Active Soccer 3 Review Summary

A promising game with a responsive developer, but flawed ball and passing physics, unresponsive controls, a broken defensive system, and an unfinished early access feel.

Responsive and communicative developer: Players appreciate the developer's active involvement, regular updates, and openness to feedback. The developer is approachable and responsive to the community.

Promising game with potential: The game shows great promise and has the potential to become even better. Players see it as a good base for future improvements.

Ball and passing physics flawed: Passing, shooting, and ball control are imprecise, with passes overshooting, through balls going wrong, and shots lacking accuracy. The ball sometimes passes through players, and collisions feel off.

Early access and unfinished feel: The game is considered extremely raw, surface-level, and still in need of work. Many see it as early access with bugs and incomplete features, not worth current price.

Controls unresponsive and heavy: Controls feel heavy, unresponsive, and cumbersome, with player movement overshooting or falling short. Button misinputs and poor turning circle add to frustration.

Defensive system broken: Defending is widely criticized for being illogical, with unwanted player switching, lack of standing tackles, and defenders losing players on corners. This makes defense frustrating and ineffective.

Animation and physics issues: Players complain about rough animations, players sliding on ice, and inconsistent physics that break immersion. These issues make the game feel unpolished and unreliable.

Arcade fast-paced football: Players praise the arcade-style, fluid, and fast-paced football gameplay that is easy to pick up but offers depth. This is the most frequently mentioned positive feature.

Old-school retro style: Many users appreciate the old-school or retro soccer experience reminiscent of classic games like Sensible Soccer and Kick Off.

Career mode included: The game features a career mode with progression, dynamic skill changes, and cups, similar to SWOS.

Manual aiming system: Passing and shooting require manual aiming, with a power bar indicator for modulation, adding skill depth.

Many teams and leagues: The game includes a large number of teams, leagues, and competitions, offering extensive content.

Steam Deck performance is decent: The game runs well on Steam Deck, achieving around 45 fps. This makes it playable for portable gaming.

Optimization needs improvement: Overall optimization is considered poor, with calls for better performance on lower-end hardware.

Fatal error after season: A fatal error occurs after finishing the second season, which is a game-breaking bug. This needs immediate attention.

Stutters in specific modes: Performance stutters are reported in quick matches and the Oceania Cup mode. This affects gameplay fluidity.

Runs well on powerful PCs: The game runs well on high-end PCs, such as those with an RTX 3070 and Ryzen 5800X.

Overwhelmingly positive recommendations: A large number of clusters explicitly recommend the game, highlighting its value, potential, and nostalgic appeal. Many users encourage others to buy it, especially at its low price point.

Great value for price: Many users note the game is a fantastic value due to its low cost, calling it a low-risk purchase and an easy recommendation. The cheap price is frequently mentioned as a positive factor.

Nostalgia for retro fans: The game is recommended highly for players who enjoyed classic 90s football games like SWOS or Amstrad/Atari era titles. Nostalgic appeal is a strong driver for positive reviews.

Potential but needs work: Some users recommend the game for its potential and to support the developer, acknowledging that it still feels raw or unpolished. They express hope for future improvements.

Major bugs in mechanics: Clusters highlight specific bugs such as broken goalkeepers and poor shooting mechanics, which significantly hurt the gameplay experience. Users advise waiting until these are fixed.

Game completion: 121.0h.

Arcade Nostalgia Lover: Arcade, fast-paced, prioritizing enjoyment over simulation. Motivation: Nostalgic arcade fun and simplicity. Stance: buy.

Frustrated Defender: Tactical, expects precise input and logical AI. Motivation: Competitive fairness and responsive controls. Stance: no buy.

Casual Non-Target: Casual, expects simple controls and low frustration. Motivation: Easy pick-up-and-play enjoyment. Stance: no buy.

Steam Deck: All user reviews indicate the game runs flawlessly on Steam Deck and SteamOS with no technical barriers, crashes, or need for workarounds. Performance is smooth, controls are intuitive, and the experience is fully playable out of the box.

Linux and Proton: User reviews consistently report that the game runs perfectly on SteamOS/Steam Deck with no issues. No tweaks or workarounds are mentioned, indicating excellent out-of-the-box Proton compatibility.