With Kylian Mbappé and Sam Kerr in the jacket, the message was clear and identifiable: in terms of openness and accessibility, FIFA 23 intends to perpetuate the efforts undertaken in previous versions. Women's football, already present for a few years, has been reinforced in a major way in this edition. The French and English women's national leagues - the first and second divisions of each of the two countries - integrate the roster of playable teams, with a notable effort on the modeling of the main stars of these championships. On the field, women are not left out, with female referees in some of your games, regardless of the game mode. A commendable initiative but which still seemed a little limited to us. Even if it means including women's football even more, we regret that FIFA 23 did not go to the end of the idea, with the other national leagues for example - we like it, but it's not just D1 Arkema in life - and especially the Champions League, in which our French clubs are used to shining (isn't it Lyon?). Not enough to go on a loop either in his living room to grumble... Especially since the girls will still be in the spotlight with the addition in the form of free DLC of the two World Cups, men's in November 2022 and women's therefore, in 2023.
This feeling of openness is also felt joystick in hand. Already highlighted last season, notably with a definite contribution to celebrations and match atmospheres, Hypermotion - the new engine based on better and more complete movement recognition - has taken another step forward. The lawns are the perfect witness, with huge marks made by crampons after a tackle and all other types of deterioration due either to climatic conditions or to the behavior of the 22 players on the pitch. The latter, and this is the most important, have further gained in realism. Their movements have been reworked, with the addition of many animations, but above all they have lost speed of execution: no more ultra-fast (and not really realistic) reversals in front of goal, each player's gesture is slower, more calm .
A WORLD THAT IS MOVING, BUT VERY SLOWLY
At first - and even now - it's surprising, but the result and rendering controller in hand are far from unpleasant. The direct consequence of this change and this inertia, which, in certain aspects, may recall that of the historical direct competitor to FIFA, is that you will have to build, taking into account the characteristics of your players. In short, you will have to relearn how to play or rather review your way of playing to adapt to this new gaming environment. Be careful and it is important to qualify, this is not a revolution in depth: if the players do much slower, the game did not really slow down. The laser passes, if they have lost a slight percentage of efficiency (but then light, light) are still as effective in going up the field at top speed and seasoned players quickly find themselves in 3-4 passes around the opposing surface , either in a firing position or in the build phase of a placed attack. Defensively, there too, there is change. And as much to tell you right away, the mission is really not easy. The assistance - we will come back to this when discussing the Ultimate Team mode - deplored by many players, has been partly revised and those who relied heavily on the help of the AI and the automatic behavior of the defensive line - especially in position very, very low - will be surprised. Clearly, to defend well and better, you should not hesitate to take more risks, to seek out your opponent higher up the field, to hurry him and anticipate his choices. Here again, the whole thing will take some getting used to, but it is much more enjoyable to anticipate well and make the right decision when attacking the ball carrier... and more pleasant to understand why such and such a player our team got wiped out on a quick counter-attack.
OMAR IS THE GREAT REGALADE
The change, if not really visual - the game is a little more beautiful than last year, with more successful models but overall, no evolution or major gap in this register - it is also sound. Exit Hervé Mathoux, orphan for several months from Pierre Menès, place the duo of beIN Sports commentators, Benjamin Da Silva and Omar Da Fonseca. Particularly appreciated in real life, this pair, which has made the calm tone of the first and the lyrical flights of the second its trademark, is just as effective in FIFA 23. Obviously, the naturalness is a little less present - we remind you that these gentlemen record comments already written - but the rendering is effective. Omar's tirades hit the bull's eye, especially those concerning a certain Lionel Messi (without dec'!). And if, by chance, the duo's remarks were deemed too negative for you, know that you have the option of deactivating critical comments in the game. Just that. The rest ? The developers wanted to modify the set pieces. Penalties are now governed by a circle system under the feet of the players, with a timing to be respected to be as skilful and precise as possible when shooting. Corners and free kicks have changed views, with a perspective behind the player, an arrow to aim and indications to set up how you want to take your set piece. THE big change is the addition of a new strike, the power shot, which is triggered by pressing the fire button and the L1 + R1 triggers simultaneously. An animation then occurs, zooming in on the ball carrier (Mario Strikers style) and ensuing behind a supersonic, powerful strike… which may very well not go into the net!
