Sports Story brings back the clever blend of finely-tuned golf gameplay and world-exploring shenanigans from its predecessor, combining it with an ever-growing roster of new and interesting sports. You learn so many sports in this game, they start blurring together after a while, leaving you on a cricket pitch with a golf club!
Sports Story is one form of the classic sports RPG, a genre that combines traditional RPG stat-building and questing with the favored games and pastimes of the real world. While it may be one form, though, it is by no means the only form. There are lots of games out there that can scratch this highly specific itch.
7 Mario Golf Super Rush
The Mario Golf series is often credited with popularizing the sports RPG concept with its original Game Boy version, and it carries the traditions established in that game on into the modern day with Mario Golf Super Rush.
This game features an entire story mode for you to explore, in which you visit all kinds of golf courses and learn a variety of wacky golf abilities. Super Rush's signature Speed Golf gameplay style requires you to physically run to your ball between shots, turning the game into a high-speed melee for supremacy.
6 Dodgeball Academia
Remember those old anime and manga series where the protagonist would go to a school for some kind of hyper-specific purpose like playing a sport or a card game? Well, if you've ever wanted to play a game set in one of those weird schools, look no further than Dodgeball Academia.
The students of this school study and strive to master the ancient art of dodgeball. Improve your team's abilities, master their special attacks, and get to know a cast of delightfully colorful and weird characters. Progress through the story and learn more about how this dodgeball-powered world works, and the myths and legends that surround it.
5 OlliOlli World
In a similar vein to the society of Sports Story being governed entirely by the sports its residents play, the world of OlliOlli World is entirely governed by one sport: skateboarding. Take up your board and cruise across the vast vistas of Radlandia to uncover the secret of the legendary skate gods.
Build your ideal skating hero, then jam across all manner of terrain. Perform tricks and build combos as you go, all while you bond with your friends and discover what it truly means to be a skateboarder. OlliOlli World prides itself on its accessibility, curating its difficulty based on your comfort level. After all, skateboarding is the sport of the people. Gnarly, dude.
4 Mutant Football League
Have you ever been watching a football game and thought to yourself, "This could really use some more monsters, robots, chainsaws, and explosions?" No? Well, after you try out Mutant Football League, that's all you'll be asking yourself, because regular football pales in comparison.
Curate a team of weirdos and murderers to master the ultimate form of fantasy football. Not only can you rule the field with superior football skills, but you can also engage in a variety of underhanded tactics like whipping out a chainsaw, drugging your opponents, and bribing the referee to give them dumb penalties. Don't even get us started on the hazards that litter the field, from explosive mines to giant sandworms.
3 Pyre
The Trials of Pyre aren't exactly a sport per se, but they do have all the trappings of one, up to and including a seasonal structure. In the forgotten land of Downside, exiles compete in this mysterious and ancient game for a chance to return to society, growing in skill and capability with each victory.
In addition to the regular sport-adjacent gameplay, you get to experience Supergiant Games' signature excellent writing via a growing cast of players on your team. Don't get too attached, though, because upon winning a season, one of them will have to leave your side for good in a tearful goodbye.
2 Knockout City
If you thought Dodgeball Academia got carried away with the whole dodgeball thing, you've clearly never paid a visit to Knockout City. In this futuristic town, dodgeball is the law of the streets, with teams of hooligans making a mad dash for whatever balls (or ball-shaped objects) they can find to defend themselves and attack foes.
As a live-service online game, Knockout City is always changing and evolving, adding new mechanics, maps, and gimmicks to try out. Team up with friends to put the rubber to your foes and become the rulers of the city.
1 Golf Story
Of course, we can't discuss games like Sports Story without mentioning the game that formed its backbone. Golf Story is both a love letter to the classic sports RPGs and a surprisingly in-depth golfing game in its own right.
Starting out as a nobody with a dream, you learn the basics of golf, amass a collection of clubs, and make a name for yourself in the competitive golfing scene. As you travel around, shooting drives on progressively trickier courses, you'll also encounter a cast of golf nuts just as obsessed with the sport as you are, if not more.