FIFA 23 review: A sweet farewell

FIFA 23, comes to us not only as a new annual installment in a saga that needs no introduction. It also comes to us with the premise of being the last game of its name. As we had already predicted, The team of electronic artsfailed to reach an agreement to maintain the license of his mammoth sports title. In this way we face this new episode in a very special way.

With it all comes FIFA 23with the promise of trying to be a round game that knows how to say goodbye to a title that has accompanied the saga for decades. Now, how was that goodbye? We tell you!

change of pace

We’re not going to beat around the bush too much and we’re going to talk directly about the changes that have happened in the gameplay. In itself there is a rather significant change that affects the pace of the match. Now games have become slower, trying to encourage or foster more combinatorial football and in a way, avoid the star game of balls in Mbappé. This is a very noticeable change if we come from previous installments and it will require a learning process from the player. That said, while it might feel strange at first, after a few games I think the change was for the better.

Also An improvement in artificial intelligence has been seen, it’s not a drastic change, but it’s enough to be noticed. Added to all of this are new dribbles and animations that continue to expand the experience on the pitch.

On the other hand, another of the changes that accompany this episode is in his set pieces. In later versions, a system was chosen where we just aimed where we wanted the ball to go and delivered the power and spin we wanted. On this occasion, we leave this artificial system aside, for a more natural one, where we have to calculate a little more by eye. Thus, we will see how the player stands next to the ball and we will have to decide where on the ball we want to hit and with what power. This seems to me a very interesting change and one that I consider necessary. Penalties have also undergone some interesting changes, now making them harder to score.

a little but

All of these changes I just mentioned on their own feel pretty good in command. However, not all of the changes made feel so good. The main problem or error that I could see in FIFA 23is the new mechanic of the powerful shot. A kind of shot that we can do with great power to score from greater distances. In itself, the idea may not be so bad, but the execution seems very misguided to me. As I commented in the previous paragraphs, this edition tries to create more tactical and slower football, so creating a mechanic of this type seems to me a bit like throwing stones on your own roof.

It’s because it’s a component that comes directly to make the game more arcade. As we already know Fifa, It’s always moved along that line between simulation and the more arcade component. In this opus, everything seemed to indicate that we were faced with a title which for once was closer to the simulation than to the arcade component. Everything seemed to indicate it until we made the first powerful shot and we saw how the camera approached the player with an effect worthy of Captain Tsubasa.

It is for this reason that I have the impression that they did not dare to take the plunge. Thus staying in no man’s land and somehow obscuring the playable plane. That said, I have no doubt that we’ll soon see patches to make this new shooting system much more streamlined than what we’re seeing in-game right now.

Content in abundance

On the other hand, if we focus on whatever brings us FIFA 23, we find endless game modes. As always, we have news in each of them. Surprisingly, we’ve also seen changes to his club mode, which is “unified” with Timehaving the same avatar in both cases and making the progression much faster. A totally necessary change that will allow us to alternate experiences without having to increase the average points in the two modes separately.

Another mode that has received changes is Ultimate team. One of the most popular modes in each episode and trying to become more friendly to new players. Among the changes made within this modality, the functionality of Moments. In this new addition we will have to overcome challenges in a very short time to get stars. These stars can then be used as currency in exchange for envelopes or unique cards such as Ted Lasso.

This mode has a lot of potential and at EA, they have understood it. So, some of these challenges are meant to relive moments from the careers of great football icons, like Mbappe or Jurgen Klopp himself. A cast that will continue to grow in the weeks to come.

football gives life

Another of the modes that received more news is the Career mode. This time we have the possibility to control real managers. In this sense we find a great cast of coaches who go from the first division to the lower divisions or reach Ted Lasso. And it is that yes, the protagonist of the series that bears the same name will be available, in addition to the club of the television series and its stars (We love you Dani Rojas). In this sense, we note that the team has taken great care to recreate both the players and the club itself, with typhoons and effects inspired by it.

On the other hand, we have a slightly more complex trading system than in previous editions. Now counted with a tensiometer that lets us know how far in the negotiation we are.

Leaving that aside, the game still boasts great graphics. While it is true that novelties in this direction are not particularly noticeable, details are shown that continue to improve the experience. As is the case with the movement of the net, the improvements of the public or the damage that the grass will take. As for the sound section, well as always we find a good repertoire of pop music that comes to accompany our games. Finally, how could it be otherwise, we have the incombustible Manolo Lama and Paco González on the microphones.

The last of the saga…

FIFA 23, is the last of his name. The latest installment in a franchise that comes to say goodbye in style to its fans. The question is clear, do you understand? For me, yes. Even if I have some rough edges that I don’t really like, In general, I think a lot of things have been done well.. I missed that this change in playability remained firmer, eliminating such an arcade concept as is the case with power shooting. For the rest, the game is packed with content and probably features the best changes we’ve seen in recent titles in the series. Without further ado, we say goodbye to FIFA.

From here, we thank the EA Europe team for the code of this analysis.