The sports genre of video games can be difficult to stand out in thanks to the domination of franchises like FIFA, Madden and NBA 2K which dominate some of the largest sports on their own. However, now and then, a unique IP comes along that cleverly blends an unconventional aesthetic like anime into it, and before you know it everyone wants to strap on their cleats and get on the field. INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road is the latest example of this, as players are flocking to consoles and Steam to give the demo for the series' latest sequel a try.
For those unfamiliar, Inazuma Eleven is an acclaimed football-themed videogame franchise series created by LEVEL-5 that has been around for well over a decade, debuting its first installment back in 2008 on the Nintendo DS (though it didn’t arrive in the US until 2014). However, it has stayed under the radar in the West for much of that time, as the series' success remains mostly in Japan while only releasing two of its games in the US. 'Victory Road' is the second of those two, so it's no surprise that there's so much curiosity around it.