"Speedball" played: The 1990 Amiga classic is back

When a game with such iconic status as “Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe” is re-released, developers face a dilemma: How much can you change without losing the core? Rebellion has just bitten off more than it can chew with this question. The remake of the Bitmap Brothers classic is technically solid aesthetically distinct – but that's precisely the problem.

Stay as you are

“Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe” was a product of its time in 1990: uncompromising, direct, reduced to the essentials. A joystick, one button, three minutes of gameplay – that's all it took to create a game that offered both arcade action and tactical depth. The Bitmap Brothers achieved maximum impact with minimal effort. Every movement counted; every hit had to be earned.

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„Speedball“ angespielt (6 Bilder)

Rebellion's remake bids farewell to this radicalism. The cold, metallic, and simple aesthetic has to give way to thematically changing 3D playing fields in comic style with rails, electric shockers, flames, and ice cannons. Brutal tackles are staged in slow motion as if you accidentally strayed into “Sniper Elite.” It looks modern but also generic.

The structure has also been adapted in terms of content: the emotional connection to the underdog team Brutal Deluxe, which you painstakingly molded into champions, is gone. The new team management and the league mode with detailed statistics adapt to modern sports games but feel strangely soulless. There is hardly any motivation for single players, especially since even the highest difficulty level is far too easy and AI opponents repeatedly wander aimlessly across the field. “Speedball” is more of a game for a few quick multiplayer duels in between.

Impression: Unnecessary Rehash

Art Director Samuel Beattie openly spoke beforehand about the “challenge” of rethinking an almost 40-year-old game. In the end, the developers apparently wanted to please everyone – new players with modern mechanics, old fans with retro references (“Ice-Cream”). But the result feels like a game that can't decide what it wants to be. “Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe” was never a game that screamed for a sequel anyway. Among the numerous remakes and continuations, only those that wanted to change nothing have worked so far. Every attempt to update the game has failed to rethink a timeless masterpiece.

The new “Speedball” is not a bad game. But it's not “Speedball 2” either. “Brutal Deluxe” is an artifact: elegant, raw, uncompromising. The remake is a product: overdesigned, adapted, alienated. Perhaps this classic should have simply been left to rest.

“Speedball” has been available for PC (Steam), Playstation 5, and Xbox Series X/S since January 27, 2026. The price is 29.99 euros, and the age rating is 12 years.

(joe)