In the 90s, EA used similar systems to other football games to bring the sport of AFL – Australian Football League – to gamers everywhere. As the sport in a worldwide sense is niche, this was not sustainable for yearly outputs in comparison to a franchise such as FIFA. Other companies have continually tried to bring AFL to the latest consoles, but the challenge is being able to adapt such an ever-changing sport on a shoestring budget that simply cannot compete with the AAA industry. Enter Pro Jank Footy – an indie AFL game that uses humour and the roguelike genre to combine 80s/90s AFL culture with addictive gameplay loops with broader appeal. From the 50-second trailer, it is immediately clear that Pro Jank Footy does not take itself too seriously and neither should its players. The game is built into an arcade-style quick-match process that holds no consequence (unless playing seasons – more on that soon) once the final siren sounds. The many powerups border from minor changes to insurmountable obstacles when goals are kicked, seeking a balance in scores that even the real AFL struggles to find with its many rule changes. I played Pro Jank Footy for nearly 10 hours in all its offerings, and here is the verdict.
The first aspects of Pro Jank Footy that signal a focus to capture culture are the colourful start screen and the jingle that is reminiscent of old Australian sports broadcast channels. The options here are a versus mode, online mode, seasons and training. My first dabble was to play a match after quickly checking the button mapping. The team selection is all comedy – no AFL licencing here, which would have been both expensive and also seemingly impossible with the presentation style. I chose the Prawns and battled it out with the Wombats. No team line-ups, no strategy screens. Let’s go.
The game starts off like any other football match. The umpire bounces the ball and the two rucks go at it for a hit-out to advantage. Tapping a range of buttons sees a meter go up, but (noting I am playing on the Switch 2 here, which has the most confusing 4-button layout of all major systems) I struggled to match the pace at which these buttons were changing. I lost the hit-out, and the Wombats took the ball. The player brushed me aside and sent a kick towards the goals. Marking happens automatically, but as I moved my player towards the ball the opposition bumped me halfway across the screen. No free kick. This is where I had to recalibrate my thinking – this is not a sports game, this is an all-out-attack roguelike. The opposition scored, and I was given three powerup options.
Now, the powerups are where the chaos begins largely because they stack. I chose something simple – extra-long kicking – but first I needed to get the ball. The buttons started to click on my next effort, the fire on the ball showcasing my powerup in play. Scores became a bit more even, but I was losing. Players were faster, portals had opened up across the field, pies were running around and seagulls were causing absolute mayhem. The sport started to dissolve into simply trying to get the ball. A DVD logo was bouncing across the screen, a brick wall went up in front of my goals and neither myself or the computer AI could kick a goal for a full quarter. I even had a goal subtracted and then scored a point for every handball I made. The game ended in a loss (13-28) and I took my lesson to the next mode: season.
A general AFL season consists of 23 matches and then a finals series. Pro Jank Footy’s season is a Mortal Kombat style pillar to climb. You’ll face off against each team: win and you move up to the next team, lose and you’re starting all over again. I won my first game against the Tinnies, noting that here you can pick multiple powerups before the match begins. I added the brick wall to the goals, which made it incredibly difficult for them to score. In match 2, I received my own barrier. The opposition chose for my players to be tiny. I figured my powerups would balance this out, but soon realised that being tiny removes almost any chance of victory. It’s overpowered by some margin and I faced a loss whenever on the receiving end of it. This was my only source of frustration with the powerup process. Having the crowd run onto the field or increasing accuracy to the point of never missing a goal paled in comparison to that tiny player change where it was almost impossible to see them. I would love to see a season like the AFL with a ladder and a finals series. Stats are recorded in each match, meaning you could have a leading goalkicker and disposal winner each season – but these are not roguelike scenarios and therefore I understand the reason for Pro Jank Footy’s specific focus on gameplay mayhem. The game achieves its purpose, and it’s even more fun when playing against a known opponent that you can laugh with.
Performance on the Switch 2 is excellent from what I can assess. As this game literally has jank in the title, you’re not expecting smooth and seamless realistic graphics. It’s a 90s style game and it presents as much, but never did I have anything game breaking or impactful beyond the wild powerups. There is also a mode without the powerups, which shows how competent of a football game this is with the simple mechanics. There is so much potential here to add even more modes and powerups, as it seems nothing is off limits. The commentary by Broden Kelly, a known Australian comedian, pokes fun at the older AFL games while serving to simply narrate the plays in jest. One of my favourite touches was the range of songs following victory/defeat, as theme songs are such an important AFL staple. As the game is so fast paced, you’ll miss many of the little additions the passionate team has made to ensure footy fans feel at home.
Pro Jank Footy is a blast in short bursts, especially when competing with friends and family. The wild possibilities escalate as more goals are kicked, creating moments of pure anarchy dabbled with nostalgia for anyone familiar with the sport in its best era. The victory on the scoreboard is never really the focus, for if you keep your sanity through a high scoring match you’re doing something right. This is an easy recommendation for anyone that enjoys AFL. For those enamoured by the style and the crazy combinations, definitely give this game a crack. I’ve followed the sport for 38 years, yet the powerups ensured all I knew quickly went flying out of the closest window.
Pros
- Achieves what it says on the tin
- Fun art style, throwing back to 90s gaming & AFL culture
- Unique take on the sport in the form of a roguelike
Cons
- Seasons mode could have a bit more depth
- The tiny powerup
