Mario Strikers: Battle League – How to Play ‘First Kick’ Demo

Mario Strikers: Battle League, the newest installment in the Mario Strikers series of high-octane, no-holds-barred soccer games, is set to release on Nintendo Switch in June. It’s slated to be quite the rough and tumble sport, so it probably wouldn’t hurt to get some field time in beforehand.

Luckily, Nintendo thought of that. Here’s how to play the ‘First Kick’ demo for Mario Strikers: Battle League.

Mario Strikers: Battle League – How to Play ‘First Kick’ Demo

The First Kick demo is a sneak preview of what we can expect in the full version of Mario Strikers: Battle League. You’ll be able to play as ten different characters and go head to head in basic matches during a set period before the game releases for real. The demo can be downloaded for free on the Switch eShop from today, May 27, to June 5. It’s got a separate store page from the main game, which you can find here.

While the First Kick demo does allow for online play, there are a couple of caveats. First of all, online play will only be available on set dates and at set times. Those dates and times (in Pacific time) are as follows:

• June 3, 8:00-9:00 PM
• June 4, 4:00-5:00 AM
• June 4, 12:00-1:00 PM
• June 4, 8:00-9:00 PM
• June 5, 4:00-5:00 AM
• June 5, 12:00-1:00 PM

Secondly, playing the First Kick demo online will require an active Switch Online subscription. However, Nintendo is bringing back their 7-day free Switch Online trial that you can redeem on the first day of online play to play during the whole thing. Even if you’ve previously redeemed one of these trial periods, you’ll be able to redeem another one for this.

Even if it’s not time for online play or you don’t have a Switch Online subscription, though, you won’t be completely left in the lurch. For the entire duration of the demo’s availability period, you can boot up the First Kick demo and play offline in Training mode. This will help you get a feel for the various characters, their abilities, and the game’s overall mechanics.

As a reminder, Mario Strikers: Battle League will be released on the Nintendo Switch on June 10, with pre-orders already open. Nintendo has also promised free post-launch updates and DLC, so if there are any characters you’re missing (like Daisy, for instance), we might see them added to the game later.