This game review was written after playing FIFA 23 for the Playstation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC versions, so it can't be used as a reference for the Playstation 4 and Xbox One versions. There are some features discussed in this article that are only available for the Playstation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC versions.
The end of September might be one of the moments that football game lovers always look forward to every year. This happens because EA Sports usually releases the latest FIFA games in that period. This year they launched FIFA 23 , which will be their last edition using the FIFA name.
The reason is that starting next year, EA Sports will no longer work with the parent federation of world football. They chose not to continue working with FIFA, and will make their own soccer game under the name EA Sports FC .
Gameplay is slower, making playing ball use the brain
After playing this game for almost two full weeks, one thing that I feel the most is the gameplay which is much slower than the previous edition. This of course makes players unable to abuse high-speed players who only run.
Now the player is big and slow, becoming more useful than the previous edition. The AcceleRATE feature, which is new to this game, allows big players to keep up with small players when they are running.
This feature provides three different types of running, which EA Sports implements in this game. Big players who have the "Lengthy" running type, can now keep up with small stature players who are the "Explosive" or "Controlled" type, especially when competing sprints over long distances.
Gameplay is slower, making the META in this game completely change compared to the previous game. Because in the previous edition, pace , dribbling, and skill moves became a META that you have to master if you want to win in competitive matches, aka online.
Now everyone has to "think" to be able to penetrate the enemy's defenses. Every pass you make, must have meaning in building attacks with the aim of being able to score goals. The game has become much more fun and more beautiful than the previous edition.
Now we are really invited to play soccer, instead of memorizing the buttons to issue combinations of skill moves like you play Tekken or Street Fighter just to win.
As a player who has always liked to use big players like Harry Kane or Robert Lewandowski, this change certainly had a positive impact on my playing experience. Now I can use these players, without having to suffer losses because they are not included as META players.
I have to admit, now small and agile players get nerfs that are a bit too much. So don't be surprised if later EA Sports will release a big patch that will make the gameplay return to the previous edition, because they have a reputation for changing gameplay drastically if you get protests from many professional players,
Especially now that many professional esports players are whining on social media because they can no longer abuse dribbling and skill moves like the previous game. So, this slower gameplay might not last long and will be patched by EA Sports.
The power shot feature is a new way to do long distance kicks
Apart from the much slower gameplay , one of the big changes in terms of gameplay that I found was the presence of the power shot feature. This feature allows you to kick the ball with much greater power than a normal kick.
This makes the goals you score more varied, because now you can actually kick the ball with full power. If the power shot is successfully executed properly, then the goals you score can look more beautiful.
