Pixel Cup Soccer - Ultimate Edition

If you’re looking for a soccer game similar to the likes of SWOS or FIFA then this is probably not for you. However, this is an excellent arcade-style retro soccer game with its own unique style!

It’s got an atmosphere of its own as well as the thrills and spills of a frantically paced soccer match. Add humour to the proceedings and you have a game that quickly draws you in despite the ridiculously hard career mode - or maybe that is down to my lack of skill! The controls are a little clunky at times and not as intuitive as, say, SWOS but it’s difficult to find too many other faults.

The game is highly customisable and there are plenty competition unlockables to keep you going back once you have honed your skill levels. I love the graphics, music, atmosphere and general frantic pace of this game. Definitely recommended and hopefully the developers will continue to make incremental improvements and the career mode a little easier? 😉

LOL just discovered that there are 3 skill levels now … that should make the career option a little easier!

Fun game, quite easy, but it's clearly meant to be played with friends. The menu navigation mechanism could be reviewed to save a huge amounts of clicks. I'd love to see more variety in the kits, so far only plain or vertical stripes are allowed.

Excellent game, it reminds me of FIFA 94 but with a wider roster and more in-depth gameplay.

I bought it originally for my 11 year old son to play in the car on his steamdeck but it's ended up being a game we are playing together at home as well.

As it says when you're installing........ Get Ready To Have Some Fun!
This is an awesome game... reminds me a lot of Amiga classics like Kick-Off, Sensible Soccer and International Superstar Soccer Deluxe for the SNES.
Deceptively deep and well crafted team strategy, and player development which endears them to you the same way that your FUT Ultimate team does. The Career mode is a lot of fun, and is highly entertaining.
My lead player got a job at a nightclub... and now the whole team is hungover and tired from staying out too late.... I don't recall that storyline in a FIFA game...

Worth the money and with the World Cup on (and actively updated daily within the game), what better time than to leave the FIFA fanboys and play an awesomely FUN football game. Very Decent!

It's a tight little arcade game that's easy to pick up. Great little combo with the World Cup. Works excellent on the SteamDeck. I'd love some other sports to go with this game design. Super Bloody Hockey more or less scratches the itch, but what about a basketball or football or baseball or???? Anyways, Pixel Soccer has great flow, and is fast and easy.

It should be easier to play all the games in a tournament, rather than just one team. And I love the daily Global Cup matches, but let me page backwards.

If you got a SteamDeck, and you're into watching the World Cup right now, you'll easily get your money's worth.

WARNING: Get and use a gamepad, because some menus will be completely unresponsive with keyboard and mouse, forcing force quit at least three times (during the choose sides tutorial and player management in career)
So what did i expect? I found FIFA being expensive (i can ignore FUT because i don't give a FUT about it) despite it plays well, EFootball (formerly PES) now (smelly) socks according to the reviews, and this... this is the only well-rated soccer game despite nobody plays.
To my surprise, it plays well.

The Good:
+It plays well, easy to learn and pick up but hard to master
+It plays well as well in keyboard, won 2 (easiest of course because it's the first time i picked up a soccer game since 2012)
+Very short loading screens and sequences
+Expressions in the players, reminds me of Nintendo World Cup (NES) but without the sprite flickers
+Small size like only 500mb

The Bad:
-Intro might be a lil bit loud (but then again PES and Winning Eleven during the late 90s and early to mid 2000s are like that)
-Unnecessary video introduction though it's good, making intros skippable like would be good.
-Fix unresponsive buttons on keyboard and mouse in certain interfaces (as noted)

Feedback:
-Add commentators if possible as a separate download/feature.
-Add more goal celebration animations if possible, currently the goal celebration is too short and repetitive
-Kind of bit pricey (but seeing soccer games then and now it is a non-issue)

8.9/10, will ramp it up to eventually 10/10 when fixes is coming.

The best arcade football game available on steam. Takes some getting used to with the gameplay as it does feel like there's more unpredictability to the gameplay at first but once you get used to the pace and controls of the players it becomes more skill based.

Features a very detailed career mode where you customise and grow your squad from Sunday league to premier league and upgrade their stats individually. Has a ton of different modes and is great value for money.

Works perfect on the steam deck, the only real grumble is the goalkeepers can be very hit and miss, but if you watched the Qatar keeper at the first game at the world cup, this is realistic.

If you've got any interest in old school or arcadey football games this is probably for you

The game is pretty and nice but it is very frustrating on the one hand I have some problems with passes that go anywhere an AI that defends at 11 on you. In addition, it is difficult to understand the games around us when all the characters are grouped around the ball, perhaps a more laid back, more realistic game would be welcome or at least the possibility of changing the gameplay to have something for everyone. tastes

Best pixel football game I ever played.
Lots of content and great modding support.
Story mode with cutscenes and lots of character.
GET THIS GAME, YOU WON'T REGRET IT IF YOU LOVE (PIXEL) FOOTBALL GAMES!

