In my opinion, Rugby 22 is a great game. I am a huge rugby fan, and I enjoy playing this game. We have to respect Eko Software and we need to be grateful of rugby games - rugby is a very difficult and complex sport to reproduce in a rugby game, there are so many things in rugby, unlike football, like lineouts, scrums, running, passes, tackles. This is by far the best rugby game made by Eko, and far, far better than previous rugby games made in this series like Rugby 15 and Rugby 18. Rugby 22 is also a huge improvement over Rugby 20, which was also good. The new in-game systems work very well, such as the new mauling and rucking system. The rucking system, however, does have a negative - the ball is sometimes released automatically as a result of the user pushing left stick (as left stick is also the button for extracting the ball). Speed of play is much better and playing, in general, feels much nicer and smoother. AI is much more challenging, which is good. The addition of the 'Legend' difficulty is a brilliant idea as well if you really have got what it takes! Graphics look much better and more realistic.

• Passing is much more realistic. You actually need to judge how long you need to press the pass button for in order to achieve the most accurate and suitable pass.
  
• Much better AI
  
• New and better in-game systems (such as mauling)
  
• Funner

Here are some of the new things that have been introduced in this title:

• Different referees (URC refs etc)
  
• 'Legend' difficulty
  
• Extra settings

Here are some of the changes in Rugby 22 (comparing to Rugby 20):

• UI/Menu
  
• Improved/more challenging AI
  
• Music

I much prefer Rugby 22 to EA Sports Rugby 08. I played 08 myself and I very much disliked the gameplay, it is very outdated, and it is not very similar to modern day rugby (set plays etc). Not a lot of details have been put in to the lineouts, scrums (intentionally). Some prefer this however. Graphics are evidently much better in Rugby 22 and player faces are better in Rugby 22.


Are all the international teams included?
No, not all international teams are licensed. However, there are many licences on this game, including international teams.

Is it fun and enjoyable?
Yes.

Is it an improvement over Rugby 15/18/20?
Yes, by far.

Was my purchase of the game worth it?
Yes, definitely.


Total marks - 22/27 (81%)

Graphics 4/5 - Good

Gameplay 4/5 - Good

Career Mode 5/5 - Very good

Commentary 3/5

Bugs 4/5 - Some

Price 2/2
Not that expensive at all (especially for launch)
Worth the price

Difficulty - Easy to learn / Hard to master

Grind - Average grind level

Audience - Children/Teens/Young Adults/Adults

PC Requirements - Poor/Average


Here are just a few little things that could make the game a bit better:

Designate your kicker (in league mode)
Designate your captain (in league mode)
Edit Player Stats
Create your own tournament
Linesmen
To be able to see coaches in matches
To be able to see the ref handing out cards
More graphical settings (quality - shaders etc)
News tab in league mode
To be able to choose how many seasons the career mode has
Randomize time/weather so that the player doesn't have to go to settings to change it every game
Fan Hub/Community Creation Hub (for unlicensed teams)

Please mark the review as helpful if the information provided is helpful and if you enjoyed reading my review.
Thank you.

I was super sceptical grabbing this game.

At the moment my review will be pretty neutral.

Some things that the developers got right is most of the crucial rugby rules... For example, kicking out on the full, the 50-22 kicking law. Chop tackles, high tackles, hands in ruck etc. Great job.

1 thing that ultimately grinds my gears is the commentary. I had no idea the 50-22 law was in the game because commentators doesn't really say anything worth listening to.

I coached Rugby for 10 years, so playing a game like this I had super high expectations that I would like to meet.

Players are clipping through each other which I assume will be updated in the coming patches.

The rucks in my opinion needs serious work (Holding on to the ball is almost impossible when playing on Pro-Legendary) Even if you have a super strong team.
You will have 2 players in the ruck or have the 1st player in the ruck but the opponents steal the ball with only the tackler still on the floor? (makes no sense)

The Line-outs seems to be good, ALTHOUGH I would love to be able to select my own variations of line-outs... Suggestion for Developers to add something similar to MADDEN, You have a playbook of about 20 line-outs, pre-define your own lets say 5 different line-outs to make use of.

The scrum mechanic is pretty cool but id say too much. Your spending something like 20 seconds going back and forth, scrums in real life is quick. You throw in, ball gets hooked and you choose to keep it behind the scrum and push or play it. No need to scrum that long.

Open play , when selecting your defender he just randomly slows down or changes direction - its almost impossible to defend when your opponent brakes through.

Grubbers seems to be unbeatable. When your opponent gets through and its 1v1 against your fullback, just a grubber and you instantly win the challenge (due to above mentioned player selection movement)

Career mode seems cool, but I would change it up properly if I was the developers. A simple copy and paste from the EA Rugby days would have worked.
If you control a club, you should have the ability to buy and sell your players to and from other clubs.
The ability to select your own name from career mode would be cool, not pre-defined names.

