Great for pick-up-and-play soccer action, but not a terrific sim

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I’ve been enjoying my time with Soccer Manager 2024 so far, and while I think it leans more for an Ultimate Team kind of experience over the realism of Football Manager, it’s an easy game to pick up for some hand-held soccer management action.

The match engine creates some dramatic moments, even though I find them sped up a bit too fast for my liking. I’d prefer easier access to more granular controls for tactics, but those are there if I want them and it’s also nice to have a lot of broad out-of-the-box options to select from on match days.

The management layer itself has been a little confusing, and that’s partially because of how much of it depends on boosters and various currencies. It’s a bit discouraging to see games flat-out tell you that buying specific boosters will magically improve a player’s performance on the pitch, but I guess that’s just how these things work. The programmatic ads are there, but I haven’t found them overly intrusive so far.

I think Soccer Manager 2024 could benefit from some additional guidance in the tutorials: there are quite a few functions in here that I had a tough time finding my way back to after the whirlwind introduction.

Again, despite a few nagging annoyances, Soccer Manager 2024 has been fun, even playing the free version. Definitely worth a look if you’re searching for a free alternative soccer management game.