Yes, after 30 years of EA’s all-consuming FIFA franchise, it’s finally time to say goodbye to a series that has been a constant companion for football-loving gamers since 1993 (starting next year, EA has confirmed that its football matches will be known as “EA Sports FC”). It hasn’t always been top notch stuff, there’s been a lot of ups and downs over the years in terms of quality, but thankfully we’re going on quite a high here with a slick and versatile entry that makes a very entertaining play on the pitch.
Of course, there’s nothing downright revolutionary to report with FIFA 23, but the changes that have been made are certainly some of the most meaningful the game has seen in a long time, with FUT in particular benefiting from a series of positive additions that make this absolute juggernaut of a mode the best it has ever been.
The most notable of these changes is the all-new single-player Moments content in FUT. Moments gives players a ton of solo shenanigans to dig into, teaching them how to play the game, laying out plenty of challenges to sink their teeth into – with superstar-specific scenarios to work through – and, more importantly , pumps out lots of rewards that can be exchanged for goodies in the game’s store.
The dynamic scenarios here in particular are a highlight so far, with plenty of famous historical moments from the sport’s history to recreate, but this is also a mode that’s incredibly useful to delve into as you explore certain aspects of your game. want to sharpen through Pitch Perfect training, mini moments and daily challenges. Each objective you complete within Moments will earn you stars, which can then be used as a separate currency from coins and FIFA Points to grab a few packs or items from the Moments Star Gallery. With new content added regularly, this is a new mode that looks like it could really have legs, and we’re definitely all for more single-player content to satisfy those of us who just don’t like the multiplayer side of it. the FIFA.
Away from Moments and the other big change in FUT is in your team’s approach to chemistry. The mechanics here have been completely revamped and overhauled and it makes for a team building experience that is much less rigid. Instead of forcing you to carefully place associated players in strict lines to build your chemistry, you can now take a team-wide approach that benefits players whether or not you pair them directly side by side. For example, put a Bayern Munich player on the defensive and one up front, and you’ll see improvements in your overall chemistry. There’s definitely a bit of learning involved to understand everything at the start, and the game’s tutorial on the new system is seriously lacking, but once you get the hang of it, it’s a huge improvement over what came before .
The overall effect of chemistry seems to have been toned down this year as well, so you never have to feel like you can’t just drop some superstar unrelated to the rest of the team into the mix to take advantage of it. their competition-winning talents. Do you have a team made up entirely of players from the Scottish league, but Mbappé has just unpacked? Make sure it stays in there, there’s no major downside to it.
The result is a much more flexible and relaxed mode that feels like the cuffs have been removed slightly, so you can have a lot more freewheeling fun creating the team of your dreams. It’s just too bad that FUT still has the . has considerable a shadow of microtransactions hanging over it, and we’re not sure if that’s a shadow that will disappear soon, but other than this constant negative, it’s 100% the best this mode has ever been. Even as FIFA fans who don’t really focus on FUT, we see ourselves playing a lot more this season.
FIFA 23 also sees some positive changes on the pitch that make this year’s action feel fresh and much more liberating than the rather stodgy FIFA 22. The pace of the game is still relatively slow overall, but players have more room to play. maneuver, more time to figure out how they want to move forward, and you’ll find yourself appreciating the extra time on the ball as you string passes and build your attacks. All this is aided by improved physics that give the games here a much more unmanageable, physical and unpredictable feel. Things can get quite chaotic, the ball pings around in a much more realistic way, and clashes between players are more grinding than ever.
There’s also the surprisingly arcade-style addition of power shots, which are performed by holding both LB and RB while unleashing an attack. If you take out one of these bad guys, the camera will zoom in on the action while waiting for your shot (which in our experience then ends up in the crowd). It feels like a very unexpected mechanism to find in FIFA, almost silly in fact, but it just works, and we’re bound to see dedicated players hammering home screamers with it in no time. Of course, it also remains to be seen whether it will prove to be a predominant aspect of the game in the long run, but for now we’re having a lot of fun trying to break our opponent’s net with an absolute cannonball.
Set-pieces have also seen a rejig, and now you have a lot more information on screen as you take free kicks and corners, with a little icon appearing to show you where you’re making contact with the ball and what kind of ball shot that it will likely result in. Move the cursor to the bottom of the ball and you’ll chip, to the sides and you’ll curl, and so on. It takes some getting used to, especially in free kick scenarios, but even on early doors it feels like an improvement that should allow players to really work out free kicks and corners the way they want.
Aside from these new mechanics, Career mode has had a nice revamp, you’ve got the very welcome introduction to women’s club football – although it’s only two leagues so far, so there’s still a lot of work to be done when EA Sports FC lands next year – and Volta makes a strong return for another season. So it’s a big package, packed with ways to play both online and offline, with the actual action on the pitch feeling like a notable improvement over the years. It may be the end of an era, but at least EA’s FIFA franchise is at its peak.
Conclusion
FIFA 23 marks the end of a thirty-year era for EA and thankfully it does so by driving this long-running series to a high level. FUT has seen some excellent changes to the chemistry mechanics and the addition of single player moments, while on the pitch this is the best the game has felt playing in quite some time. Sorority football finally arrives on the scene, set pieces have had a slick revamp, powershots are a fantastic arcade-style addition to the action and overall this is just a hugely engaging and generous pack packed with ways to play both online and offline.
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