Rugby union is a sport that doesn’t always work in video games. Video game adaptations have been around for decades, yet whereas other sports titles have seen improvements over time it’s fair to say that many rugby fans are still chasing the quality of original PlayStation classic Jonah Lomu Rugby. That’s not to stop other titles giving it a go, with Rugby 2020 the latest game to try and bring rugby successfully into the video game world.
Rugby 2020 comes from Eko Software, the studio that also developed Rugby 18. The game includes some noticeable licenses including English premiership rugby and France’s Top 14 league, although there are some absences that rugby fans will notice. Licensing isn’t everything, however, and good play could overcome any such limitations.
From a gameplay perspective rugby hasn’t always converted to video games well, showcased by such notorious rugby games as Rugby 15. Whereas the Madden series has long managed to match the feel of American Football, the longer build-ups of physical, nuanced play in rugby union have been much harder to replicate. At the very least Rugby 20 gets these basics right.
Intuitive controls make up a key part of why Rugby 20 can sometimes feel close to the real thing. Defensive gameplay in particular matches up well with the feel of watching a rugby match, and diving into tackles or frantically pressing to overpower the opposition works well. Another strong design choice was to use the bumper buttons to pass right and left, helping to try and recreate the flow of the sport.
There are many other areas that work well within core play. The use of a multi-stage quick time event for scrums might feel overly complex at first, but before too long players will get to grips with it. This is also true of scoring penalties and conversions, which attempts to showcase spin and power in equal measure, even if it takes a bit of getting used to.
At a surface level Rugby 20 therefore feels like the sport. With a bit of time even newcomers will understand how to use their numbers, strength and speed to start getting the tries in. After all, there’s not much to get wrong about pushing play out to the wings and rushing through.
Beyond this, Rugby 20 starts to show its weaknesses. Although there are other, more tactical, methods of play available, structurally these aren’t always viable when it comes down to the gameplay itself. It’s a shame, given the variations of play within rugby union as a whole, but the depth isn’t really here.
There are equally a fair few technical limitations on show in Rugby 20. Player animations can feel stilted, and bugs are pretty prevalent. This is particularly true when watching players lunging into challenges, which can often look quite awkward with opponents sliding into their animation cycle.
It would be nice to have more licenses, too. The inclusion the Gallagher Premiership is fun, along with the other licensed elements, but the lack of official use of such rugby landmarks as the New Zealand national team does take a lot away from the overall experience. A lack of official teams isn’t necessarily a deal breaker - look at Pro Evo or the disappearance of Juventus from FIFA 20 - but Rugby 20 doesn’t have the flexibility to overcome this issue.
As a matter of fact, an attempt to emulate the larger budget games of EA Sports also holds Rugby 20 back. The title includes an equivalent to FIFA Ultimate Team, and although this mode ticks the boxes of creating a patchwork team to call your own, the effort put into developing on this mode could have been spent working around the game’s other limitations.
Indeed, there are some things missing from Rugby 20 that could have made the experience a better one, even if it wouldn’t have fixed some of those technical issues. More customization would have been preferable, whether that be in the form of player and team changes or the option to create custom tournaments. Meanwhile, the inclusion of a career mode would have added some much-needed longevity.
Where does this leave Rugby 20? The game is far from perfect, and although it gets the basics right, there are a fair few issues. Some of these problems will hopefully be addressed with patches, such as the stilted animations, but there are other elements that leave Rugby 20 feeling like a missed opportunity.
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Rugby 20 is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Screen Rant was provided with a PS4 download code for the purposes of this review.
