Maximum Football Xbox Game Preview Impressions

The indie football gaming scene is one of the hardest to find success in. While many have tried over the years, very few have reached their goals and made it to release. Maximum Football is the latest player to throw their hat in the ring. This game has been in development for several years, making regular progress towards a 3D simulation title.

Earlier this year, the game held an open beta, which received positive feedback. In November, the game was released into Steam Early Access. Now, the game is also available on consoles for the first time through Xbox Game Preview. This allows players on Xbox Series X|S consoles to download the game for free and try it out for themselves.

So, in this article, I wanted to give you my quick impressions of where Maximum Football stands in its first console version. This is not a review, since the game is still in early access and has a way to go before release. Just some quick thoughts about what I did and did not like about the game after playing for about 10 hours on the Xbox Series S. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Gameplay

The number one priority of any football video game has to be getting the gameplay right. I’ve always felt like football games had an uphill battle in the gameplay department due to just how complex the game is. When you have 22 players on the field, each with their own assignments, logic, ratings, etc., it can be very difficult to get working in a fluid and realistic way.

Maximum Football is a great encapsulation of how difficult it is to get 11-on-11 football gameplay right. At times, the gameplay in Maximum Football can be quite satisfying and fun. At others, it can be very frustrating.

Passing

Let’s start with the passing game, which for the most part feels good. You can throw regular, bullet, or lob passes to get around defenders. When you are able to drop a long pass into the bucket to your receiver, it is very satisfying. I didn’t notice any major issues with pass blocking. It seemed like they regularly did their jobs and picked up the rushers I would expect them to.

The only real issue I had with the passing game was on out routes. These routes got open very consistently against man coverage. However, when the receiver got to the spot the ball was thrown to, they would regularly break off their route for no reason and let the ball fall to the ground. It didn’t happen every time, but it was frequent enough I wanted to mention it.

Running

The running game felt incredibly hit or miss. On some plays, it felt good whether I gained yards or took a loss. The players on the field all reacted and moved how I would expect them to. On other plays, I felt like I never had any shot to do anything. This was usually because of one of two reasons. The first was an offensive lineman on an inside run would decide to double-team a defensive lineman instead of going upfield and blocking a linebacker. This would let the linebacker come right downfield and meet the running back in the backfield.

However, this issue was exacerbated by the second issue. Once the running back gets the ball, it takes a second before he starts to gain speed. Now I don’t expect a running back to go at top speed immediately upon getting the ball. I actually like it when football games show players working their way to top speed. However, in Maximum Football, it feels like the running back is running in mud for about a second or so after you get the ball. Instead of immediatly accelerating, you go at minimum speed for your first couple of steps. This means if the blocking isn’t perfect, it’s very difficult to gain yards on the ground.

Defense

When you’re on defense in Maximum Football, things feel pretty good. On the defensive line, there is your normal arsenal of pass rush moves like swim and spin moves, and they get the job done a reasonable amount of the time. Don’t expect to be in the QB’s face on every play, but don’t worry about the offensive line being too overpowered.

Defenders in coverage play much better than I was expecting. The vast majority of the times, they stick to their assignments and do a good job of slowing down the passing attack. The defensive playbooks offer a variety of zone, man, and mixed coverages, something that was very refreshing to see. I don’t remember seeing any egregious missed assignments or players running completely away from their assigned zones, leaving wide areas for the opponent to throw into.

Miscellaneous

The CPU logic could use a few improvements, especially in the time management department. At the end of the first half, I rarely ever saw the CPU try to conserve time. The CPU would regularly let the half end while they were on offense and still had all three timeouts. I also had one scenario where the CPU scored with under a minute left in the game to cut my lead to 7 points. Instead of going for an onside kick with no timeouts, the CPU kicked it deep to me. This allowed me to just kneel out the rest of the clock and win the game.

One thing that would really improve the gameplay experience is more camera options. Currently, you are unable to change the default camera angle in any way. I always prefer a more zoomed-out camera view, so the default camera feels very tight and makes it hard to see at times. Adding the ability to at least edit the camera a little would go a long way towards making the game more fun to play.