I dont think I like the idea of booster packs, its making me feel like fantasy leagues. I would rather manage a club and its finances along with playing games.

Clubs should start small, little fans and small stadium, use money to upgrade the stadium,ticket sales, training facilities etc. That would be a great edition.

Overall, the game is on a decent base foundation, but I would love to see a serious amount of work on overall game-play and bug fixes.

Thanks for the amount of effort being put in.
How about stop creating new games all the time? work on the current 1 and upgrade the game over time.

Thanks,
Coach MilkY :)

It's a vast improvement on Rugby 20, the speed of play is much better, a few different ways to play and unlock players for the Ultimate Team equivalent, and largely very fun so far. I daresay this is the best rugby game out there right now, and it's half the price Rugby 20 was at launch

Couple of negative notes, the majority of players do not have their likenesses in the game, although not really an issue while playing, it does make things less pleasing to look at when you're unlocking cards or doing your roster. Commentary is a little choppy, but still among the best I have heard for a rugby game.

A massive improvement on the last title. A lot more in depth at rucks, lineout, scrums and set plays, and a whole lotta fun to play. Great job to the team!

This game feels so bad and controls are so janky. Rugby 2008 honestly feels better than this game that is 15 years newer

it lakker

Idk. Feels unbalanced.
There are 4 difficulty modes as such as amateur, semi pro, pro and legend.
If you play on amateur, it's way too easy. But only one level higher, on semi pro, it's already too hard. But it's just my opinion. Maybe I'm just too stupid. Otherwise a great game so thumb up.

If you are wanting a replacement for EA's rugby 08, this game doesn't come close.

A great improvement on Rugby 20. As a rugby player, I strongly believe we must support the development of this game and invest in it if we are to ever have a decent rugby game to play.

Rugby games are notoriously difficult to develop. There are far too many options and interactions with too many complex plays making it a nightmare for developers. This is why they do not exist.

I have huge admiration for a developer looking to release a solid rugby game. People complain about the price here but it's a small price to pay if we hope to have a chance at a decent rugby game.

People will pay 50 quid a pop for the exact same FIFA game year upon year. This is a game that is actually being improved upon and updated and I am all for investing in that.

THANK YOU devs for bringing the gaming community a Rugby game. I have waited far too long. I hope the community will join me in supporting the development and improvement of this series and I hope this series continues to grow each year

I left quite a detailed review of Rugby 20 when it came out and noted it was a step in the right direction but needed a fair few improvements and Rugby 22 has built on that. Note: This isn't a reinvention of Jonah Lomu Rugby or Rugby 08 and it's still far from brilliant but it's going in its own positive direction.

It's probably the best (gameplay wise) rugby game in many years. It's difficult but in a good way to the point that when you score, it feels like you've earned it instead of cheesy missed passes working every time. The AI is much improved, no longer kicking the ball out on the full and implementing what seems to be a variety of tactics.

Pros:
- Finally some fun, fluid gameplay in a rugby game!!!
- Low difficulty floor, high difficulty ceiling. Not seen it done right in a rugby game in a while, so it's fun and you can feel yourself getting better.
- Defending is easier and actually enjoyable. A good defensive setup can earn as much territory as a good attack.
- You have to play tactically to win. No more missed passes to the winger for an easy win.
- Career mode works and collecting cards from booster packs is still fun.

Improvements:
- Players look much better. Backs don't look like forwards and some players actually look like their real life counterparts instead of a generic face.
- Kicking contests are fun and kicking for goal seems to work better than Rugby 20.
- AI is very much improved. Still some dumb decisions but it's at fun to play against.
- Tutorial is improved and gives the right steps to get into the game.
- Passing is more realistic. No more 20 metre offloads.
- Prettier UI and better player faces and body proportions.

Cons:
- Commentary is still awkward and mistimed. Some menu translation issues for the English version of the game.
- Very buggy. Instead of a win, I was awarded a draw in Career mode for winning 19 - 14. The opposition fullback somehow knocked the ball on from 30 metres away during a lineout. A lineout is only called if the ball is in touch, not the player holding the ball.
- Kicking in play feels quite underpowered and underutilised. It's near impossible to turn the fullback as they're too quick (see next point). Edit: This was resolved by getting a better kicker. However, the power dropoff for a slightly weaker kicker should be so bad.
- Players gain ridiculous acceleration at random times for both sides. Sometimes an impossible tackle is made from a player turning 180 degrees and moving at the speed of sound to cut off the space.
- It's not a pretty looking game. Graphics could use an update.
- Missing a lot of licensing. No Gallagher Premiership is really disappointing.
- Grubber kicks are a bit overpowered. They're almost guaranteed to score if you get it past the last man.
- No way to add/edit players, teams or tournaments.
- The documentation is lacking. It's fun to learn things through playing but a lot of things are left unexplained.

At this stage, if I could give it a mixed review I would. But I'd prefer to give it a yes to support a company that is keeping rugby games alive and improving bit by bit.