Swipe Manager Soccer 2018 review

Developer: Swipe Studios Interactive Limited

Price: Free
Version: 1.0
App Reviewed on: iPhone SE

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Overall Rating:

I’m a casual soccer fan, so while it’s great that things like Football Manager 2018 exist on mobile, they’ve always been a bit too far over my head. This is what makes Swipe Manager Soccer 2018 so exciting. Instead of having to pore over stats and make tons of micro decisions, I can swipe left or right as things arise and lead a team to a winning season. It’s not a particularly realistic soccer manager, but it’s not aiming to be, and that’s precisely why I find Swipe Manager 2018 so enjoyable.

Soccer meets Reigns

Swipe Manager 2018 is a sports management game inspired by Reigns. Where Reigns was about swiping left and right on cards to try and manage a kingdom, Swipe Mangager 2018 has you swiping on players, team staff, and press to determine the direction of your team.

In this game, you have to try and keep four consituents satisfied at all times: your fans, team, board, and the press. Each of these entities are represented by a meter at the top of the screen, and your job is to keep any of these meters emptying. This might mean you have to make decisions you don’t like in order to keep your job.

Mini managing

What are some of these decisions, you might ask? Well, they run a pretty wide range. At its most straightforward, you are in charge of managing your team during select games, choosing whether to attack or defend to try and pull out wins. At other times, you may be deciding whether to send your team to see a spiritual healer or how to deal with press inquiries into rumors that you’re teaching your players how to flop and draw penalties.

Overall, the variety in decisions in Swipe Manager 2018 is the primary source of its appeal. It’s always exciting to see what is waiting for you next, and figuring out how to dig yourself out of sticky situations to keep your job and your team performing well is a fun sort of puzzle.

Randomness and restarts

The swipe-based gameplay of Swipes Manager 2018 is goofy, light fun, but it can be a bit jarring at times. In particular, there are times where certain scenarios seem to emerge out of nowhere, and it can be confusing to figure out why your team is suddenly performing poorly when they seemed so promising. Speaking of jarring, the game also features pop-up ads, with no discernible way to get rid of them, which can be annoying.

It’s also not entirely clear how your decisions will affect your constituents or the final score of a game until after you’ve already made them. Luckily, Swipes Manager 2018 lets you restart your last season in case you mess up but really want to continue your career from where you left off.

The bottom line

Swipes Manager Soccer 2018 is a satisfying sports management that will appeal to anyone looking for a more lightweight alternative to the loads of complicated management games on the App Store. Its combination of swipe-based gameplay and charming writing make for a game that’s easy to pick up and play in short bursts while still feeling like a satisfying management game in its own right.