During the pandemic, I got absolutely hooked on an iPhone game called Retro Bowl. And when I say hooked, I mean this game was getting more attention from me than anything on a console. I wrote a review for the Switch version in 2022 when I was with Eclipse Theory, and I said then that “I’ve poured the type of hours into this that would make a Skyrim fan cross the street if we were to walk past each other”. I love Retro Bowl. New Star Games is the team behind it, and I need more eyes on their work.
New Star games is putting together a hell of a run
I truly believe that the folks at New Star Games are some of the most talented developers out there. They specialize in RPG-style sports games, and they nail it every time. I had resolved to basically following everything they did. Where Retro Bowl succeeded was New Star kept it very simple. If you love Tecmo Bowl, you’ll love that. But beyond the simplicity of gameplay, there lied a depth in feature. You could create your own coach and run through an entire career with free agency and trades.
And while all of the teams weren’t officially the NFL squads, you could do more than enough to make it work. Over the years, they released Retro Bowl College, which was an even deeper and cooler experience. And then the biggest moment came when they partnered with the NFL and NFLPA on NFL Retro Bowl 25. Combining their already excellent game with the NFL license wasn’t something I saw coming, but I was glad to see it. Partly because it made it clear that the NFL knows there’s value in arcade sports games.
And then they released New Star GP and I knew that they were on a real heater. It’s one of the best indie racing games released in years. They absolutely know how to create an engrossing and deep sports experience. They recently released a tennis game on mobile that I’ve yet to try out but can’t wait to dig into. It’s cool to see developers who have a clear specialty be able to consistently hit things out of the park. Now I’m just waiting for the basketball game to hit.
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