Been playing this game for a few years and can honestly say, this year's version is the most complete to date. The devs just keep adding and improving the game. Just like before, let's point out that this isn't a Madden killer and never will be. This review will be based on the content of this game.

Cost: $30 - Not bad for the amount of enjoyment I will be getting out of this game (50+ hours). The devs continue to improve the game yearly and have hired on additional employees. All without microtransactions. I am good with that.

Audio - The sound tracks are fantastic! The in game narration is average in that sometimes what the announcers say dont make sense but hey you can turned them off and not have to listen to them. I personally leave it on, keep it on low, and just use it as immersion.

Graphics - The franchise UI is really clean and setup nicely. You can move around quite easily with mouse or controller. The in game graphics are average to above average. This aint the big boy M@$$#N, but the players look good, the animations have improved bunch this year and they have added in game graphics (for example, i notched a 40+ yrd run and was pleased to see a popup Big Run and my RB did a little chest pump celebration. That was real cool) I liked it more than when i got the popup for the interception i threw.

Gameplay - The gameplay has improved quite a bit. The passing feels smoother, the running feels legit and rewarding when you break a long gainer. They have added animations in game to address things like kickoffs and huddles breaks. I do not believe this is on par with the smoothness of M@$$#N, but i do believe it is more than enjoyable and will continue to get better.

Customization - I have not fully jumped into this, but the options for creating new teams, new uniforms, new colors schemes and using them in franchise rocks!

Franchise Mode - This is the icing on the cake. Player scouting, drafting, player development via coaches and weekly practice, building facilities to help players and earn you additional funds, coaches (HC, OC, DC, STC), scouts (4 regions), position coachs (QB, RB, OL, WR, DL, DB) and trading. It has it all. They added a hall of records so now every statistic in game is tracked and yearly/life records kept for your franchise. Top notch features. Trading could use some loving as it is pretty basic (there is no trade block) but its not easy to cheese the trades any more.

Overall Rating - I am going to give this game a solid 8/10. The game is enjoyable and fun. I love building a franchise from scratch and this year's version added enough changes to franchise, gameplay, and customization to make it worth the price.

Thanks for reading!

Are you tired of getting scammed by EA hype year after year?

Ready to break the Stockholm cycle and leave your abuser?

Try Axis Football.

This is my first year purchasing this series and it is right on the cusp to being a true contender to Madden, which it has to be compared to for obvious reasons, and in some ways already is. Let me list the pros for you:

Best Franchise mode I've played since Madden 2008. And I've only played an hour. I could have honestly made that statement within 10 minutes of starting the game though. I have actual coaches with stats? I have scouts with proficiency and position focuses? I can manage my team facilities? And EA's big franchise improvement this year was a scouting update that isn't even in the game out of the box? Give me a break.

Price: $30, Go buy another great game like Hades and a pizza with those sweet savings.

Huge amount of customization. If you like to make your own team, design the uniforms, etc. Here's where you're going to want to do it.

Sort of following the previous point this game is very moddable which, with some community help, allows for NFL, NCAA, and any other football leagues you can think of.

You don't have to give your money to EA for a roster update. Always a pro in my book.

Active community: Check

Engaged Developers that interact with the community transparently, listen to feedback, have a plan and vision for the perfect football game, and don't try to trade your grandmother's teeth for a shiny gold 99OVR Micheal Vick Card that will be useless next generation: Check, Check, Check, Check.

Nuetrals:
On-Field Gameplay is pretty similar to an older 2000s madden, if a little bit behind. Do I personally like it? Yes. The jagged edges here and there don't bother me a bit. Is it going to be what everyone wants? Not necessarily. But the dev team has been very clear that the next three installments will make leaps and bounds in this area as a No. 1 focus so we are still getting there.

Cons:
Slight bugs because, well, it's a small studio. But if this turns you off to this game then boy are you going to be disappointed by Madden 22.

The Glitz and Glam of Madden isn't there. No un-skippable celebrations after every 5 yard run. Graphics are better than Madden 22 cut scenes, but definitely not as good as the on-field graphics of Madden. You can look at the pictures on the store page and compare.

No out-of-the-box real teams. It will take a minor effort to install NFL or NCAA mods.

Overall: I definitely recommend this game. Support a smaller dev studio that actually cares about the community and the growth of the game. Stick it to EA for putting out the same game year after year. Get back to good ol' Franchise goodness. Did I mention it is HALF the price of Madden? Oh and you can play NFL and NCAA rosters (with community mods), one of which an alternative doesn't even exist to, with this game. If you are a football fan and like good games, just go ahead and give it a try.

Develop this game franchise into a coach/GM sim, not a "playing" sim!

