TIEBREAK review: Potential to be better yet

TIEBREAK is a steady option for tennis lovers who are looking to try the sport through the medium of video games, provided they are content with waiting as the developers iron out creases and add requested features.

By this, I do not mean that the official game from ATP and WTA has left me wholly disappointed, but rather with a feeling that it has enough space to grow. Still, to Big Ant Studios’ credit, they have been listening to the community and were quick to introduce changes and fixes around the launch and afterward.

But more on these later, let’s take a deeper dive into whether TIEBREAK has made its mark as a strong contender in the lawn tennis video game niche.

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TIEBREAK deep-dive: Gameplay, antics, and serve yourself to glory

Gameplay

TIEBREAK's gameplay covers everything you would want to do with a tennis racket if you ever got onto the court. Be it majestic forehands or backhands, drop shots, lobs, or smashes, you will be able to utilize the length and breadth of the space provided to showcase your talents and outwit your opponent.

The basic controls are easy to grasp and the tutorial will help you in that regard. Your shot will depend on whether you can place your player properly and the position of the ball. Moreover, holding the shot button (slice, smash, or topspin) will power up a bar that decides how powerful and precise the shot is.

The court awaits you (Image via Nacon)

With the positives broadly covered, let's come to things that I have gripes with when it comes to TIEBREAK's gameplay. The player movement feels janky with sudden teleportations set to happen occasionally as you try to reach for shots. Furthermore, turning your player around, if you have gone in the wrong direction, seems absolutely impossible. While this is realistic to an extent, it should be finetuned.

I had to dial up the difficulty within a few minutes of my first match as the gameplay seemed easy. However, serving quickly became my central issue as it seemed almost impossible to land it perfectly. You have to hold any of the three buttons available (based on how you want the racket to hit the ball) to toss the ball up. When the ball goes green, you have to let go.

Furthermore, if you press any of the three buttons mistakenly (which happened in my case as I would hit X to skip cutscenes), the player will toss the ball and then catch it back. There was no way to skip this animation.

Coming to the opponents, the AI lacks a more organic and human approach to the game. Cross-court shots and powerful servers greeted me the most at higher difficulties.

Playstyles (Image via Nacon)

Even though the game's long list of real players does possess descriptions regarding playstyles, I felt that variations (like a sudden drop shot in the middle of a rally) are largely missing. The AI also reacts by changing position even before I serve based on whether I have selected a curved or a topspin.

Cutscene animations

I think a major drawback is how the cutscene animations are largely similar for all players. Nadal will not react to an unforced error the same way Djokovic does. There are also not many variations when it comes to these cutscene animations.

In general, you can praise or react negatively once a point has concluded through the up or down arrow (you'll notice tiny thumbs up and down symbols at the bottom right of your corner). There aren't any variations to these and more often than not my player would react to the opposite of what actually happened. For example, I won the point but my player reacted with the animation of frustration when a point is lost.

Modes, career, and more

Jump into tournaments (Image via Nacon)

TIEBREAK's official licenses and the effort the developers have put into creating its different modes (quick play, tournaments, career, replay/rewrite history, and online) are major positives for the title. While more customization options when making a new player or less latency issues during online matches will be appreciated, the game does not feel barebones and players can sink multiple hours in their playthroughs.

TIEBREAK's career mode should get a special mention. The involvement of a large number of real-life players and tournaments, getting sponsors that you can use towards a variety of options, and climbing through the ranking will be a joyful experience for any tennis aficionado.

In Conclusion

Become the Legend (Image via Nacon)

With TIEBREAK installed on my PS5, the first thing I did (after finishing the lengthy tutorial that was a tad bit annoying at times when the shots refused to land at the spot you wanted them to) was jump straight into an exhibition match with Nadal against Alcaraz. It was exciting to see that Big Ant Studios had nailed the clay court legend’s iconic hair tuck before each serve and the forehand swing perfectly.

As I invested more hours into the game, it was clear to me that TIEBREAK has enough potential to be one of the best tennis games around. Although it is let down by the gameplay and animation snafus mentioned before, the devs have been quick to introduce tweaks and changes and the community has been active too.

I will be looking forward to diving back into TIEBREAK maybe a couple of months down the line with the hope that the developers have worked at improving the game's chinks.

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TIEBREAK

TIEBREAK Scorecard (Image via Sportskeeda)

• Reviewed on: PS5 (Code provided by Dead Good Media)
• Platform(s): Windows PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
• Developer(s): Big Ant Studios
• Publisher(s): Nacon
• Release date: August 22, 2024