REMATCH
REMATCH
Game
Game2021
Legend Bowl
Developer Super Pixel Games
Legend Bowl is a throwback to the classic 8-bit and 16-bit football games of the past. Take to the gridiron and fight your way to becoming a football legend! Enjoy sim-style gameplay, realistic weather, detailed stats, franchise mode, tournament mode, fully customizable rosters, and much much more! From the Steam store page
209 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Oct 30, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
75
LovedLoved
139 positive · 46 negative
95% range 68–81%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 139 | 46 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 8 | 0 | 7 |
| Mastodon * | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
792 of 915 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
74% recommend · 137 yes, 48 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 185 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (836 of 963 positive).
Some reviewers note the game has a steep learning curve and difficult controls, especially for passing and kicking. [1][2][3] A few players report bugs and limited features in franchise mode, such as restricted trading and free agency. [4][5][6]
Liked
Representative posts
- [3]
It has potential but for now, it's nowhere near a simulation. Only buy this game if you want the following: - Professional ball carriers who become "gassed" and immediately slow to 60% speed after running for 3 seconds - Flubbing 95% of all field goals, punts, and kickoffs because you have about 2 frames to go from a perfect kick to completely flubbing it for 15 yards -- you know, just like the pros... - The …
- [9]
Arguably the best football game on the market still, even years later. Feels like a retro game from the SNES era but with modern conventions, can support mods if you want official NFL stuff, even has a preset roster you can load in-game that's equivalent but legally distinct from the real NFL and can be edited if you wish. Paired with College Bowl so you can export draft classes, it's like the Madden/NCAA combo …
- [1]
I'm old enough to have played Madden every year from about 1990 on, it peaked in 2012 and has been sliding downhill ever since. Quit giving EA your money, at this point they are just laughing at you. This is a MUCH better, deeper and harder game in my opinion. I thought it would maybe remind me of a late 90s Madden game, it's much more modern and it its own thing for sure, both in graphics and gameplay. that passing …
- [13]
best modern football game out there IMHO I only have 3 problems - Trading is limited - Kicking is too difficult - CBs on deep zones dont know what theyre doing
- [2]
Surprisingly, a very good football game. A learning curb will be require but it is worth it.
Summarised from 34 of the 209 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Legend Bowl sits at 75% positive across 185 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 209 · most liked firstI've been playing sports sims for 35 years. Although the look of this game is horrendous and the in-game commentary is idiotic, the features are terrific if you can get past that. I like to create a fictional game universe and to control one team, but watch all of the other games. Being able to do all that is surprisingly rare, but Legend Bowl lets you do it. The difficulty sliders let you create the type of gameplay you want and can be tweaked until you have things as you like. there are…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It has potential but for now, it's nowhere near a simulation. Only buy this game if you want the following: - Professional ball carriers who become "gassed" and immediately slow to 60% speed after running for 3 seconds - Flubbing 95% of all field goals, punts, and kickoffs because you have about 2 frames to go from a perfect kick to completely flubbing it for 15 yards -- you know, just like the pros... - The extremely rare 100% perfect kickoff to land at the opponent's 25 while the opponent…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game play is awesome. But this game is so buggy. Multiple times my franchises have had errors and I lost everything. After multiple attempts at trying to reach the devs in various ways they have ignored my issues. I hope this game gets figured out someday.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is one of those prime candidates for if Steam ever adds a neutral review, because I like so much of what this game is doing on principle but none of it quite works right. For starters, any Madden competition immediately gets a point on the scoreboard for me. The game also has a ton of personality and, in terms of the numbers of things like Franchise mode, is making a lot of gestures broadly in the right direction. But none of it quite works. The game loudly boasts that "in this game,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gonna call this a neutral review because overall this is a quality game that deserves its Very Positive label. But since I have to pick positive or negative I went with thumbs down because I think the people that would agree/benefit from my criticism are probably more likely to read them if this review is negative. What I like: - Deep playbooks - Good audible/motion/flip play implementation on both offense and defense - Lots of little touches that give the game life and personality - Solid,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Arguably the best football game on the market still, even years later. Feels like a retro game from the SNES era but with modern conventions, can support mods if you want official NFL stuff, even has a preset roster you can load in-game that's equivalent but legally distinct from the real NFL and can be edited if you wish. Paired with College Bowl so you can export draft classes, it's like the Madden/NCAA combo we've longed to have for years. Worth it for any football fans who are sick of EA's…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is Madden turned into a really complex pixel art game. I refunded because all I really wanted was something like Super Techmo Bowl. This is not that.