Game review: Dream League Soccer 2017 can’t match FIFA

Very few soccer games can be compared to EA Sports’ FIFA 16 or Konami’s PES 2017 games for mobile devices. Dream league Soccer 2017 is one such game, in terms of gameplay. A sequel to Dream League Soccer 16, it is the only other game outside the FIFA series which has the FIFPro (International Federation of Professional Footballers) licence to use official player names and faces in the game.

Developed by US-based game developer First Touch, the game follows the same Ultimate Team format that EA Sports’ FIFA games follow. You don’t get to play as an existing team, but build your own team from scratch, hire new players and compete in football leagues.

You can also customise your team, change team kit, players’ boot colour, team logo and even the team name

Modest graphics

Dream League Soccer 2017 is a modest looking game and if you have played the FIFA 16, you feel a bit disappointed with the graphics. The players’ faces do not look anything like their real-life counterparts. Unlike FIFA 16, you don’t get to play at different international stadiums, but at a custom made stadium developed by you.

However, if you are not very particular about these finer details, you are not missing much. The fact that you can play with real player names and against teams feels a lot more realistic than playing any of the football simulation games outside of the FIFA and PES series. You can also change the duration and play matches of up to 10 minutes. In FIFA games, matches have a fixed duration of six minutes. You can also customise your team, change team kit, players’ boot colour, team logo and even the team name.

The game’s biggest attraction is that it doesn’t ask for active internet connection except when you are playing in the Dream League Online league, or accessing the coins market

Challenging gameplay

The game offers multiple camera modes and auto replay options, but misses on the most popular broadcast camera mode. The on-screen controls are big and feel quite intuitive. The game’s biggest attraction is that it doesn’t ask for active internet connection except when you are playing in the Dream League Online league, or accessing the coins market. Even the transfer window, where you can buy new players, works offline. The coins market is where you can buy more coins with real money to speed up things. The tournament options are limited.

Verdict

Dream League Soccer 2017 is perfect for casual football gamers. That it works offline, takes up just 326MB after installation and doesn’t require high-end specs to work smoothly makes it stand out in the crowd.