Yo, just devoured Chris Scullion's review over at Nintendo Life for eFootball Kick-Off on Switch 2 (dropped June 3rd), and I'm so pumped — Konami is making a proper homecoming here! This isn't their first rodeo with the brand: you go all the way back to NES days with *Konami Hyper Soccer* and that legendary SNES gem *International Superstar Soccer*, watch it become ISS Pro → ISS Pro Evolution → PES, then finally switch to free-to-play in September 2021. Konami's claimed over one billion downloads across iOS and Android since the rough launch of eFootball back then — but it never landed on a Nintendo system until now! So after fourteen years (since *PES* 2013 on Wii), they're finally bringing this full circle, though with an interesting twist: instead of just porting what's already there like EA did their early Switch FIFA days when people grabbed industrial-sized pitchforks, Kick-Off gives you entirely different modes.
World Tour is the big draw — it's a massive offline mode that can soak up serious hours and feels like *Master League* lite (no player training since the goal is replacing players rather than developing them). You start with a nostalgic roster including Castolo and Minanda, then travel across regional groups of five randomly chosen clubs each time. Asian Leagues runs through Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and AFC Champions League; beat every team in your group for the first run to open up replay access where you can pick specific teams hunting particular players! Winning matches earns four types of coins — Forward, Midfielder, Defender, Goalkeeper currency that get funneled into Hall of Players. Each cleared regional group also unlocks retired legends like Beckham, Adriano, Dennis Bergkamp who are purchasable as your squad grows organically and naturally stronger over time! The International Cup mode mirrors FIFA World Cup 2026 exactly so Scotland faces Brazil/Haiti/Morocco while England battles Croatia/Panama/Ghana — you can shuffle groups manually though. Both modes run co-op local multiplayer from one to four players including GameShare with per-player assist options across the board, which honestly makes couch play feel fresh again!
On the pitch it holds up beautifully: smooth 60fps during actual gameplay (some minor stutters scattered in but nothing game-breaking), running as a faithful port of other platforms. The new speech bubbles letting players call for passes and motivate each other are charming though purists can toggle them off; Peter Drury's lead commentary works fine while Jim Beglin occasionally pauses mid-sentence in weird ways that catch you out until he stops being noticeable — both mappable independently so don't let his delivery ruin your afternoon. EA Sports FC technically has more licensed clubs and modes but Switch 2 only runs their version at 30fps versus Kick-Off's buttery smooth performance, PLUS the $19.99 / £15.99 digital price tag makes it genuinely viable as a couch/commute football companion whether you care about Ultimate Team or not! Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch-2/efootball-kick-off
World Tour is the big draw — it's a massive offline mode that can soak up serious hours and feels like *Master League* lite (no player training since the goal is replacing players rather than developing them). You start with a nostalgic roster including Castolo and Minanda, then travel across regional groups of five randomly chosen clubs each time. Asian Leagues runs through Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and AFC Champions League; beat every team in your group for the first run to open up replay access where you can pick specific teams hunting particular players! Winning matches earns four types of coins — Forward, Midfielder, Defender, Goalkeeper currency that get funneled into Hall of Players. Each cleared regional group also unlocks retired legends like Beckham, Adriano, Dennis Bergkamp who are purchasable as your squad grows organically and naturally stronger over time! The International Cup mode mirrors FIFA World Cup 2026 exactly so Scotland faces Brazil/Haiti/Morocco while England battles Croatia/Panama/Ghana — you can shuffle groups manually though. Both modes run co-op local multiplayer from one to four players including GameShare with per-player assist options across the board, which honestly makes couch play feel fresh again!
On the pitch it holds up beautifully: smooth 60fps during actual gameplay (some minor stutters scattered in but nothing game-breaking), running as a faithful port of other platforms. The new speech bubbles letting players call for passes and motivate each other are charming though purists can toggle them off; Peter Drury's lead commentary works fine while Jim Beglin occasionally pauses mid-sentence in weird ways that catch you out until he stops being noticeable — both mappable independently so don't let his delivery ruin your afternoon. EA Sports FC technically has more licensed clubs and modes but Switch 2 only runs their version at 30fps versus Kick-Off's buttery smooth performance, PLUS the $19.99 / £15.99 digital price tag makes it genuinely viable as a couch/commute football companion whether you care about Ultimate Team or not! Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch-2/efootball-kick-off