OLIVE, SANS TOM
This is the magic of this addition, which is not so easy to tame, since typing is manual and not assisted. It is therefore necessary to be precise when using it, but once mastered, it does a lot of damage. To tell you the truth, it still leaves us doubtful here: if it offers variety and change compared to the curled strike, if it sanctions too low defenses and represents a formidable tool in the finish, it has all the codes of the movement. cheat, especially once the entire gaming community understands how to use it well. So watch out. Speaking of shots, whose variety of angles has been further increased, we have to mention the case of goalkeepers. Much too strong at the same time, this time they are much too… weak. Admittedly, the latter also benefit from new improvements and are less stupid in their short raises with the feet and with the hand (finally) but their behavior on their line is still damn questionable. We dive late or on the wrong side without however changing the trajectory of the ball, no dives at all sometimes, their range is often frightening and it will have to be quickly remedied so as not to spoil the balance of play offered this year.
A balance that is necessarily to be nuanced in the FUT mode and its diversity of cards and player boosts. In this mode, there are a lot of changes and it is ultimately in its mechanics that they operate. The collective has changed: no more green, yellow and red links, instead of a diamond system that fills according to the connections of the players between them. No need to stick together players of the same nationality and the same championship: they are connected regardless of their place in your eleven. This will allow a greater diversity of teams online and offer players other solutions than having to absolutely line up Icons to link several championships together. Another thing, the notion of collective is a little less punitive than in the past. Maximum synergy (33 out of 33) boosts the style attributes you give to your players, and benefits from a better defensive base, too. But unlike the other opuses, not having the max collective does not lower the stats of your elements. It simply does not boost them, understand by this that your players just keep their basic data, therefore without penalties and without bonuses. Good news, which is added to the changes of position. Players all having one or two secondary stations, no longer need to buy dozens of consumables to make them play where and how you want. The attacking positions are linked (a left winger can play goalscorer and vice versa, which was not possible before), which will facilitate the task of all players, novices and regulars alike.
A NEARLY ULTIMATE FIFA
The gaming experience has been boosted, with the arrival of cross-play (finally!), requested by players for quite some time. Note that the latter is not complete: players of the old generation and those of the next-gen cannot compete. The cross-platform is therefore done by generation: PS4-Xbox One on the one hand, PC, PS5 and Xbox Series on the other, which allows us to specify that EA Sports has made an effort for the PC port this year , with a version finally at the height of the next-gen versions. The solo content of the Ultimate Team mode is boosted with the arrival of FUT Moments, challenge matches supposed to retrace the history of some stars of world football (as is the case with Mbappé), with the aim of winning stars, virtual currency allowing you to offer packs, the nerve of the war of FUT since its creation. We would have liked to say the same for the other game modes, but the change is, each time, smaller. Volta, which no longer has a scripted mode or main storyline, merges with Club Pro (which is not yet concerned with cross-play), allowing you to link your avatar to these two modes. The Quarry, highly prized by players, emphasizes interactivity, with the possibility of playing out the crucial moments of a game. Transfer negotiations have gained in interaction, with a gauge determining the live behavior of your interlocutor. The number of coaches modeled has been increased and for fun, the character of Ted Lasso, coach of AFC Richmond in the series of the same name, is part of this roster. As a player, the career leans more towards the extra-sporty, with other interests to manage for your avatar and a personality system that defines the type of player you want to become. Finally to finish, we appreciate the presence of a Training mode, more flexible, also more fun to understand, with a system of challenges, able to interest the greatest number and highly recommended, especially if it is a question of your first FIFA. Overall, you will have understood, it is a very good vintage that we are dealing with FIFA 23. Not perfect, far from it, not frankly revolutionary either, but sufficiently rich in ideas to offer a game of pleasant football to play, perhaps even the best of the saga for a long time. The transition is successful. Place to follow gentlemen, in the coming months.