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →LEGEND BOWL HAS DONE SOMETHING TO ME. I purchased what Steam described as a football game. That description is technically admissible in court. The first time I completed a pass, I felt a warmth I had not experienced since childhood. The second time, the defensive back intercepted it and returned it 74 yards while my offensive line wandered around like five divorced fathers searching for the correct airport terminal. That was when I realized Legend Bowl could see me. Every decision matters,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm old enough to have played Madden every year from about 1990 on, it peaked in 2012 and has been sliding downhill ever since. Quit giving EA your money, at this point they are just laughing at you. This is a MUCH better, deeper and harder game in my opinion. I thought it would maybe remind me of a late 90s Madden game, it's much more modern and it its own thing for sure, both in graphics and gameplay. that passing power meter is no joke and kicking is DIFFICULT. I play with an Xbox controller…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't want to be too harsh because I think this might be a great game for some people, depending on what they are looking for out of an American Football game. I was hoping for something with gameplay that was easy to pick up and a deep franchise mode. This game has lots going for it, but neither of those things. First off, the franchise mode is incredibly simplistic and if you are looking to sim through/watch games, then there just isn't much for you to do in it. I mean, maybe real general…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Quick! Somebody watch old Mr Magoo tapes! Maybe there's something in there we missed where Mr Magoo unknowingly plots a coup on the capitol building, or tries to downplay a global pandemic in real time as the director of health completely contradicts literally everything he says, as he says it, on national television while she's standing right next to him, or maybe Mr Magoo........aw fuck it. Mr Magoo didn't do any of this stuff! He was an innocent old man who had zero self awareness. Trump is…
neutral · AI labelView post →Hey guys - so if you want a decent football sim - good stat tracking, franchising across multiple seasons, draft new players every year to better your depth chart, highlight stat leaders - this game has it! I have the game modded with the NFL accurate rosters and logos - the DIscord server can get you what you're looking for. So, background: My football sim experience was Front Page Sports: Football Pro series in the mid-90s. Loved the game, spent my free time outside studying playing the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I never knew football rules and always thought it was a boring sport, constantly pausing, etc. I learned the game mainly cause of Legend Bowl and I must say, I was completely wrong! I love watching football now and am thrilled by the different plays and all the stuff I'm learning. And I love playing this game! Don't be fooled by the pixel art, this is a serious game and there's a good learning curve but you feel completely in control of the match and it's really fun to play. Completely…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →is it the best football game out there?........................YES and now a lifetime of playing..YES!!!!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →best modern football game out there IMHO I only have 3 problems - Trading is limited - Kicking is too difficult - CBs on deep zones dont know what theyre doing
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Import/Export Draft Class DLC comes with sliders which further enhances this game. I have no reason to buy CFB and Madden ever again. Franchise is fun and the gameplay is great with blockers actually blocking.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Life before death. Strength before weakness. Gameplay before graphics.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Effectively this game is madden 08 in pixel art, with some issues, and some fun nuances. I like this game a lot and will be frequently playing it on the pooper with my deck, but... Would it kill you guys to do a few QA passes? lots of little bugs and unfinished features laying around, plus some odd gameplay limitations. Especially for a ~20$ game. Why can't I trade or drop players in franchise mode until after the season, or only by chance? Isn't this my team? Wish I could swap controller…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a ton of fun and brings me back to the time of 16 bit football. The gameplay takes some getting used to (especially passing and kicking) but becomes second nature after you play through a few games. I am in year 2 of the Franchise mode. The mode isn't super deep but it brings me back a bit to the time of Tecmo Super Bowl 3's "trades" during the off-season on SNES. You can't freely trade players but teams will make moves during the season and you will occasionally get offers…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →weak, mediocre nostalgia bait football game using madden's recent hate bombing as a lazy cash grab. just play the recent madden if you HONESTLY want good football. you can complain about ea's lack of innovation untill your face is red but this is nowhere close to the level of customization and gameplay options of madden. sound: 1/10 gameplay: 3/10 graphics: 0/10 innovation: 0/10 two thumbs down
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This will surely be an unpopular opinion, but i can not recommend this game. I get, what they were going for and this needs to be supported. However, I simply don't know enough about football to play this game. I am a casual football enjoyer and bought the game because i heared, it's the best football sim out their. But as a casual this game does a poor job at introducing you to the complexity of the sport. After the inital frustration i bought an older madden game and it has way more in depth…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Legend Bug. I admit I was taken in by the positive reviews - but I feel like I paid money to be a beta tester for these games.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Surprisingly, a very good football game. A learning curb will be require but it is worth it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Makes no sense. Wouldnt let me do the defense tutorial. QB meter is out of wack. Dont bother
