Football Referee Simulator

Read Time:4 Minute, 42 Second

Are you ready to become the best? Football Referee Simulator is the newest simulation game from developer and publisher Vladimir Pliashkun. Put yourself in the shoes of an up-and-coming referee and make decisions that could change the game. Football Referee Simulator is available to buy now on Steam for £0.89!

You’ve got a new job!

The image shows 3 game mode option. Firstly to the top left of the screen there is "classic" mode, with a brief description. To the bottom left of the screen there is "official" mode, with a brief description. And finally to the top right of the screen there is "syndicate" mode, with a brief description. — Where will you begin?

Gameplay

Football Referee Simulator puts players are put into the referee’s shoes, playing a pivotal role in the outcome. You begin your journey in the lower divisions of the game, with one dream; to ascend to legendary status in the refereeing world. With that legendary status comes the hope that one day, you will oversee competition finals. There is a multitude of leagues and tournaments to enable this dream. The game itself features over 100 diverse clubs and 16 national teams.

There are three different game modes, all accessible from the main menu. The first game mode is the “classic” mode. This allows the players to enjoy the game without the addition of a storyline. The second game mode is “syndicate” mode, whereby your gameplay is enhanced with the implementation of a storyline. This storyline tests your resolve. Will you accept the money offered and match-fix? Or will you go with your morals and decline? Either way, your decision affects the game. Lastly, there is the “official” mode. This mode is slightly different in the fact you are responsible for managing referees and making sure they are assigned to a suitable game. A poor performance from the referees you have chosen reflects poorly on you and vice versa.

A red card??

This image shows an overlay of a football pitch, with players in certain positions. On the pitch, there is a green warning triangle with "foul check". At the top of the screen, there is "0-0" shown with the two team names of "Eastbourne" and "Wigan Town". — I wonder what foul has been committed?

Now, how does the game work? As you can see in that handy screenshot above, you are given a birds eye view of the pitch. The game plays out in similar fashion to Football Manager. You only become involved when the “foul check” appears on the screen. Using your mouse, you click on the foul check, and this is where you make your decision. At the top of this box, brief circumstances are given. Using these circumstances, you need to make a decision. Will you ignore it, give a verbal warning, give a yellow card or bring out that red card? Whatever your decision impacts both the game and your rating.

It isn’t just fouls that you need to decide on. You also have the use of VAR to decide as to if a goal should stand or not. All of your decisions are judged into a final rating. Once the game has finished, you are made aware of your successes and failures. The more success you have, the faster you will make it through the leagues.

This image shows the decisions that were made by the player throughout the match. This includes the minute in which the decision was made, and the type of decision that was made. It also says if the decision made was correct or incorrect. In this case, there is a "completely wrong" decision. — Whoops!

Another feature the game boasts is refereeing iconic matches. Including the Brazil v Germany game from 2014 or the Argentina v France game from 2022. You have the opportunity to make your mark on these games. Developer Vladimir Pliashkun has shared that they are aiming to continuously add to this feature too.

Graphics & Audio

Football Referee Manager‘s gameplay art style certainly reminds me of Football Manager. However, I don’t think it plays as well. This is not a negative of the game, because, at the end of the day, Vladimir Pliashkun is one person. And what he has made is pretty darn good. In addition to this, you don’t need the game itself to look pretty to enjoy it. Because it is the gameplay that draws the player.

Throughout the game there are crowd noises, which adds to the atmosphere of the game. However, the crowd noise is not noticeably louder for the “bigger” games. This small addition could add to the realism of the game, especially in “derby” type games and finals.

This image is the player at a press conference, where you are asked about how you feel about your first professional game as a referee. Two choices are given below, for the player to pick. — Nerves? I never have nerves!

Longevity

There is a ton of replayability in Football Referee Simulator. Every game is seemingly different. With different fouls, and different goal situations. No game is the same. If you enjoy these types of games, then you definitely will enjoy this.

However, there are a couple of things I would love to see changed/implemented. Firstly, let’s talk about the tactics of the AI. Attackers will run 1v1 against the keeper, yet instead of shooting, they will pass the ball backwards. This is not realistic and didn’t aid with the immersion of the game. Secondly, this is just a PC port of the mobile version of the game, although sadly without PC functions. This raises it’s own problems. Keyboard shortcuts would certainly enhance the gameplay experience. Also a shortcut to signal offsides or a foul would make the process more seamless. Whilst seemingly small, if these slight changes were implemented the player’s experience would be enhanced, along with their ability to play the game for longer!

Final Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed playing Football Referee Simulator. It is a different take on the football simulation genre, putting us in the shoes of those that most football fans hate. The developer can make this game even better by making some slight tweaks and additions. But for the £0.89 price tag, you can’t go too far wrong at all.

It is with all this in mind, that I will be awarding Football Referee Simulator with a Thumb Culture Silver Award.

Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.

About Author

Olivia Houlton

Lover of games, football and marvel.

See author's posts

Football Referee Simulator – PC Review