FIFA 20 Review (PC)

FIFA 20, the latest football sim from Electronic Arts, is something of a mixed bag, with a somewhat disappointing upgrade for exiting features and an exciting Volta mode that brings new life into a slightly stale series.

If you’re a FIFA fan, you already know what you’re going to get in every new iteration of the game. Players should expect better graphics, improved controls, some minor changes to existing modes, and maybe a more robust single-player campaign.

It’s a sad state of affairs, but Electronic Arts is following a tried and true method that aims to do a single thing – to make them money from microtransactions. EA is pushing the boundaries with microtransactions, and despite being detested by the community as a concept, it’s still implemented each year.

In fact, it would be fair to say that the microtransactions are the one part of the franchise that sees any real evolution from one year to the next, and that’s really bad if you think about it. If you go the FIFA entry in Origin, you will notice a separate tab called virtual currency that allows people to buy points, which can be used in Ultimate Team.

In case you don’t already know, Ultimate Team is like Fantasy Football or Baseball. You’re the manager of a team, and you can buy new player packs with real money. Of course, there’s some chance involved, so it’s possible to spend money and not get anything worthwhile.

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What different and what’s the same

We usually say something about gameplay right about now, but it seems ridiculous to explain the concept of FIFA, even to someone that hasn’t been playing it. Instead, we’ll focus on what’s new in FIFA 20, which is what people really want to know.

The single-player portion of the game was a huge deal in the previous two iterations of FIFA, and it followed the career of a new star, with all the trappings of a cutthroat business. FIFA 19 seemed to have the recipe down, but FIFA 20 dropped almost everything.

The star of the new game is Volta, and it’s clearly a call back to the old FIFA Street titles. It’s a much more organic experience, with small teams playing in back alley courts. There are different modes, including futsal and even one with no rules.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that it’s just FIFA on a smaller field. The player’s control is completely different, along with the trick and strategies. For the most part, Volta seems to be an entirely separate game with its own rules.

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The only things it has in common with the regular FIFA gameplay are some of the buttons, but that’s about it. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this type of gameplay evolve into a standalone title if the people like it well enough.

Unfortunately, the story mode was murdered. There’s still something there, but there are no choices, not real characters, and no drama. You can be done with Volta’s story mode in just a few hours.

To be fair, the gameplay did see some relevant changes, with the focus on defense. If you remember, defenders were way too fast and powerful in FIFA 19, even after all the updates. Now, the defenders are much closer to their real stats, but they are also much better at tackling and intercepting attackers.

Relying on the AI for defense is no longer a real option, even if it can technically be done. If you want to play well, defending yourself in more important than ever.

Also, do you remember those menus that you’ve never touched before starting a game? When you build a team or make changes to an existing one, you also get to modify the playing strategy. Leaving everything on default settings is not recommended, and, which it might seem like a lot of work given the sheer number of options, you should try to learn everything that’s on there.

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On the attacking side, players have a new way to bypass the defenders like a strafe dribble. Executed at the right time, the new move will almost always trick the defender into a misstep. It sounds like an annoying perfect dribble, but it’s not. It’s challenging to pull off, and the defenders are much better at tackling.

One thing that I noticed is that players now have very distinct styles, and it’s a nice touch. On the other hand, attackers no longer feel like gods. Having Messi in your team is an advantage, but he can be nullified much easier.

The last item I want to mention is the new mechanics for free kicks and penalties. Electronic Arts has this maddening habit of changing how free kicks work form one year to the other, which means that I can’t truly master them. As soon as I get reasonably good, the system changes, and I have to start over.

Now, FIFA 20 has a permanent pointer for free kicks and penalties, once more. It was present in last year’s edition, but you had to activate it. The new system seems to be a lot friendlier with new players and makes more sense. Of course, if you want a more professional experience, you can always drop it.

All the rest in FIFA remained pretty much the same. Seasons is still fun to play mode, with everyone using all the most powerful teams, so you can’t choose anything else yourself. The championships do provide some entertainment, and being a manager is not the complete experience you might expect.

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Graphics

Since I played on the PC, I had a little bit more control over the graphics settings, but there’s nothing worthwhile to mention. It works really well, even on older hardware, which is always a plus, and I never had a single issue with the game. All in all, FIFA 20 is extremely well optimized, and it should serve as an example of how games are released.

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion