Dino Dini's Kick Off Revival

If you were a Kick Off fan (or still are), you will probably find what you expected: a truly difficult game to master, faithful to its roots and that doesn't want you to feel assisted. If you're not familiar with the series, you'll first notice poor visuals and lack of content. But if you take some time to master, you sure can have some good fun.

Dino Dini's Kick Off Revival is not a bad game, its gameplay, surprisingly, still works. But it’s meaningless and poor. Kick Off didn’t deserve this kind of revival.

Dino Dini’s Kick Off Revival is a disappointing football game that has tried to embrace its roots but simply doesn’t play very well. I really wanted to like this game but the gameplay issues and lack of detail makes it a chore to play.

Light years away from the sheer playability, smoothness and variety of the original Kick Off.

This soccer game didn’t conserve any of its retro charm. In 1989 this was kind of a milestone. Nowadays this is not entertaining at all.

Dino Dini's Kick Off Revival is a rushed alpha version of a retro football game, that doesn't do justice to either the franchise or its creator: if you have the itch to play one of the best arcade recreation of your favourite sport, go back to the original or play Dino Dini's Soccer on SNES or MegaDrive. They're both much better.

Dino Dini's Kick Off Revival's merit is in putting the original Kick Off series under the spotlight again. Use an emulator and go for the real thing: a game like Goal! is far better than this poor and lazy new version.

What a disappointment. Let's see where the Sensible Soccer remake Sociable Soccer ends up on release.

Nostalgia can't hide all the problems this game has. It's a shame we're not getting a more finished product, because at its current state it feels like a project that just came out of a game jam.

Dino Dini's Kick Off Revival is probably one of the worst PS4 games ever. The controls are awful, the bugs are everywhere and you can play only friendly matches and European Championship. Do not buy this game.

Dino Dini's Kick Off Revival is an affront to the memory of the original product: a bad game from every point of view.

There's a place on the market for simpler, old school sports games that rely on arcade fun rather than authenticity. But this reboot of the franchise is actually a step backwards for the series in some ways, and the lack of a tutorial or help of any kind results in the learning curve being more of a learning brick wall.

When the nostalgia fails, Kick-Off Revival rises. It's not the control or the mechanics, it's the product and the decisions of the developers to make the game. An amateur and discreditable approach to a football classic and the old-school video games itself.

This may not be the worst Kick Off game ever, but even blind nostalgia can't redeem its many faults. [Sept 2016, p.108]

Quite how anyone thought this game was ready for release is beyond me. It’s more like a proof-of-concept demo, and for the many people looking for a nostalgic return to classic football games, a massive disappointment.

A weak football simulation that lacks any real depth, making you wonder what the necessity of trying to bring back was.

A[n] oily, toxic pool of bad ideas, half-baked mechanics, and shoddy design masquerading as a tough retro-inspired football game. Kick Off Revival is just plain awful.

A bad idea poorly realised, it’s hard to argue that Kick Off has any place in the modern world and this badly made revival seems to prove it.

Dino Dini's Kick Off Revival is a bad game. It's one of the few games I've played in recent years that I've had to demo to others, just so I know it's a real game. If you want a retro take on football, this is not it. If you want a retro take on how to make a terrible game, you're in luck.

Dino Dini’s Kick Off Revival should never been released in its current state. The game is clearly unfinished and it lacks depth and options.