Pro Jank Footy Review - Joy In The Jank
Over the decades, we’ve seen a host of AFL games that have been attempting to replicate and digitise the greatest game in the world, and have almost always fallen flat in the process. After failed speckie after failed speckie, it took the teams at Powerbomb, Umbrella and Tinkertown to do something completely different, and their work has resulted in Pro Jank Footy, a ridiculous, arcadey take on the ultimate footballing code (yes, I’m going for inflammatory words in a post-World Cup timeline). Different doesn’t always mean good though, so a lot of tuning, balancing and work needs to go in to make any arcade sports game feel balanced, just as much as it feels bizarre, and outside of some rough edges that are present, Pro Jank Footy delivers just that.
For the unacquainted, AFL football, Australia’s own brand of football, takes place with 18 players per team on a field, on an oval-shaped ground, with two sets of goals at each end. Teams tussle for possession of the ball, as they attempt to kick the ball between the two central upright posts, scoring a goal and earning six points. Slight misses will result in a single point (a behind), and the team with the largest score at the conclusion of four quarters of football is deemed the victor. The essence of AFL is still present in Pro Jank Footy, but layered atop that are complexities and complications that will make the game feel instantly more approachable for anyone, no matter their level of experience with the real game.
A typical match, one played in the game’s ‘Versus’ mode, will see you and one other team battle it out for victory, but as you score goals, your opponent gets to choose from a selection of power-up cards that alter the state of play. Perhaps all their players become giants, maybe you will now slip over randomly from time to time, perhaps the value of goals and behinds now change. There’s a lot of chaos that can stem from any one power-up in play, let alone the fact that many goals might get scored, and each power-up layers atop the others. Before you know it, a third team is suddenly on the field, seagulls are trying to take you out, and each kick has the potential to clear the entire stadium two or three times over, making the game into the ultimate shoot-out. It gets messy, but it’s hilarious to partake in. You can play versus in single-player or multiplayer settings, but of course, getting a group of mates together to scream at any of the ludicrous events of a given match gives so much added heft to the experience. You can also battle it out online for additional glory and gut-wrenching loss-induced agony, and you will also have the option to play with All Jank or pure ‘Normal Footy’, meaning the cards are switched off, and you can play the game as the standard rules of the game allow. You can still excessively tackle, bump, and largely get away with it scott free, but otherwise, kicking and handballing your way up the ground on a quest to pump up that scoreline is a cleaner version of the game.
The main attraction for solo players is the game’s ‘Season’ mode where, just like in a fighting game, players will take on team after team, working their way up a ladder in their quest for the ultimate glory. You will begin by selecting three different power-ups to launch the season, and your opponent for the match will throw a few out there as well. If you’re lucky enough to be victorious, your previously selected power-ups will carry with you to the next match, and you’ll add three more to the mix, making the next game messier than the last, especially as your new opponent drops a few more cards on you as well. Getting to the end of a season is a difficult feat because of the many variables at play, and deep strategic thinking will be required to work your way through a match. It’s great fun until the heartbreak of a loss kicks in. Season is the real highlight experience in the Pro Jank Footy suite.
You can also sit and watch a match play out if you choose, but there’s not a lot of fun to be found here; it’s probably only for those who want the background noise, or are really enjoying the commentary of Aunty Donna’s Broden Kelly, who does an exceptional job in narrating the action, injecting some hilarious comments about the game. Despite Broden’s fantastic work, he really needed to have more lines available to him, because the confusion between scoring a touchdown, a try, or a goal is well and truly overplayed, as is the commentary tied to a few other power-ups also. If the team were to get Broden in to record a few more lines and just diversify the commentary a bit, it would make a big difference.
It was also a bit disappointing to see the limited number of game modes available. While Versus, Online and Season are great, this is still quite a limited range of options, and the Watch Mode or the game’s ‘Kick To Kick’ mode (where you can practice your skills) don’t add much either. Given the piss-takey nature of the game, the team probably could’ve really blown up the game of AFL in some even stranger modes as well.
The game’s presentation is superb. No, it’s not going for hyper-realism or making a half-hearted budget-constrained attempt to look the part; Pro Jank Footy targets excessive colour, arcade-friendly visuals, and an awesome CRT-filtered look that is equal parts stylised and retro-infused. Top that with Broden’s commentary, and ten awesomely named teams (shoutout to the Freecastle Fizzies!), each with their own AFL-inspired theme songs, and you’re in for a wild time.
There’s not a hint of simulation to be found in Pro Jank Footy, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. By abandoning the temptation to emulate the legendary game of AFL and make it work as a traditional gaming sim, the development teams have, as a result, crafted what is undoubtedly the most enjoyable AFL game I’ve ever played. There are a couple of rough edges that some post-launch support can easily fix, but the base Pro Jank Footy package will get you and your mates doubling over in laughter, shouting at the screen incensed in a way that no umpire could ever make you normally, and instantly keen for another game.
Pro Jank Footy was reviewed on PC (via a ROG Ally), and PS5 with codes kindly provided by the developer.