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I finally bought this game when it came on sale, and was immediately dissapointed. It's kind of a mess. Un-intuitive or lacking menus, ridiculously bad (at times) gameplay, and I never once made it through whole game without it crashing. I know most people have had a better experience with this game than I did. Maybe I'll purchase it again once it's complete.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Old school football goodness. A bit challenging and frustrating at times, but once it clicks you won't be able to go back to Madden.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Would love to have more than 1 team i can trade to and free agents i can sign. My choice of who i sign to big contract or not. Would like to trade draft picks and allow coaches to be fired. Would like to move D-ends to DT.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Easily the best football game I've ever played. Not perfect by any means, but it's a low bar. The franchise mode is pretty minimal, but the gameplay is great. Probably going to want to adjust the sliders some though, especially for run blocking. Otherwise I would say this is the only football game that I've ever played that actually "feels" like football. It's sick.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pixel graphics doesn't always mean they invested heavily the money they saved in art back into gameplay. Here it does. Far better than any other football game out there for people who like a sim experience instead of casual football cosplay. Glad they left the fluff out like cheerleaders and such. Tightly focused and well tuned difficulty.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Best football game there is. Forget the EA slop.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It may just happen only to certain people but there is a bug making the game basically unplayable, (at least on steam deck) sometimes when throwing a pass the game will just pop an error and force you to close the game out. Idk if this is fixable or not as I couldn't even find anything that could help, all I found was people saying that it probably would not be fixed, very helpful. The game itself however while fun at times, can also be very annoying when starting out as it is annoyingly hard,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not sure if this review will go up. I had to refund the game due to arthritic problems with my right thumb (it has a lot of tapping X/A to sprint/break tackles which my hand just can't do). It's a really neat game though. You can immediately tell. Well worth checking out for the young and unbroken.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Favorite football game. As hard as it may be to believe, I stopped playing Madden and moved to this.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played this game on a different device before and had to buy it for my Steam account because it was that good. It is by far the best game for simulating American Football, especially when it comes to franchise mode as a manager. Doing all the play-calling and letting the players do their job based on your judgement without any player input is very satisfying. Add to that the NFL Rosters you can download and it's an absolute treat. Way better than Madden if you want more realism. 9/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't let the charming 8-bit graphics fool you. This is a great game with a depth of satisfying mechanics and skill curve. It doesn't take itself too seriously yet still manages to put Madden to shame. One thing some reviewers haven't mentioned is the sound design -- environment sound effects such as kicking the ball and the crowd are just right and the music with dynamic cues elevate the play experience. You can use mods to add in real football teams and players.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I mostly just customized the teams... 7.5/10 Edit: I am sad now cuz all the teams I made were gone when I got a new computer. Like my achievments saved and my stats saved but I dont care I want my teams back >:(. 5.5/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Damn fine game, the discord NFL mod make it amazing.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't buy this game. It's full of bugs and won't even start.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really loving this game. It truly reminds me of all the old Football games I used to play on PC and Sega as a kid in the 80's and 90's that got me into the sport in the first place, before we could even watch the sport on TV properly over here... The best part is it's very easy to mod in NFL and custom rosters if you want that. But the included roster is very appealing and even includes a "Proset" roster that mimics the real world NFL. The tutorial explains the basics to get you going and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I knew this game probably sucked but I chose to buy it on sale for $9.99 anyway. I should have spent the 10 bucks on something else.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a decent game. In-game mod support would make it muuuuch better.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game, just wished it had some of their other title - College Bowl's - features/and played like it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The meter for the kicking and/or passing is near impossible to master.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not the game I was looking for. Was hoping for more of a management game but got a game that is more focused on playing football. Was okay but definitely not worth $25.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great and superior alternative to Madden. Good gameplay, charming graphics, good sense of humor, and good mod support...which includes downloading the real NFL teams and roster updates!Great time for a football fan
