Does Axis Football 26 Have the Best Franchise Mode?

Football video games have ruled my life since the days of Tecmo Super Bowl on the Sega Genesis. One of the coolest features of that game was that it would keep yearly player stats in its basic franchise mode, such as touchdowns, yards and sacks. At the end of a season with whichever team I was using that playthrough, I would write these down in a notebook and compare them to other teams I used in the game. The combination of Reggie White and Matt Brock for my hometown Green Bay Packers was incredibly effective at sacking the quarterback. 

I have been a fan of franchise modes in almost all sports games since. The regular season games mean less to me than signing free agents, trades and the draft. My most recent experience being a general manager was in Madden NFL 22. In it, I led the Jets to a championship, made Zach Wilson an MVP and signed Aaron Rodgers as his backup. Ah, the crazy things you can do in sports games make them a blast. So, when I saw a game called Axis Football 26 claimed to have “the industry's best franchise mode,” I knew I needed to give it a try.

Axis Football 26 Gameplay

Playing Axis Football 2026 feels like playing a Madden game from the early 2000s. Graphics are similar and gameplay is rudimentary. I was shocked when I went into the controller settings and there was no button for tackling. When you are playing defense, you can either run into a player to tackle them, or occasionally if you are tracking a quarterback behind the line of scrimmage, it pops up a notification telling you to press X to attempt a sack.

Offense feels more flushed out. Before the snap, you can audible, send a player in motion, use a hot route, change your strategy or see the routes your players will run on that play. You can design your own plays and run them in games as well. One annoyance on this side of the ball is phantom tacklers. This happens when your player is running with the ball, and clearly sprints past a player, but then somehow a second later they are being tackled. 

The game has a few unique gameplay mechanics. When you set up a franchise, you can choose between the traditional American divisional system or a tiered system similar to European football (soccer for us American players), where teams can be relegated or promoted based on record. I opted for the standard American, but hope to give the latter a try. Also, if you are down late in the game, you can choose to complete a 4th and 15 play from the 25-yard line instead of an onside kick. If you make the play, you get the ball where you completed the play. This is an alternative the NFL has discussed, but never implemented. Unaware a team could choose this option, it cost me my first game as I was getting my team ready for an onside kick, while the other team easily converted. 

Gameplay is a bit rough. Apart from the previously mentioned phantom tackles, I noticed on a rare occasion that players will instantly be out-of bounds. The clock sometimes stops for the 2-minute warning, but usually at the end of the first half it just keeps running. Your home stadium appears random, with just your team’s name and logo in the end zone. At one point, I had a Statue of Liberty behind one set of goalposts when I was playing as a Green Bay team. Finally, this game has a soundtrack. Unfortunately it’s two songs by the band Skillet randomly repeating, Showtime and Legendary. This gets old quickly. 

Axis Football 26 Franchise Mode

The claim of the “industry's best franchise mode” is what drew me to Axis Football 26, so I hurried through a season to get to the good parts. Along the way there were opportunities to prepare your team for free agency and the draft. Each team has four scouts who focus on one area of the country. Each scout gets one research point per week to spend on college players. 1-2 research points give you a player's final grade in the draft.