The match gameplay is basic and will feel very rudimentary compared to any Madden from the last 15-20 years and the developer just doesnt have the grunt to compete with EA's zillion dollars on the presentation/gfx front. There is the argument that Axis will reach that level eventually, but there's just too big a gap I think. The mainstream/casual gamer will be put off by the lack of fancy graphics and just wont go for it. Plus, maybe other big developers will hit the big money market with licensing changes in the next few years.
HOWEVER, there is a huge gap in the market for a good coaching/management sim (I'm talking on a par with the best sports management sims - OOTP Baseball and Footballl Manager). The game is pretty fun to play in coach mode already and if a ton more depth was added to the front office area (and more match strategies), it could be a huge success . The match engine already has good enough looks for that kind of game (again compare OOTP/FM as the gold standard - they dont have super-stylish graphics), so development can go onto other work? Plus the game already has moddability, the community would take care of a good NFL database to accompany it (and maybe college football could be built into the game eventually too?).

That's just my opinion, maybe controversial, but I just think a focus on that path would bring the market the really good NFL coach/GM sim it wants.
Nevertheless, buy the game and support the franchise if you want any sort of alternative to the "other" game!

It's amazing to see how this title can improve year after year,
Axis Football 2021 feels very comfortable and the physics and in-game reactions seem to be very smooth.

Indianapolis Gladiators VS Las Vegas Outlaws: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyJs_2WPsiw

This version of the title also has a bunch of updates and improvements,
a lot of these things have to do with both the animations & graphics and 'sharpened strategic AI' which are now much more creative active on the field and thus also more easily unpredictable,
this keeps the challenge in the game high enough to avoid a loop of the same win strategy during more difficult matches.

It is now also possible to customize many details regarding the team colors, logos, and many other details,
this is all possible with a range of hundreds of templates or even personalized ones by making your own template from scratch.

The game also has good support for ultra-wide resolutions such as 3840*1080, you can preview gameplay in this resolution here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzbiu_yR9YY

BLUF (Bottom Line Up front)

If you like to manage a team in franchise mode (Like a GM), spectate games, customize/create uniforms Axis Football 2021 is solid and i highly recommend. If you are still playing 2004-2008 version football games by a "cough cough" developer, and enjoyed that versions franchise play, this one does many things better, some things so so and some still need work. The things it improves on outweighs the bugs in my opinion (may not be for everyone)

NOTE: dont let the number of "-" scare you, i am just trying to give the best feedback in hopes the DEVs will take it and make the improvements i am looking for. It just shows you how much i do enjoy the game and took time to write this out.

After over 60 hours:
I have played 3 seasons (2 with NFL style and 1 with Tier style) in franchise mode with default settings. I play via spectate mode (some coach mode now and then) and overall it is very enjoyable to play as a GM, manage your team, staff, players and facilities and then watch each week the end results.

I have also used the in game tools for creating, editing teams as well as the MODs folder and tutorials/examples

Franchise mode
(Positives +)
+ Different style league setups (NFL or Tier)
+ Can use custom built teams
+ Can arrange teams in the divisions on how you like
+ Many different/unique coaching and staff personnel from coordinators, specialty coaches and scouts
+ Contract management with players and staff
+ Facilities management affecting team performance, rehab, training and morale
+ different types of stats and awards that allow you to monitor the league
+ Scouting is done throughout the whole season (really like)
(Negatives -)
- Size of leagues are fixed (32 for NFL and 36 for Tier); would like to see ability for multiple size leagues
- In game stats sometimes dont match up or correlate to what the franchise stats are (ie, i have players with 12 sacks, in the league leaders section but if i view their personnel stats, nothing)
- Salary Cap isnt really a "Cap" . You are only really "Capped" by how much money you can make (This should be an option for a "set Cap" or base off of funding
- Depth Chart: can only set "Active" players in rotation for offense and defense; cant select who will come off the bench when someone is injured (its set by the CPU and often picks a bad one) Affects me in spectate mode cause i can only re order depth chart between games
- Formation Subs (for offense, defense or special teams): Doesnt exist, my best WRs will be on special teams and i cant set who plays on special teams. i dont like this cause this is where i can get all my players playing time and keep my high value players only on the field when i need them.
- (CPU Trading) CPU teams only seem to trade when you do or sign free agents when you are going after a player. Needs more CPU activity, also needs an area that shows that activity on a weekly basis. Would also like to see teams offer me a trade in between games during the week. Also, didnt see a trade deadline or option to set one

Team Customization/MODs:
+ you can create/edit both in the game with the tools given or outside in the MODs folder (if you are handy at .CSV files and photoshop)
+ create/edit custom uniforms (really awesome in game tools) can add as many uniform sets as you want to a team
+ create/edit rosters and players
+ create a completely new set of teams for a custom league
+ can customize playfield for teams