First impression review: after playing a few hours on my Steam Deck, I have become hooked on this game. It has become my go to on travels, easy to follow, paced just right for traveling, and overall fun. it does have a challenging side to it, and you will win and lose some matches. Overall i would say this game is a very casual game with a competitive side.

Would you recommend this game to other players?

People buy FIFA every year for insane prices. This game is a quarter of the price and delivers a way better football experience than FIFA.

Download the Demo, play with a friend - enjoy the gameplay - remove FIFA from your mind - buy this.

I really appreciate that there was a free demo, and it was ultimately that which led me to purchase the game.

Overall, a really charming football game with a stunning amount of settings to make it play just the way you want it. I'm not very good at this game, but I've been enjoying it a lot as a perfect little Steam Deck game.

This game does a lot right, and offers a unique experience worth at the very least trying out!

Ive bought and played a few of these pixel style soccer games and i gotta say THIS IS THE ONE.... the career mode is amazing with the XP gain and skill tree. The controls are super reactive. The only complaint i really have is sometimes the AI makes ur characters move in directions u dont want them to and occasionally theyll actually slide a bit, most of the time that happens when theyre somewhere they shouldnt be which I dont have a problem with, its situations like when theyre reacting to a corner kick or opponents pass. its a rare thing and honestly im nit picking at this point cuz again overall i love this game. Its awesome that i can remote play with my cousin in career mode, would be better if there was an actual coop mode or even PVP. maybe small leagues you could put together with a group of people or even career mode with like 4 other players having their own team.. I know im asking for alot at that point but just a thought... seriously tho if your on the fence about buying this game dont be, JUST BUY IT

Sensible Soccer meets Nintendo World Cup meets South American passion.

1-1 game, fans throwing bottles and fireworks on pitch, Keeper gets knocked out by firework blast, opposite team scores in 93rd minute. South American football supporter rage in me activated.10/10

I'm very satisfied with the evolution of the game compared to the first version I played, the Pixel Cup 17. Now the developers have managed to focus exactly on fun and customization, something that no football "simulator" does ... Now i'm looking foward in the possibility of editing team names and in sharing your customization teams and leagues. I think it will be a "boom" in the game's popularity.

Ialso believe that especially for this year, a "road to world cup" package or DLC could be launched with all fifa nations for you to try to qualify with your home country, whatever it may be. Something EA has abandoned and we're missing a lot.

In my opinion the Pixal Cup Soccer - Ultimate Edition deserve The following grades :

Interface - 8/10
GamePlay - 7/10
Customization - 8/10
Graphics - 9/10
Fun - 9.5/10

Total - 8.3

with the last update they completely ruined this game,and the Devs never answer to the discussion in the comunity,i wasted my money once again :(

This game is very addicting.

It plays like an SNES soccer game; arcadey and fun. Your team members level up RPG style and get traits/quirks/whatever, and you play your season and try to go up to the highest league (think Ted Lasso style).

It's fun, I recommend. In between "serious" games, this is a fun one.

Why the hell should I play FIFA or PES (sorry eFootball) when this game is just so much fun and just plain better.

Anyone who knows the old days with SNES and "INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTAR SOCCER DELUXE" will love this game.

Simply great and a must for retro soccer fans.

Cheers to the developers and thanks for the nostalgia revival!

The football game you've been waiting 30 years for.

I like the friendly matches. I wish they had more English Premier League teams and Liga MX, MLS.

Career Mode is so difficult that I quit on it. The tournaments are fun.

Oh man! GREAT GAME!
The feeling of that retro arcade football game is all there and the levels of zoom are a great addition to the game.
Playability, for this kind of game, is the best I've tried!
There are only a couple of things I would change:
1. Career mode and all those fooling around with the puddles and weeds and birds and all of that;
2. I would do something about the shirts colors. Many times I just can't tell them apart. Maybe use more contrast on the colors... I don't know (the option to change the shirts mid-game is nice).
Also, there are a couple of bugs: a few shots went in but the ref went with a goal kick.
Still, great game!!

I would like to be able to save the player formation to be able to use it the next time i open the game.
Also i would love more ball effects like fireballs and UNSTOPPABLE shots, this would make the game a lot more entertaining i think.

Pretty good stuff. I've been enjoying it.

But devs...for the love of god...map Tackle and Shoot to individual keys. Please. The amount of times I've just booted the ball away because I was attempting to tackle is ridiculous.

As someone sick of how sports games these days get bogged down in endless lists of stats and numbers and complicated controls, Pixel Cup Soccer is undoubtedly the best arcade style soccer game available on Steam today.

