Sometimes, you come across a game that puts a smile on your face. Mutant Football League, a wacky, weird and awesome take on the National Football League, is one of those games.

Year after year, we await the new high-profile football game to be released, and year after year, it’s basically the same one as before. Now, we finally have a football game to be excited about. Mutant Football League is everything it sounds like it is and more. Skeletons, ogres and aliens running the field? Check. Cartoon violence with a funny wink-of-the-eye? Check. It’s a game that’s not meant to be taken seriously, but its approach doesn’t suggest that it knows that, and that’s part of MFL’s charm.

Mutant Football League is set up like other football games – there’s a season mode, playoffs and what it calls the Mayhem Bowl – but it’s so much better. Instead of having Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, there’s Bomb Shady and the Nuked London Hatriots. There are original teams, as well, including the Mile High Chronic and Tokyo Terminators. Instead of humans, each team is comprised of an out-of-this-world lineup of monsters, robots and demons, all of which have an attitude and something to say. But don’t become too attached to your players, there are not just injuries in the MFL – there’s also death.

The gameplay in Mutant Football League is just as outrageous as its players. Staying true to its over-the-top presentation, MFL has a lot in common with the smashmouth arcade style of the fan-favorite classic, NFL Blitz. In MFL, however, you have more than one way to win: You can either outscore your opponent or kill them off. Yes, there is no such thing as a late hit in the MFL; you can literally kick your opponent when they’re down and get into fights in an effort to eliminate them from the game. If you’re running with the ball, you can use a chainsaw to carve through the defense. But be careful when you’re running the field – land mines, fire pits and other deadly traps are everywhere.

If you haven’t already guessed it, rules are kind of optional when it comes to the MFL, which can work in your favor and can also work against you. You have options in your playbook, including the ability to bribe the ref and use a play called “Ginormous,” in which one of your players grows to a size similar to the Hulk in order to pummel the opposing team and gain the upper hand. The former is what can lead to frustration at times – it’s great when it works for you and gets you out of a rut, but when you just completed a huge play and get it called back for “not knowing the Pythagorean Theorem,” you’re likely to feel like pummeling the ref (which, in fact, you can!).

Add to this the dramatic NFL-inspired theme music that plays non-stop, and you have an off-the-wall game you won’t be able to get enough of. You’ll never look at a football game the same way again.

For more information, visit mutantfootballleague.com/home.

Jason Savio