Sportsfriends Review

Once upon a time, not so long ago, neighborhood friends would meet each other face to face, sit down on a couch, and play a video game together on the same exact television screen. They would push each other when the competition turned fierce. They would laugh together when the mood turned light. Not so long ago, local multiplayer was all we had, and that was more than enough. But nowadays, local multiplayer feels more like a myth; a forgotten feature that will only live on through the stories we tell our kids. Sportsfriends, however, aims to bring back the fun and the magic of gathering people around one screen and having a really good time. Together.

Sportsfriends is a collection of four separate multiplayer games created by four different developers. Each title is completely unique from the next, while packing in enough content and fun-inducing competition to make every game feel like a full experience on their own. These “sports” all have their own rules, tutorials, and even secrets to discover. After hours and hours of play, I was still discovering new tactics and learning the intricacies of each game, and even finding some hidden content. Despite their simplistic setup, there’s a lot to keep coming back to in Sportsfriends, as long as you have some folks to play with.

The first title I’d like to talk about is Hokra, a game in which two teams of two compete to gain possession of a puck and hold it inside of their teams’ colored goals. As you hold it, a gauge will fill up and whichever team fills their gauge first, wins. It’s one of Sportsfriends most simplistic games, making it a great start for casual players. Defenders can dash forward, but this won’t let you turn so you have to use it smartly. Offensive players can pass the puck instead of dashing. With some clever coordination you can keep away the puck from the opposition and fill up your teams gauge quick. You can even shoot the puck away, and as long as it lands on a color, it will fill that gauge. Think of it like air-hockey but the goals differ from level to level.

Simple and plain in execution as well as graphically, Hokra is a minimalist’s game. The screen is mostly white with the exception of the colored goals and the squares that make up the players and the puck. Chasing down and keeping the puck away from your pursuers is really all it comes down to. However, it’s that basic nature that makes the game so approachable and still a lot of fun to keep at. The variety in levels change the goals around in a multitude of ways, and you can even create your own arenas to keep things fresh.

It may be that simplistic nature that makes me feel like Hokra is the weakest game in Sportsfriends. There’s just not enough there that ever really makes it very interesting, especially when compared to the other three games. Does that make it bad? Not at all. Even on the low-end of the scale, Hokra is still a good game but it’s a shame you need two teams of two in order to play it effectively. Hokra is one of the easiest games to get going with 4 players but I felt like there should be a mode that would allow only 2 players to compete. If Hokra gave us this option, it would definitely benefit.

Then we have BaraBariBall, a game where each team picks a character and fights to sink a ball to the bottom of their side’s water. This game plays a lot more physical than something like Hokra because your avatars can attack each other whether they have possession of the ball or not, or if they’re in the air or underwater. There’s also a heavy focus on jumping. Players are given a set number of jumps before they are left to find land or sink, adding another mechanic to the game.

I love how aggressive things get in BaraBariBall. There’s a constant struggle for possession of the ball similar to basketball mixed with Super Smash Bros in that everyone is on a 2D plane duking it out, but the focus on getting the ball underwater keeps it different than other brawlers. However, I feel like the focus on the ball creates a lot of chaos for players, especially those just starting out. When everyone on-screen is chasing one ball, things get messy.

BaraBariBall can be played as a 1v1 or 2v2 game, and I found myself having a better time with the 1v1 matches. Every game felt intense, like a virtual tug of war. With the default settings, a sunken ball gives you a point while letting your avatar fall off-screen takes one point away, making for a match that needs to be played both offensively and defensively. If you run out of jumps with water underneath you, say goodbye to that point you just scored. There’s a strategy to using your jumps effectively. I loved luring people out into the water just so they’d use up all their jumps and sink to the bottom. Having two people go at it is a great competition, and four players is fun too, but BaraBariBall doesn’t have enough visual diversity to warrant the amount of on-screen action. You only start with three characters to choose from, each with their own unique abilities, but different shades of colored characters with an 8-bit aesthetic doesn’t make finding yours very easy.