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Review of Legend Bowl: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Legend Bowl is a brilliant mix of nostalgia and depth, delivering a retro football experience that feels both classic and fresh. Why It’s a 5/5 Charming Retro Visuals: The pixel-art style brings back memories of classic 16-bit sports games while still feeling polished and modern. Strategic Gameplay: Every decision matters, from perfecting passes to outsmarting defenders. It’s easy to pick up but rewards mastery. Customization Galore: Create and edit teams, players,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The only Madden game I ever play was Madden 2002 on GBA. I spent countless hours on the toilet playing that game. Legend bowl has made me relive those memories on the toilet playing Madden 2002 for GBA, but now I’m on the couch playing steam deck. The price may seem a bit steep, but the attention to details in the mechanics, gameplay, player names and team names are the best I’ve seen. If you’re sick and tired of playing boring games like Hollow Knight and need to scratch that football…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Horrible gameplay! you can't tackle due to poor camera angle. AI knows your plays and will intercept. Avoid this game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →while I do like this game, American Football can be a Great time, watching and playing. This game has trades during the season that can ruin all your hard work. I think this can be done better. The game flows well, has a great pace to it. The plays are smooth, the game plays like it should. At this point, it is at least as good as that Mad Dan game. In short: There is a lot of value here. The updates are smart and timely. So just getting better. I say yes. buy this game if you're in the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is good enough to be recommended. However, I was looking for a "Head Coach" game just like the old Head Coach 09 and sadly this does not scratch the itch. Fun if you're actually controlling and playing the guys.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's better than Madden
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It seems to be a great game, but so far I just feel endlessly frustrated trying to learn it. The tutorials spend lots of time with poorly written unfunny dialogue about why things are explained in video game terms, but then fail to explain how to actually play.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is pretty terrible. Got baited into buying this. The gameplay is just bad...everything for me or the cpu are long TD passes or no yards. CPU definitely rubber bands back into games at times. Running is near impossible. Very few broken tackes for me or the CPU. The fact that you can't flip plays pages at a time makes everything feel rushed. The game play feels rushed in general. Feels like Madden plays with TecmoBowl AI. Still want someone to make a Front Page Sports Football like retro…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Legend Bowl is the best football video game out right now, which is sad that a 2D indie game made by ONE (1) DUDE is better than a billion-dollar franchise with the license of one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. 😭
positive · AI labelView post →I dunno, there's so many great NES games with interesting mechanics, and totally hold up today. Stuff like the OG Mega Man series, Bionic Commando, Blaster Master, Castlevania (especially CV3), River City Ransom, Little Samson, Batman (Sunsoft version), Metal Storm, Double Dragon 2, Mighty Final Fight (IMO better than the original), Ninja Gaiden series, Contra, Tecmo Super Bowl, Shatterhand... list goes on. There's a lot of great games for the system if you can look past the graphics. And…
neutral · AI labelView post →Such an interesting experience so far. Played it as it comes, no adjustments. Took a few practice games, but once I had a handle on the mechanics I played a full season and finished 14-2 and won the Legend Bowl. Then I downloaded the DLC, got the community mod with the proper teams and players, and clicked it up a notch from Pro to Veteran in difficulty. Was overwhelmingly different - spent ages just trying to get an Inner Run to gain more than 1 yard! The sliders in difficulty that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →pretty fun i can't lie. Way easy to pick up. Also runs on almost anythinhg.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is great but not easy. Running the ball is very unforgiving and passing has more depth then waiting for your Qb's "accuracy bar" to fill up. Even with over 60 hours I still have not quite figured out all of the mechanics. Despite all of that however the challenge is rewarding and has not deterred me from wanting to play further.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →SAVE YOUR MONEY FOOTBALL FANS! Hard to say this is a "bad" game. The 16 bit graphics and attention to detail are top notch. The customization is cool but the gameplay is lame. Gameplay looks old school, but it's extremely hard to get into. If you have a young son who digs football he will HATE this game. If you like to design your own leagues, and watch/manage it, then MOVE ON. Despite all the customizing, YOU CAN NOT CREATE YOUR OWN LEAGUE AND YOU CAN NOT JUMP IN AND OUT OF GAMES! Either play…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Legend Bowl is a love letter to classic American football games, blending old-school charm with a surprising amount of modern depth. Developed and published by Super Pixel Games, it stands as a rare indie entry in a genre dominated by large-scale sports franchises. Instead of chasing photorealism or official licenses, it embraces the spirit of the 8- and 16-bit era, delivering a pixelated but richly detailed football experience that captures the essence of the sport in both strategy and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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