In this Mobile Gaming Review, we’re looking at another mobile MMA game. This time, it comes to us from the minds of E2P in the form of MMA Rivals.
The Gameplay of MMA Rivals
There really isn’t much to the gameplay—or much to do here. The little there is to do is extremely well done.
E2P opted to go a 2D, card game-style approach to fights where you allocate points gained from fights towards different moves and strengths of five disciplines: karate, BJJ, boxing, judo, and wrestling.
Your fighter becomes stronger and more skilled the more fights you win. Fights are turn-based where your skills determine the strength of techniques and how fast they’re pulled off.
Other player’s fighters and the AI fighters might have more punishing attacks or be able to pull off some of the same attacks you have faster. You might have the speed and power advantage but that fighter might have the better defense.
It’s single-player and PvP here and really, I prefer the single-player aspect. PvP is mobile PvP where you can fight a player who is offline—and it’s still possible to lose.
Beyond that, there’s really nothing else in MMA Rivals to do and for some players, it might come off as barebones even though it’s a finished game. It’s kept small, straight-forward, but strategic.
Mobile Gaming Verdict: 8.75/10
For a game that is mostly static 2D style, E2P really delivered on MMA Rivals. This isn’t an action-based MMA game, it’s a strategy MMA game with card battling as the core mechanic.
And it works! This game is a ton of fun plus E2P doesn’t throw ads in your face at all. I’ve played this for several hours at a time—mainly farming points in the bar fight ladder—and had a blast.
As it is, the game works but it could have more to do. While I did play the game for hours at a time, in reality, you could play it for a couple of minutes then bounce.
That’s the flaw of MMA Rivals, there’s nothing to really keep you playing for long stretches or invest in the game for a long period of time. I won’t say I “finished” this one because it’s competitive and there isn’t a defined end game but I was done with it after two weeks of on-and-off play.
With that said, the straightforward gameplay and fighter building are all top-notch. Also, the no ads approach is a massive bonus.