The Ultimate edition had a rough launch, but I can definitely recommend it now!

I can see how this game shows quite some good potential for growth. I wasn't aware that there was a whole Pixel Cup franchise, but it seems my time will be rather appropiately spent with this one as it looks like a considerable better development than the before editions.

Looking forward to those new features!

POSITIVO
+ Graficos excelentes
+ Torneos atractivos.
+ Jugabilidad sencilla
+ Seleccion aleatoria de equipo

NEGATIVO
- No se puede poner en modo ventana
- No se pueden configurar las teclas.
- No tiene diferentes modo de dificultad
- Elegir los equipos en el modo friendly es demasiado engorroso.¿Cuantos click tengo que hacer para poder elegir los equipos?
x - No hay editor para crear nuevos equipos / importar
x - No hay una barra visual de potencia de tiro/pase

Still room for improvement but a really good game

i thought Scoring a goal with Alexstraza (MTG) was unbeatable...
but playing with charles (xavier) and erik (lensherr), leading an entire mutant team.....
is priceless.

buy this arcade soccer fast as "soccer it's coming home...."
ehm....
ROME! :)
BYE BYE ENGLAND!

Gameplay feels more realistic than FIFA...

Easy to play, hard to master. I kept getting conceded when facing counter attacks. Defenders seem to be always in attack mode. But all in all, GG!

Alrighty.. this game is really fun! I mean me and my friend had a ball. If you want a feel of the old arcades "Taito soccer/football games and those Sega arcade games" then this is the game for you.

That been said, I think it needs a few bit of tweaks here n there.

1. More animations (I think this should be the number one priority because I believe it will elevate the game further and make top tier worthy of console releases "just like Hades n stuff"
2. Online functionality

overall I'll give it a solid 8.5/10

A lot of improvement over the previous version (17) has taken place. This being said, the game still has bugs, very specifically two issues: 1. The new "slowdown" that happens on certain plays sometimes sticks for far longer than it should, and 2. The shooting doesn't have a "forward" default, and thus you can wind up shooting to the side and away from the goal.

Maybe more music and new audio could have helped show off the improvements made from the previous version as well.

But still, this is one of the most fun football games you will find on Steam. Also, this still has pretty cool inclusive teams, and very enjoyable retro style gameplay. The character designs are pretty cute and dynamic.

This feels like what we would have wanted to play in 1995, a bit more sophisticated technically than SNES but not quite PSX yet.

Still not as good as International Super Star Soccer Deluxe on SNES / Mega Drive, but then again, what is?
For 2021, on PC, this is about as close as you can get.

Fun with depth that rewards continued play

Game looked like a ton of fun. The look and feel are great but then you get to the gameplay. After 5 games I just requested a refund. I understand that it is early access but there are things that are huge red flags.

1. One button is responsible for 3 things. Tap A and it passes, press it for a bit it does a through pass and hold it a bit more and it does a long pass. My controller has 10 buttons, let me use them.

2. Game is terrible at deciding where you want to pass the ball. Yes the game decides for you, you merely suggest where you'd like the ball to go.

3. The one that made me just request a refund. So I reached the semi finals, suddenly every second tackle is a foul. I made more fouls in that one game that in all the previous 4 combined. The computer becomes god mode where it can intercept your balls with no issue and can do a Maradona 1986 where it just jumps over every single player that tries to intercept it. Also for some reason computer players can run faster with the ball that you without it because reasons.

4. Other things. Headers are the same, no matter if you press pass or shoot. They just headbutt that motherfucker as hard as they can because I guess programming is hard. The computer is very good at reading your moves i.e it will move players as soon as you press the direction and the pass button. Long shots are broken, the keeper just gets confused and reacts too late. This happens for both sides. There is no difference in players. Ronaldo is as good as a traffic cone playing for Liechenstein.

5. PVP - Didn't try. I assume a lot of the computer fuckery is non-existent.

TLDR - If you are thinking about playing with friends only then maybe. If not prepare to see a lot of BS. If a game can only be challenging by nerfing your ability to do things and boosting the AI its is not a game worth playing.

Looks great, doesn't play well at all. You have very little control over pass targets, tackling is a RNG roll (with the game deciding whether you succeed or the dribbler jumps every tackle), AI is absolutely terrible (with your defenders being unable to understand why formations are important) and the overall gameplay is pretty exploitable (bad goal keeping AI, no offside rules leading to attackers camping the box for long balls).

I definitely wouldn't recommend buying this currently. Maybe come back after release and see if the gameplay has improved by then.

Edit
With the game nearing release and the same problems persisting (even after feedback), I can't recommend this. Ten dollars may not be much, but you're better off spending it elsewhere.

