As the latest entry in EA’s mega-popular football series, you know what to expect from FIFA 21: top-notch presentation, official licenses, and fast end-to-end action. This entry, however, isn’t the one that reinvents the series, as it’s extremely similar to FIFA 20. The PlayStation 4 game offers plenty of entertainment, but it’s difficult to summon enthusiasm for another entry that’s (hopefully) biding its time until a next-generation version. That said, FIFA 21 remains the destination for digital football action with your friends and favorite club.
Same Core Game, Free Next-Gen Upgrade
In both the broad and smaller strokes, FIFA 21 is very similar to last year’s edition. That’s not to say there aren’t any differences, but if you’re hoping for a major reinvention to the on-field play (or really even just one mode), you’ll have to wait longer.
Sports games are frequently accused of being the same release year after year, simple roster updates, and EA hasn’t exactly disavowed players of that notion. That doesn’t just apply to FIFA; there’s a general malaise across all titles that see new coats of paint and some small improvements, but no overhauls in popular modes.
Part of this is the impending new console generation. We’ve seen before that sports games enter a holding pattern as new hardware approaches. Developers are split between capitalizing on the significantly larger install base of the existing consoles and the potential upgrades the new ones offer. The player base for the new consoles will be relatively small at first, so publishers can’t justify leaving the established consoles behind. As a result, you get games that straddle two generations. FIFA 21 is available for Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, with visual and load time enhancements, but running on the same engine.
The great news is that people who own the PS4 or Xbox One FIFA 21 will receive a free upgrade to the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions, respectively, on December 4. EA has a free upgrade FAQ on how this will work between the consoles, digital versions of the game, and disc-less consoles, so check that out for details.
Because of this generation-straddling year, Konami’s FIFA 21 competitor, PES 2021, is even turning the “just a roster update” accusation into a strategy. Konami opted to release a cut-price $30 version of the game that is, in fact, PES 2020 with updated rosters and minor tweaks. The company stated that, given the challenges presented by Covid-19 and next generation, time and resources are better spent working on the next full title.
Off-the-Pitch Overview
More critically, it’s perhaps charitable to fully attribute the lack of change between iterations to the specter of next-generation consoles. Many would agree that FIFA (and other properties) have been treading water for a few years, with small tweaks to existing modes as FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) rakes in the microtransactions. The past several iterations’ greatest addition was “The Journey” story mode, which debuted in FIFA 17. It stayed around for a few iterations, but was replaced by the “Volta Football” street football mode in FIFA 20. Volta returns in FIFA 21.
Volta lacks The Journey’s charm and surprisingly good writing chops (not to mention that this year’s story is even more trimmed down). There’s a loose narrative hook, but the mode really just serves as a place to play the street football variation with some character progression. If you really enjoy Volta, there’s plenty of it to be had, and this year’s version adds cooperative play (plus plenty of other variations). At best, I find it an amusing enough short-term distraction from the standard game. It feels like a placeholder or side mode, not a marquee option that such a big franchise can hang its hat on.
Outside of that, Career mode has seen the most updates. It’s hardly a revamp, but there are more small improvements than usual. On the management side, there’s an improved player growth system for improving players and changing their positions, better player match readiness feedback, and an Authentic Transfers option that makes deals harder and more realistic. The latter is especially appreciated, as it was rather easy to create a super team (and AI often made strange moves) in past versions.
As far as the on-field Career mode changes, the new Interactive Sim mode lets you interrupt a match simulation and jump into the action. You can jump in at any point, or during a key moment like a penalty, to control it yourself. If I sim a game, I tend to be more interested in how the side I built can do without me, but those more hands-on managers may appreciate this option. It’s also just a time-saving feature if you want to play the back half of a match, or a way to challenge yourself to a comeback if your team is down a few goals.
Overall, it feels like a modest facelift for the mode, something to keep returning players a bit happier. It’s no revolution, and I’m not sure this mode will ever change too much (it’s far from Football Manager levels of depth, and never really should be). That said, it’s the best career mode yet.
Otherwise, it’s the usual fare. FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) is the franchise’s moneymaker, both literally and in terms of draw. The real-money market has a very active community, as players seek to build a dream team with loot box card packs. Personally, I don’t find the mode very appealing, and it’s not a game mode I play much beyond examining it for review. The limited use items, reliance on random packs, and general predatory loot-boxes-for-real-money market isn’t something I find enjoyable. It’s also a bit easy to resent the mode as a potential reason EA doesn’t put more focus on improvements to other modes each year, as it’s clear FUT is driving retention and profit.
If you are a hardcore FUT player, the full mode is present and waiting, and, like Volta, now has a co-op option as well. There’s also an upgradeable and customizable stadium, as well as some community events. Otherwise, the core gameplay loop is unchanged.
