore that violent tackle or even get him to overlook various dodgy goal scoring tactics (think “Hand of God” situations). The aim of the game is to use your money boldly yet carefully to ensure that your team emerges victorious. 

Illegal Football’s developer Ourshow Games is a China-based studio that has released several casual mobile games in the past. Last November, they released the well-received campus sim High School Odyssey on Steam, which has 94% positive reviews at the time of writing. Their new game Illegal Football aims to match that success but in a different genre. 

In line with Steam’s rules on AI generated content disclosure, Illegal Football’s developers have stated that the game uses AI technology to create some art assets. 

Illegal Football is coming soon to PC (Steam).  

Written by. Verity Townsend based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2024-01-29 16:53 JST)