Pros:
- Fun & fast paced, quick start up to playing speed
- Lots of game modes
- Not overly complicated (< ^ > V Z X C controls)
- Cute early PES style non-official team names e.g. "Man Blue"

Cons:
- No offside, this is a planned development I understand
- Career mode still in beta
- Some unrealistic traits in game play e.g goals from goal kicks seem fairly common

A fun soccer game that masterfully taps into nostalgia for the 16-bit era sports game. It doesn't take itself too seriously, yet offers a considerable amount of depth and customizability.
Though still in Early Access, Pixel Cup Soccer already offers more than enough to warm my childhood's heart.

I played the original and thought with a few improvements and tweaks there could be a good game here, but it never happened. The community provided good (some bad/pointless Imo) feedback on what needed and could be improved. So, for this game I had hopes.
I played 2 games against the AI. first game I won 11-0, second game I turned off all the assistance AI (Shot, pass, player etc) and won 8-0. So it’s far too easy.
The players handle like shopping trolleys. The original game players were much better to control.
The one button control (pass, through ball, lob) does not work at all, it means the controls are not responsive enough in what it a quick sport game, imagine if it meant players in the real game had to wait 6 seconds before they could shoot with power. You can no longer do a quick lob pass or through ball.
The AI players seemed all over the place, crowding the penalty area so you can’t see what’s happening, but despite having 4 or 5 AI controlled players in front of me I still managed to go through them all.
The AI goalkeeper needs to be improved, he lets too many shots in, scores too many own goals and a soft shot save can bounce off the keeper for a throw in, I’m not sure why the deflection generated so much more power than the shot.
The original had a better pace to the game, this version feels slowed down.
I do like the viewing angle better and there seems more going on with injuries, subs, teams etc but the heart of the game is still on the pitch, and it needs big improvements.
Required improvements:
- Better controlling of players are needed. Remove the shopping trolley effect.
- Separate buttons are required for pass/tackle, shoot/hard tackle, Lob and through ball for responsiveness.
-Better AI needed for computer-controlled teams. Better positional play, tackling/blocking, some transitional aspects to the AI teams (On the ball and without the ball). Better passing and I honestly don't know where to start the goalkeeper, in the first game I played he gave away a corner from a goal kick. Come on...

Just played the updated version (as of 18/06/22) with the updated controls which enables the use of more than one button, which is an improvement but was always a fundamental aspect for the game.
The update has also added some nice aesthetics and giving depth to the game by adding career mode (which feels limited but I’m sure will progress with updates).
But the update seems to have avoided the elephant in the room which is simply the playability of the game of football. I have tried and I don’t feel in control of the players. The player selection, movement, and actions (passing, shooting tackling, etc) all feel like a battle, plus the players still act like they’re on wheels or ice.
I don’t know why this game is rating so well. I do see a potentially good game if the developers sort out the fundamentals, but right now, and I am sorry to say this- it’s not worth buying or persevering with.

Still a work in progress, but I'm hoping the control issues that remain can be sorted. Because this could be a really great game.

Was excited to play this game as a throwback to the kick off and swos games of my youth. Instead, I found the controls and responsiveness to be hot garbage, and the menu layouts are completely stupid and clanky.

- Who's bright idea was it to mix 'simulation' with arcade? The stats are handicapping your players, making them not responsive and taking out the fun with RNG.
- The game uses 3 buttons, giving you the idea that it is simple to play. Problem is that two of these buttons have 3 functions when you have the ball, making it difficult to play since they do that one function you don't want.
- It is also not clear on how to get the ball away when you are defending when your defenders are slow with kicking the ball away.
- I also cant find a way to get my players to receive the balls on their chests. They keep on heading it instead.
- The AI that the defense has is also terrible. Most of the time you are just defending with your midfield since central defenders are out of position.

Also: Headers from throw ins is OP.

Like some of the other reviewers, I was excited to play this game until FIFA goes on sale, but I'm pretty disappointed off the bat. Yes it's a somewhat cheap game but it has a lot of issues. Controls are clunky and one button is responsible for too many things. There's no way to do different passes. The ball will bounce off of your players at times if they aren't facing it. Lots of things that so many FIFA players are used to aren't there and maybe that's where the frustration lies. I thought career mode would be fun but your team is so miserably bad at the start. Also one thing that's infuriating is that your player with the ball comes to a full stop when passing or taking a shot. It made it near impossible to try to score on that first career mode game. Because on top of that, when you got into the opposing team's half their whole team would just swarm your players. I guess if you just want to do exhibition matches against AI the game could be fun. But overall, I don't think i will be playing this too much, may ask for a refund. Also wanted to say, love the retro feel of the game and the music. Which makes it all the more tough to give it a thumbs down. If the gameplay was a bit more crisp it would be a no brainer thumbs up.