Retro Bowl

Retro Bowl is the perfect game for the armchair quarterback to finally prove a point. Presented in a glorious retro style, the game has simple roster management, including press duties and the handling of fragile egos, while on the field you get to call the shots.

There’s something odd about a mobile title making the jump to consoles. By and large, mobile games just aren’t suited to a big screen, or a controller. The Switch, then, makes it the ideal platform to make that leap. Unlike with, say Angry Birds on Xbox 360 (remember that?), Retro Bowl on Switch can be played with the games’ original touchscreen control scheme, with few compromises. Well, I say “few compromises”; the Switch is a fair bit larger than your standard mobile phone. It feels strange to hold a device considerably larger, and heavier, while playing a game you’ve kind of mastered over the past two years on a smaller screen.

The great thing about the Switch is that you can play your games either on the console’s screen, or on your TV while it’s docked. Retro Bowl, of course, is no exception. What that does mean, however, is you’re confined to button controls, and that’s where things go somewhat awry. Retro Bowl is a game designed for simple flicks and swipes, so it feels somewhat less engaging with a controller in hand. That, and a control stick effectively breaks an entire half of the game.