The standard Seasons, Co-op Seasons, and Pro Clubs modes, while all popular, are mostly unchanged. Pro Clubs has some useful additions, like the ability to customize the visuals of your AI players and create and save more tactics options. I’ve put the most time into this mode, since it’s one I can play cooperatively with multiple friends. The player trait progression is good, and the mode is generally fun, but it feels a bit sparse. It also has some idiosyncrasies on and off the pitch; it doesn’t seem to play like the standard matches, for whatever reason, with some poor AI and player decision making.
Run of Play: Small Improvements, Familiar Game Flow
The on-pitch gameplay is the core product here, of course. Having played plenty of the game across all of these modes, I would use the same general description for it as I did Career mode: Improved in small ways, but nothing revolutionary (or even particularly evolutionary). The game plays slightly better than FIFA 20 on average, but the feel of the game, pace of play, and general tactics haven’t changed much.
It seems a bit tougher to play good defense, with even highly rated defenders less agile and able to quickly change direction. Good attackers feel appropriately fast in comparison to defenders, positioning is important, and there isn’t too much recovery speed. This is part of the “Positioning Personality” feature, which seeks to better replicate players’ real-life skill set and show greater intelligence in players known for awareness and anticipation.
This benefits a player like N’golo Kante, who, while also very fast and a good tackler, is so good in real life because he has a preternatural knack for being in the right place at the right time. EA also added refined close dribbling controls, which they may have had reason to implement for Volta, but benefit the game as a whole. Tight close control is appreciated as an alternative to pulling off a skill move when attacking the box.
Occasionally, a defender you know shouldn’t keep up with a pacey attacker manages to do so anyway, as if there’s some hidden rubberbanding recovery at play. That’s not new to this version of the game, but I’d say it’s not as bad here as in the past (and weirdly, it seems less prevalent in modes that use real clubs). There are also some bizarre AI positioning decisions that prove frustrating, and the performance of the goalkeepers is generally subpar. Near-post shots go in far too easily, and while an overpowered keeper is not fun to play against and keeps scores low, they should be making more saves than they do.
Ultimately, the style of play in FIFA is still primarily built for fast-paced fun more than realism. It remains an arcadey experience at its roots, even with improved AI, fancier controls, and deeper modes. The ball is pinged back and forth quickly, without much consideration for buildup in the middle third. Pace and open space ahead of a fast player are still king, and it can lead to some great goals and frenetic games. If you want a fun, approachable experience, FIFA fills that space. There’s still a pretty large potential skill gap between familiarity and the finer controls; a newbie won’t stand a chance against a seasoned player.
I do wish the game cared more about controlling the ball and winning midfield battles, especially as real-life modern tactics continue to evolve. I haven’t played PES 2021, but in my experience with titles before that, its slower and more considered approach is a better approximation of the real sport. This is an aspect that I hope comes out of a next-generation version of FIFA, leveraging the improved hardware to create more realistic physics and better AI. If EA doesn’t take that opportunity to revamp the core game instead of sticking with its blockbuster approach, I’m not sure it ever will.
On that subject, a quick note on the big-budget presentation. This has always been FIFA’s big advantage over PES, and it’s not different this year. EA has all the official league and club licenses that make the experience more authentic, and without those, a sports simulation feels lacking. Seeing your favorite (and most hated) clubs and players in game, and being able to manage or play against them, is a huge draw for the genre. PES lacks most of the official names and logos, which really undermines the experience.
These are all packaged with slick menus, strong production values, and a fantastic soundtrack. The menus could be a bit faster, as some of the floating panels are slow to load when you switch between them (something the new consoles should help). I’ve said it before, but FIFA’s soundtrack is one the most consistently terrific aspects of the annual offering, usually an eclectic mix of songs and genres. Whoever curates the soundtrack, once again, has done a fine job.
A Next-Gen Holding Pattern
This year’s FIFA is no worse than last year’s edition—or the one before. The game may be slightly better, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I can emphatically recommend spending $60 on it. I don’t like to judge a game and its expectations on price, but it’s pretty relevant in a series with annual releases—the longer minimal changes are implemented, the less reason players have to be enthusiastic about buying a new version. In this sense, Konami’s solution of admitting that this is a transition year and offering a new game at a cut price, may be a better value.
If you haven’t bought FIFA in a few years, FIFA 21 is highly entertaining, containing features and mechanics that will be new to you. At least you can play this edition for free on your PS5 or Xbox Series X, if you become an early adopter, which gives you some reason to get this game now.
For everyone else, waiting for a sale or holding on tight to FIFA 20 until the next generation version arrives may be the wisest move. An overhaul of the fundamental gameplay, or at least a new, great marquee mode, would go a long way in getting players excited about the next entry.
