After a four year wait, handball fans can finally experience the intensity of the sport once again thanks to NACON and Eko Software. That’s because they’ve just launched Handball 21 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
For the first time since Handball 17, those with a keen interest in the sport are able to get their hands on a gaming adaptation. Aiming to be the benchmark offering, Handball 21 boasts a raft of innovations not seen before in the series. Things like motion capture, which has been used in the graphical overhaul of the animations, ensuring the stars of handball and their movements come across as being much more realistic. In order to achieve more realism, the atmosphere and passion of supporters have also been integrated into the game.
The gameplay itself has undergone a redesign to add more depth to the game. As such, during offensive play, you can now easily switch your tactics and set plays with the directional buttons. While defending, you will need to control the whole defensive line and stay alert to prevent your opponent from scoring. You will witness these improvements and more within the three game modes present. There’s ‘Solo; mode, where you can play as a team you’ve customised, manage recruitments and take them right to the top. As for “Championship” mode, it allows you to choose an existing team and take them through an entire season. And finally, the Multiplayer mode enables you to play matches with friends locally or online.
Given that Handball 21 has a lot of officially licensed content too, you’ll surely manage to find your favourite team to use. In total there are eight European leagues, containing 129 teams and a whopping 2,299 official players. We’re talking all the big names, including Nikola Karabatic, Mikkel Hansen, Valero Rivera, Fabian Wiede and Melvyn Richardson, to name but a few.
Features include:
- An impressive amount of official content with 2,299 official players represented in the game
- Innovative gameplay that realistically captures the sport, including authentic tactics management
- Multiple game modes: My Squad for creating your own team, Solo mode for managing a team from start to finish, Championship mode to win the top trophy, and Multiplayer mode for playing matches with friends.
- New and improved AI to provide the challenge that demanding gamers expect
So, if you’re looking to get points on the board for your team in Handball 21, head on over to the Xbox Store and pick it up for £33.49 – it’s also available on the digital stores belonging to the other aforementioned platforms. Get in touch and let us know whether you’re going to be getting involved and keep an eye out for our full review soon.
Game Description:
In frenetic local and online single-player and multiplayer matches, play with the best teams from the top leagues, including the French LIDL STARLIGUE and PRO LIGUE, the German Liqui Moly Handball-Bundesliga and 2. Handball-Bundesliga, the Spanish Liga Sacyr ASOBAL, and for the very first time, the Polish PGNiG Superliga. Play thrilling matches against the top European teams and experience handball like you are actually there! On the court, implement your game plan, coach your team, initiate set plays, find holes in the defence and take your team to victory!