Next up is Super Pole Riders, a buffed up flash game all about pushing a ball on a horizontally hung string into the opposing player’s goal. To move the ball you can either push it with your pole or pole vault up and kick it across. Using the left stick to move your vaulter, and the right stick to rotate your pole, the controls are simple but really reward players who learn when to vault, when to push with your pole, and when to defend. The thing is, no matter what you’re doing it usually looks hilarious. When I think about it, it’s probably an even simpler game than Hokra but that doesn’t stop it from being my favorite game in Sportsfriends.

Super Pole Riders is the one game that is just as much fun playing with two people as it is four. That’s because the fun of playing the game doesn’t spur from just the actual rules and actions that turn it into a “sport.” It’s because it’s hilarious in both the physics and presentation. Created by Bennet Foddy, developer of QWOP, Super Pole Riders shares the same idea that physics don’t exactly have to be right to be fun. Flipping around the stage, and waggling your pole all over the place never gets old, and certain situations make for a very comedic event. Luckily, unlike QWOP, you can actually play Super Pole Riders.

Finally, Sportsfriends packs in the not-so-much a videogame game, Johann Sebastian Joust. If anyone has been to a PAX event in the last few years, you’re probably familiar with it. In Joust you must keep your controller steady (PS Move controllers optional, and more comfortable) while you try to knock your opponent’s controller off-balance. The catch is the music that plays while you’re trying to do this dictates how sensitive the motion sensors are. If the music speeds up, you’re able to run around and really try to smash another’s controller. When it slows down, players end up in slow motion fight just to get the other to jerk their arm ever so slightly. It’s a completely physical game, and it’s a whole lot of fun.

What I found most appealing about Joust was how customizable the experience could be, especially for those with a little imagination, and enough brain power to unlock the secret options menu. You can change the sensitivity, give players lives so they have to be knocked out multiple times to lose, add in different actions like Freezes, give players a chance to go invincible which completely changes the game, and more! In all my time playing Joust with a few different groups, for hours, I never got bored with the game because nearly every gathering was played in a very different manner than the last. I even started making up new ways to play Joust like players can only sit down, or the slightly dangerous “set your controller on the ground and defend it from attacking players” Joust. Some worked better than others.

The only real downfall of Joust is you need a good amount of space to play and people willing to get a little physical. Some people just aren’t the type to go around shoving others for fun, and that’s completely understandable. However, with the right people, you can have a good time. While Joust always felt better playing with a large group, I even had fun playing with one other person. It really doesn’t matter the number of people playing, as long as everyone is willing to get in there. Like Hokra, I think Joust is great because it can get people who normally don’t play videogames a chance to be a part of everything. You don’t need to worry about graphics, or the mechanics, you just have to play.

It must be noted though that the PS4 version of the game only allows up to 4 players in Johann Sebastian Joust while PS3 allows 7 players. The upcoming PC version will also allow more than 4 players. On top of that, the PS4 version doesn’t allow custom track lists in Joust making it, surprisingly, the weakest version of Sportsfriends.

In the end, Sportsfriends is a fantastic compilation of local multiplayer games. Every title is a completely different experience than the next, making the odds pretty likely this will be a hit at any party where people want to play some games. Is it a downfall that you need others to play Sportsfriends? I don’t think so. That’s the whole point of the game. It would be nice if some games catered better to certain numbers of players, but for the most part, any number of players works well. With games like Nidhogg, Towerfall, and Samurai Gunn leading the way for a renaissance of local multiplayer games, Sportfriends definitely joins their ranks. You’re even getting four games for the price of one.

It’s been a long while since I got together with a bunch of my friends simply to play videogames. Sportsfriends is all about bringing people together and the experience found within focus on the fun of playing with others more than anything. Put a controller in the hands of someone who doesn’t normally play videogames and they’ll have a ball with Super Pole Riders and Johann Sebastian Joust. Have a competitive friend that you constantly battle with? Throw on BaraBariBall and enjoy. Want your Grandparents to join in the fun? Hokra is designed to be a simple game anyone can approach. With Sportsfriends, you don’t have to talk about the old days of playing games together, you can live them again.