There are plenty of people out there who dream of scoring the World Cup-winning goal, making The Master’s clinching putt, or maybe even hitting a single pitch home run at Yankee stadium. The thing is, an extremely tiny proportion of humanity will ever get that chance to do these things, so for the rest of us, sport simulation games are the next best thing.
In these games, you can either take control of an athlete or coach in various sports and test your wits and skills to try and achieve glory. There are a lot of simulation-based games that try to replicate the feeling of being a sports star, but a lot of them fail to hit their mark. Here are some of the best sports simulation games every sports fan should try.
Football Manager
For those who are crazy about soccer, then the football manager is the undisputed king in soccer-based gaming. FM is an incredibly detailed soccer simulation game, giving you the tools to take control of your favorite teams and guide them to the top. You’re able to take control over every aspect of being a coach and running a club, such as managing training sessions, choosing formations and tactics, sorting out contracts, scouting, transfers, and so much more.
The game can be a bit overwhelming for first-time players, as there’s a lot of information to take in, but once you’re in, you’re in, and that’s why the player base for this game has skyrocketed in recent years. If you like soccer, you must try this game.
Diamond Mind Online
Diamond Mind Online is one of the best free baseball games you can find anywhere as it allows you to interact with baseball in ways never before possible. In the game, you can build your ultimate team, drafting players from a roster of not just current players, but all-time greats too. This means that you’re able to combine some of the sports’ best players and create partnerships and squads we can only imagine in our heads. The game also supports other baseball leagues outside of the MLB, such as Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. This gives you a chance to explore the game more on a global level and become a further invested fan in the sport.
The game can also be as simple or complex as you like: you can search through historically accurate stats to find valuable players or skip all that and assemble some of the greats together.
Total Extreme Wrestling
Wrestling is an interesting sport, mainly because some people don’t see it as a sport at all. Instead, it is something akin to soap opera with stage fighting. Wrestling is at its best when there’s a good, compelling story behind the matches, and for those who think they can do a better job than the bigger companies in wrestling such as WWE and AEW, then Total Extreme Wrestling is the game for you.
In the game, you play as a booker, which is the person who schedules the matches and organizes the show, as you try to make your promotion the best in the world. You can create characters, build storylines, invent new matches, and design championships. The base game uses a completely fictionized world, but there are mods available where you can install a real-life database so that you can create a promotion filled with all your favorite wrestlers.