A little while ago, we mentioned how the long-running football simulation RPG series Inazuma Eleven would be coming to Xbox for the first time in November, and now we're pleased to say the game is getting some amazing first reviews!
Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road is currently in early access ahead of its full launch on November 13th, and those who have been playing early have given it an "Overwhelmingly Positive" average rating on Steam as things stand.
Here's what a few of the reviews have to say:
Pewwo on Steam: "I waited 9 years for this game and every second was worthy, they improved every single aspect of the gameplay and made it really fun, the first hours of the main story are kinda slow but once you pass that its pure cinema, the story, the gameplay everything connects so well 10/10."
"Alfxyzz on Steam: Honestly, Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road blew me away. I was worried the series might lose its soul after all these years… but it didn’t. It’s a true return to form from the DS era, it's fresh, modern, and full of heart. The gameplay feels smooth and super responsive. Matches are fast-paced, even more than I thought they'd be. Hissatsus are insane and the mix of football, tactics, and pure craziness is exactly what makes Inazuma so unique. It’s just fun, the kind of game where you keep saying “one more match” until it’s 3 a.m."
Katsu on Steam: "All those years of development and delays really paid off. The gameplay is fun and intuitive, and the story mode is excellent. There’s a great variety of enjoyable modes—it feels like you bought one game and got four! It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this is the most ambitious Inazuma Eleven game in the entire series! Just buy it! Just buy it — you won’t regret it!!!"
Unfortunately it's still too early for a Metacritic score — it seems critics weren't able to get their hands on the game pre-release — but all of these Steam reviews suggest developer LEVEL5 has created something very special with this one.
Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road is currently available to pre-order on the Xbox Store at a price of £57.98 / $69.99 if you're interested, or you can get the more expensive Deluxe version if you want to start playing right away.
Just be warned that we're seeing reports of a pesky glitch that only seems to affect the Xbox version. The screen seems to sometimes go black and flicker, which has unfortunately led to some one-star reviews on the Xbox Store.
Azrael008uk on Xbox: "In Story Mode, while exploring, the visuals glitch and the screen goes mostly black. Hitting Pause then returning fixes it but if you are in a conversation you miss the text and don't know what's said. Not completely game breaking but frustrating considering how long this has been in the oven for."
We're assuming this will be fixed very soon (hopefully in time for the full release on Wednesday), as the rest of the game appears to be pretty outstanding! We can't wait to check it out for ourselves.