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Mario Strikers: Battle League Football First Kick demo – how to play and when it starts

Mario’s new football game is having an early kick-off

Jasper Pickering

Friday 27 May 2022 16:22 BST

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Face-off in five-a-side matchups (iStock/The Independent)

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Mario Strikers: Battle League Football, is one of the Nintendo Switch’s biggest games this summer and now players will be able to try the game early for free.

It looks like a return to “combat football” that puts emphasis on over-the-top goal-scoring, power-ups and aggressive play with two five-a-side teams battling it out on the pitch.

The titular Mario will be appearing in the game alongside various friends and foes, such as Bowser, Wario and Donkey Kong.

While Nintendo fans will be able to download the demo early, multiplayer features will only be accessible for a limited time, taking place across different times a few days before it launches.

To find out how to download the demo and when each of the timed online trials are set to start, keep reading the rest of the article below.

How to download the ‘Mario Strikers: Battle League Football’ demo

In order to download the Mario Strikers: Battle League Football “first kick” demo, Switch users will need to be an active subscriber to the Nintendo Switch Online service.

If you do have a subscription, then you can download the demo from the Nintendo eShop in order to experience some of the game early!

The demo is available to download now but the only features that are currently available are “training mode”, so players can participate in friendly matchups before competing with other players online.

When does the ‘Mario Strikers: Battle League Football’ multiplayer trial start in the UK?

Once players are accustomed to the controls, they’ll be ready to play in matches against other players online.

The online trial will be taking place on Saturday 4 June and Sunday 5 June 2022 between these times:

Saturday 4 June: 04:00 - 05:00 BST
Saturday 4 June: 12:00 - 13:00 BST
Saturday 4 June: 20:00 - 21:00 BST
Sunday 5 June: 04:00 - 05:00 BST
Sunday 5 June: 12:00 - 13:00 BST
Sunday 5 June: 20:00 - 21:00 BST

With online team matches for Mario Strikers: Battle League Football, players can form a team with other gamers and challenge others online.

Each team can consist of players from two separate Nintendo Switch devices, but only a maximum of two can join the team from each console. This means that it is possible to line up with up to a maximum of four players per team.

It is also possible to form an alliance with random players or friends online. And all ten characters featured in the launch roster will be playable during the demo.

How to claim a free Nintendo Switch Online trial

If you’re hoping to play the demo but aren’t currently subscribed to the Nintendo Switch Online service, than Switch users can claim a free seven-day trial to try out the demo.

Not only does this grant access to the Mario Strikers: Battle League Football “first kick” demo event, players can also experience a week with all the benefits that the Nintendo Switch Online membership has to offer, including access to a curated library of over 100 NES & Super NES titles, online play with compatible titles, cloud saves and more.