Game Modes

Dynasty

There are two main game modes currently available in Maximum Football: Dynasty and Maximum Pro League. In Dynasty mode, you can take control of either a custom team or one of the many preexisting teams in the game. From there, you have full control over your school. You can hire and fire coaches, recruit players, upgrade your stadium and facilities, set prices for concessions and merchandise, and much more.

One thing I was impressed by was the coach skill tree. There are eight skills you can put XP into. Seven of the eight skills decrease the amount of XP it takes to upgrade your players. The eighth skill increases the amount of influence you have on recruits.

The skills all cost different amounts of XP, so you can either go for the cheaper ones to upgrade faster or save up for the more impactful upgrades. I liked that you can earn XP through playing weekly practices with both your offense and defense. If you do both of these, you’ll get 20,000 XP each week, which adds up really fast.

I also love the amount of record-keeping in Dynasty mode. You can view your team’s history for every season played. This includes your team’s record, stats, achievements, and top players from every season in Dynasty mode.

Max Tickets

My only issue with Dynasty mode is the Max Tickets system. When you first log into Maximum Football, you are given 2 Max Tickets. To start a new save file, you have to spend one ticket. This moment when you are starting a new save file is the only time you can change certain settings like quarter length and accelerated play clock. If you decide you want to change these particular settings later, you will need to start a new save file, which will cost you another ticket.

Once you finish your first season in Dynasty, you will again have to spend another ticket to advance to each subsequent season. So, by the time you start your second season in your first dynasty, you have already spent all the tickets you were given.

Sadly, it doesn’t seem like it is that easy to earn more tickets. You can earn two through the daily login rewards on day 14 and day 28. There is one in the free season pass at tier 18 and two in the premium season pass at tiers 8  and 38. Beyond that, the only way to play more Dynasty is to purchase the Dynasty Pass for $19.99, which gives you unlimited access to Dynasty mode.

I really don’t like how this ticket system is set up. I feel it is too limiting and prevents players from really getting to dig deep into what is far and away, the best part of the game. If this system remains in place, I would like to see more opportunities for players to earn tickets for free. Or make it where you only need to spend a ticket to start a new save file, but you don’t need tickets to continue to future seasons.

Maximum Pro League

The other game mode in Maximum Football is Maximum Pro League. This is the Ultimate Team style mode, where you open packs to get players on your team, and then take that team online against other players. There is no marketplace for cards themselves, only packs of cards that can be bought for either coins, which are earned by winning games and completing goals, or premium currency.

One strange thing about this mode is that when you open a pack, you can’t immediately add those cards to your lineup. The cards are added to your collection, and you have to manually add each card from your collection to your active roster before you can put them in your lineup. This extra step feels unnecessary, and getting cards would be more streamlined if your cards were immediately available in your roster.

Customization

One of the most talked about aspects of Maximum Football following its open beta earlier this year was the customization options. Here in the Xbox Game Preview version, the customization options are vast. You can either create your own team or edit one of the preexisting teams in the game. You can download logos that others have uploaded online. Your school’s name, location, and playbooks can all be edited. You can change the colors of your jerseys, as well as deck out your players in all sorts of gear.

There are tons of options you can unlock through either the store or the season pass. Both the free and premium versions of the season pass are full of customization options. There is a good mix of options to unlock for either coins or premium currency. It seems like it is pretty easy to earn coins through playing games and completing goals, so those options should be pretty easy to unlock.

Conclusion

In its current state, Maximum Football is exactly what I was expecting, an early-access football game with potential. I like the customization options and the depth that Dynasty offers.

That being said, there is still a way to go before this game is ready for a full release. Some gameplay adjustments and quality-of-life updates would make actually playing the games much more enjoyable. Also, the Dynasty ticket system needs to be adjusted so players can play the best part of the game.

Maximum Entertainment has released their roadmap for 2025, outlining the updates they plan to make to the game in the coming year. Some of the things I mentioned in this article are listed on the roadmap, which is good to see. I enjoyed my time with Maximum Football enough that I do look forward to seeing where the future updates take the game leading up to its full release.