This is not a FIFA 23 preview. I know what the headlines say, but ceci n’est pas une pipe and all that. I tried the beta last week and attended a presentation and developer Q&A with the FIFA team, but I can’t share all the details yet. Late this week, next week, and even the week after that, there are certain things I know or experience in beta. So this is not a FIFA 23 preview. This is a FIFA 23 preview of things I can talk about. Luckily they are pretty good.
FIFA 23 is FIFA. Last hooray for the brand name before EA Sports Football Club arrives next year, which is terrible and will definitely change, but it doesn’t feel like a beta. We can’t talk too much about the game mode, but we haven’t heard of EA seeing it as a goodbye to FIFA. EA’s next yearly football game, whatever its name, now feels like it’s still in the FIFA spirit. What does FIFA mean? Well, it’s a FIFA game.
Run fast and kick the ball into the net. It sounds a bit like ‘Go SpOrTs’, but FIFA is the most played series of my life. I’ve owned all FIFA since 2002 and since day one. I love FIFA, and even though FIFA has faced challengers from soccer and other sports simulations, it’s still at the pinnacle of the genre. The fact that the core of the game hasn’t changed may catch the eye of outsiders wondering why they should pay full price for a roster change, but for those who have already adopted the FIFA concept, FIFA 23 will be just as positive as FIFA. received.
I’d like to argue that it’s not just a roster change. I’ve been betting money on it every year, but I think that’s what we got at the end of the lifecycle of the previous generation. The dribble improvement barely moved the needle, Journey didn’t catch me and Volta didn’t fall off the ground. But with HyperMotion added last year, it felt like a new generation of FIFA to help things work smoothly. This year seems to be once again based on the feeling of this new generation. But unfortunately we can’t talk about all the methods yet. In the end I’m pretty sure this new FIFA version will also be stable, but until then I’m looking forward to seeing it being made year after year.
There are a few things we can talk about right now. Now, as you might have guessed, there is a more powerful shot, the Power Shot. Press both bumpers at the same time and hold down the shot button for a very powerful shot-in. This is the same button combo (same idea) as the driven shot, but with more impact and much more effective. It’s much easier to do than anything else we’ve added to the shoot in recent years, and I’m very pleased with it. The game advises to only play when out of the box and unmarked, but you can activate it anywhere. Even if you play with automatic fire, you can aim manually, but you scored from the first round and recorded a fairly high success rate. The biggest downside to this shot is that it slows down a bit on the backswing and the camera zooms in. It wears out quickly, especially when used against yourself. Mario Strikers is a bit to my liking, but overall a solid addition.
Free kicks and corner kicks have also been improved, and ‘improved’ means ‘rolled back to what it was 15 years ago’. Now choose where to hit the ball with a mark on the resulting curve. Knuckleballs, chips and instep curves are on the menu, but unfortunately there is no Roberto Carlos effort on the outside of the foot. I’ve found they are better for free kicks (though messed up too much once timed out) but worse for corner kicks. You may have to get used to it yet, but all of my corners are either drilled low or too high and it’s snowing. More customization is possible, but things can go wrong. The penalty has also changed. Now we have a pulsating method. The circles are shrinking like catching Pikachu in Pokemon Go. Smaller circles, better strikes. Not sure if I like it. The old way better captures what a penalty feels like. The chip now climbs higher and catches the eye again before it rolls into the net.
Last note for me. If you leave a trail in the grass when doing a sliding tackle, it will stay there until the end of the game. It doesn’t mean much, but I think it’s fine.
FIFA 23 is an improvement on FIFA 22. Although I can’t tell you everything yet. This is all you need for the game, so it’s ready to be called a success. Be sure to come back to Gamer regularly for a few more updates on this.
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