- Created teams dont save to MODs folder; unsure where they save to and how to edit offline
- In game tools dont allow for adding logos to helmets (must MOD offline)
- No logo import or creator feature (must do offline)
- In game tools and MOD folders dont work together well or at all
- no in game tool for playbook creation or editor (have to do it in MODs folder)
- Cant export created teams from in game tool to mods folder for further modding or vise versa
- No coach creation/editor in game tool (have to do it with MOD teams only)
- No female choices for coaches (needs to be part of editor or tool and its happening in the league, a reality)
- MODed teams cant use all the in game tools; many are disabled when you enable "mods"
- No stadium creation or assignment
- not all teams have stadiums
- Created teams with in game tools only use certain offense and defense playbook; cant assign a default (you can change your teams but CPU teams will all be the same)
- cant delete indivdual created teams, have to delete all and restore default. (really annoying)

In Game (Spectate/Coach mode)
+ Stadiums (ones available) are really well done
+ In game stats in between plays are nice
+ like the commentators
+ like the different visual affects for weather (visual only)
+ Really enjoy watching the games
+ like the celebrations
+ watched some really great matchups. some expected outcomes and others great surprises (feels real)

- No intentional grounding (seen some obvious ones)
- havent seen offense pass interference (only defense)
- No pre-snap motions or audibles seen (only seen audibles when i call one in coach; none at all in spectate) this is for offense or defense
- No auto sub in/out
- Backward pass that is not caught but in bounds isnt a fumble but an incomplete pass
- In game stats will sometimes get messed up during a fumble and recovery (no turnover)
- no challenges on plays
- no instant replay (by me or by CPU automatically to rellook at a play)
- No weather accumulation effects on field (when snow or rain,field looks same)
- all players appear to wear same style helmet; need different style ones (linemen vs QB, ect)
- during injury, dont see it on the field. would be nice to see him on the ground or a stretcher, cart come out
- players can CLIP or get sucked into (unrealistic)
- i see blockers blocking but at a 180 wich should result in a hold call

Over all, i really enjoy the game. For me to buy the next installment, i would have to see the above addressed this year (prefered as a sign of good faith) or next. This game has a great group behind it, and improves every year.

acrscout

Ok, I've played 2019, and 2020, so I know what to expect. What I didn't expect was no changes to the game at all. The announcers say the exact same thing, the uniforms are no better graphics. I wanted to like, but I hate it. Don't waste your money. I couldn't even get the playoffs to work in franchise mode. It just stayed on the screen simulating matches forever.

Madden may suck, but this one is going down the tubes with it.

I was excited to purchase this game on the day it came out. A very strong community and well supported by the developers on their discord server. In my first game, I really enjoyed the updates in this version to the game play. I found it to be very immersive, from the level of detail, camera angles, hard hits, even down to the players celebrating after a big play. Two thumbs up and I recommend this game. Now I look forward to starting the franchise play and building my dynasty!

By far the best in the series, so far. I play exclusively in coach mode franchise and the game play has improved so much since last year. Stats seem much closer to realistic and the ai is improved. I never write reviews but felt the amount of improvement with this title compelled me to do so.

There is a lot to love about this game. Deep customization, excellent suite of management tools in Franchise mode, everything that makes the likes of Football (as in soccer) Manager such a time sink.

But what brings this game down is the actual product on the field...the AI is absolutely brain-dead beyond belief, and once you've had a bit of time to tailor your roster to your team's system, your team becomes stupidly overpowered even in Coach Mode. There are also plenty of ways to cheese the game that you'll discover and then never do anything else offensively or defensively. All the challenge is gone by Year 3 at the latest.

I mean, I love the management stuff, I really do, but this game's so poorly balanced and so amateurish in its presentation—the broadcast team is awful and often doesn't seem to know which team is winning or what the score is, completely breaking immersion—that it's impossible to recommend for the 30 bucks the devs want for it at full price. And their business model makes no sense...why put out annual releases for a game that doesn't have an NFL license? You're only going to need to buy this game once, especially since as other reviewers have pointed out, they don't even make meaningful changes or improvements from year to year. They're getting as lazy as that big monolithic publisher that shall not be named.

This is still my go-to American football game, at least until Legend Bowl gets a franchise mode of its own (as DLC or as Legend Bowl 2), but I really can't recommend a buy at the price they're asking here.

I wish you could give a "Some people might like this" rating.

If you go into, and treat it, like an American Football manger then it might be something you'll enjoy.

This version is still too rough for me to enjoy the on field gameplay (which is what I was more curious about rather than the simulation aspects). It feels too much like a tech demo at the moment. It honestly reminds me a lot of how the old Playstation 1 Maddens used to feel (In terms of animations and rigid movements).

Buy this if you want to support the developer and feed future versions of the game. I do look forward to seeing how these games progress. For me, it's just not there yet.