Fifa 23 Cover
EA Sports FIFA is an ongoing franchise that has been running for thirty years, with the most recent installation being FIFA 23, released Sep. 27, 2022. It was released on Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo Switch and Steam. It is a video game that attempts to simulate the sport of soccer. FIFA 23 will be the last game in the franchise as EA Sports are losing the right to use the name FIFA. The game will be renamed EA Sports FC. After thirty years of EA Sports releasing a FIFA every year, it would be reasonable to expect some changes would be made from game to game. However, this is a lot to ask of the video game developer as they often recycle the FIFA games yearly. Usually, there are slight changes; however, nothing to write home about.
Surprisingly, though, EA has decided to switch it up in this year’s game, making several changes to both the gameplay and the most popular mode, Ultimate Team. The objective of Ultimate Team is to play online games against other people around the world while attempting to build your dream soccer team from all the best players in the world, both past and present.
This year’s changes to this game mode have been refreshing and have delivered users a new way of building their dream teams, different ways to play, new challenges and more features. After playing the FIFA franchise for ten years, the new changes to this game were greatly appreciated.
I have played about fifty hours of the game this year and have also thoroughly enjoyed the new gameplay features. In previous years, the gameplay has followed a strict meta where many players in the game were much less effective than others. This leads to users having to use certain players to have a chance of competing when playing online against others. In addition, this helped EA sell the in-game currency in exchange for the user’s real money. This in-game currency helps users build a superior team creating a massive pay-to-win element within the game.
However, this year there is a much more significant variation in the types of players you can use effectively, leading to an overall much more enjoyable experience. Now, although there is still a meta in the game, as EA must maximize profits, it is a step in the right direction. I have also greatly enjoyed that the game now plays much more like real soccer games do. The mechanics in the game are realistic and create an authentic, immersive experience of professional soccer. This is unlike previous years when the game felt like you were playing at an arcade.
For passionate soccer fans like myself, it is incredible to have a video game that simulates the beautiful game so well. Of course, though, the game is not perfect.
There is still a strong pay-to-win element within the game. This leads to users with more money having an advantage over those who refuse to pay more than the $80 base fee for the game. Also, it often has a sense of randomness, where you feel as though you aren’t in control of your team. For example, the ball bounces in random directions, and your opponent can win when only having a single shot in comparison to your twenty-five. Also, it sometimes seems as though worse players are sometimes given a secret advantage to keep them playing the game and having fun. However, we FIFA players have come to expect these things, and it’s no surprise that these things remain in this year’s instalment.
Overall, EA Sports FIFA 23 is an above-average game and a solid way to end the FIFA franchise. The gameplay is refreshing, the other game modes are well-polished, and most importantly, it’s a fun game that doesn’t induce constant rage as many FIFAs have in the past.
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