I’m having fun with FIFA 21. EA has made significant improvements to how the game plays on the pitch, added welcome quality of life tweaks, and given Career Mode – much maligned in last year’s game – a Football Manager-inspired makeover. But none of this masks the fact FIFA 21 lacks a big ticket new mode or feature, and that old evil, Ultimate Team loot boxes, are just as evil as they’ve always been.
FIFA 21Developer: EA SportsPublisher: EAPlatform: Played on PS4Availability: Out 9th October 2020 on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch
There’s a lot to like on the pitch, which makes FIFA 21’s failings all the more frustrating. The game feels almost arcadey. Players are certainly more responsive than in FIFA 20, and passing is crisp (although occasionally it veers on the pinball-like). Fast forwards are, early days at least, king. It’s an absolute goal-fest, too. I’m not sure whether this is the result of defending feeling a lot trickier than it has done in recent years, or that defenders sometimes feel improbably sluggish, or that shooting from pretty much anywhere is reliable (finesse long shots are very much back), or that the goalkeepers don’t seem much use at all, but I often score five or six goals per game and concede just as many, if not more.
FIFA 21 | Official Gameplay Trailer Watch on YouTube
I’d call the whole thing entirely unrealistic – and let’s remember EA is trying to create a football simulation here – but given recent results in the Premier League perhaps the developers knew the way the wind was blowing and thought they’d let their hair down. The upshot is FIFA 21 is at this early stage a lot of fun, as it is watching the Premier League this season, but let’s be honest, the defending is atrocious and everyone just needs to calm down a bit. There are so many goals flying in that after a while you start to feel numb to the ball hitting the back of the net. EA will probably want to tweak that.
Usefully, there does feel like an interesting skill gap this year, where mastery over a couple of new mechanics, such as creative runs, will see good players win out over annoying meta teams in less-skilled hands. The idea is you have more control over the runs your players make, which in theory is fantastic, but in practice is quite a lot to think about. You can end up losing track of what you’re doing, especially when the ball is ping-ponging around as it does in this game. But the crucial thing to point out is that after a while you feel yourself getting the hang of it, and it is quite rewarding when a player run you’ve directed yourself ends up in a goal. This combined with a better goal variety (crossing is back, yay!), lends a freshness to FIFA 21 after FIFA 20 had long since gone stale.
I still feel like EA struggles with the ball, though. FIFA 21’s ball, like that of its predecessors, feels flat. It moves about in almost laser-like fashion, often defying the laws of physics and in direct contrast to PES’ football, which is a work of digital art. I don’t think FIFA 21 is much of a looker overall, really. Sure, many of the player faces are incredibly detailed, but if there is a graphical on-pitch improvement over FIFA 20 I can’t see it. The stadiums look plastic, the lighting superficial and the crowd robotic. If there’s one thing I’m looking for from FIFA as it settles into the next-generation of consoles is a new look and feel that’s more grounded and gritty. A little less Subbuteo, a little more San Siro. I want to feel the kick of the ball through my controller and see it arc through the air realistically. FIFA 21’s ball feels like it’s made out of magnets, snapping into place set by the ones and zeroes behind the curtain.