Rugby 20 is the brand new title in the Rugby franchise by developer Eko Software and Publisher Bigben. Rugby is a sport that has a very die-hard following. Not every player fancies Rugby but fans who do follow the sport, they are extremely die-hard fans of the sport. We have seen many different franchises trying to master the art of making a decent video game on Rugby and so far we have very few options that fall in the decent range. In this review of Rugby 20, we find out how far has Eko Software has come with Rugby. This review was made on Xbox One.
Right after booting the game, you are tasked with creating your very own rugby squad as you mostly play with this squad. However, even before jumping to squad creation, I will emphasize that you head over to the training section and learn all the tips and tricks of mastering different in-game mechanics. I’ve played a decent amount of Rugby and American Football games and only a handful came with training modes allowing players to learn the tricks of the sport. If you are new to the series or even a veteran, Rugby 20 has a few new tricks up its sleeves that you should be aware of before you jump in the game.
The singleplayer modes include the Solo mode which is the main campaign of the game. Then you have the League mode and of course the Quick Match which is great for a few casual matches without any major impact on your team’s stats or finances. The League is a brand new addition to Rugby 20 and we can say it is a great addition as well. League mode is basically much similar to Solo mode but without the micromanagement of your team. The team is already made right from the start and you get to pick the League and a team from the selected League before you jump into the action.
The League plays in a symmetrical way and there is not much to do here except from managing your team on the go, set tactics and manage Set Plays. If you are confident enough that your team will win in the League mode, you do not even have to play the match. You can simulate matches and have the results shown to you within a few seconds however where’s the fun in that? You should try to avoid simulation unless you really have to because eventually, the laziness will start catching up to you and your team may start losing even if there is a clear chance of victory.
The Leagues are over fairly quickly as some of the Leagues such as the Nations Trophy only come with 4 matches and 7 in total if you reach the final. You will find a lot of licensed teams here from all over the world. Leagues such as France’s Top 14, England’s Gallagher Premiership Rugby and much are all part of the League mode. Inside these Leagues, you will find familiar teams as well allowing you to support and play with your favorite Rugby team. The League mode is great if you have a free evening and want to pass some quality time playing Rugby.
The other major singleplayer mode is the Solo mode where you will first create your very own squad. If you directly click on Solo mode, the game will advise you to first head over to the My Squad section where you essentially create your whole squad. You choose and customize the uniform of your team, the logo of your squad and then finally add and remove players from your squad by a card-based system.
At the start, you will have a decent selection of players to choose as your starting squad. You must fill all the positions in your squad and also have some spare players in your squad as well because you will need backups in case your players get injured while playing the game and you need to call in a substitute. Once your initial squad is ready, you can start playing the Solo mode where your squad will enter and then it is up to you to keep winning and signing up better players.
Before starting off the game, you will need to decide which League you want to play in the current season and then you will be assigned matches and a budget. Winning these leagues will result in you winning Challenge Cards, Booster Packs and even Bonus Cards which will allow you to make your team even better by bringing even better players to your team. The game features two in-game currencies. The R is exclusive only to Solo mode while the SP is universal across the game and you will need SP to purchase Booster Packs which range from new Challenges, Variety Packs, and Players.
There are no microtransactions in the game and the only way to purchase these Booster Packs is via SP which is the in-game currency and you earn it by winning games, Leagues, Solo mode or by completing challenges. Challenges also provide a great new way to play Rugby 20. These are an extra set of objectives that if you decide to complete will help you earn both XP and SP. Earning more XP means that your account levels up quickly.
One of the most important elements to consider in this review is the actual gameplay of Rugby 20 because that is what really matters. I can easily say while Rugby 20 is a massive improvement in the franchise when it comes to gameplay, it is still far from perfect at this point. The developers did implement a lot of features that make gameplay extremely easy and accessible for most players even if they are new to the franchise. One of the main highlights is the passing which is now extremely easy. Pressing LB and RB allow you to pass the ball to your left and right respectively.
Other advanced mechanics such as the Line-Out, Scrum and Ruck have massively improved with little minigames in the game as well. A simple training exercise and you will be ready to nail all these advanced moves in the main matches without any problems. You also have quick access to different Set Plays that you can set before jumping in the game for quickly changing how your team plays in different scenarios. Set Plays also include small minigames which are really easy to understand. These new mechanics might look too complex but the provided trainings will allow you to easily understand all of them without any problems.
This being said, however, Rugby 20, has a few problems with the game itself. If you are a die-hard fan of the sport, you might notice a few of the extremely popular teams missing from action in the game. Why did Bigben and Eko Software not add them to the game? That is hard to understand but I am sure that there was a really good reason for skipping some big players out of the game. The other problem with the game is the big list of its technical glitches which really bog down this otherwise brilliant title.
Starting with animations, different player animations are extremely awkward and sometimes players will even glitch out. Quite often, while tackling, my player would simply miss the opponent completely despite being really close to them and even touching them. Other than that, the normal animations are also not quite as accurate as the developer claimed pre-release for most of the actions in the game. Couple that with running and tackling glitches and it takes a whole new turn of bringing the game down.
Final Verdict:
Rugby 20 is a major improvement in the franchise and the hard work by Eko Software is clearly visible in the game. However, gameplay glitches seriously bog down the game and the Solo mode still lacks depth. Because of this, Rugby 20 fails to last longer. The initial impression is pretty decent and you will spend quite a decent amount of time playing the game and leveling up. The League mode is yet another great addition to the title and the new control additions are certainly helpful. It certainly helps in expanding the life of the game. All this is seriously marred by technical glitches here and there in the game as some of these glitches seriously hinder gameplay in different scenarios. Rugby 20 is a decent enough title and you can give this game a shot if you are into Rugby. Just don’t expect the game to be glitch-free until the developer releases a few patches for the game.
Final Score: 6.8/10
