FIFA 23

FIFA 23 is far from being revolutionary. But compared to the last few entries in the series, it’s definitely a step in the right direction.The problem is that while the shiny new features are indeed beneficial this year, it’s all built upon rotten...

No one does incremental change quite like EA Sports. Buoyed by the annually-renewing interest in football the global phenomenon, the much maligned studio has successfully kept its FIFA franchise atop the sports game pile for almost 30 years, despite...

FIFA 23 is a bombastic swan song for the series (under its current name, at least) with a welcome focus on theatrical flair. FUT Moments, action replays and viral-friendly gameplay revisions like Power Shots make it a more considered, memorable game of simulated football with intentional defending and plenty of drama and goals. But EA's Spartan approach to the modes that don't make money ensures FIFA 23 is an all-too-familiar beast to previous years, and Ultimate Team’s offensive focus on microtransactions continues to take much of the fun out of it.

There’s a famous saying from former footballer Gary Lineker that “football is a simple game – 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes – and at the end, the Germans always win.” I want to make a similar assessment of EA’s yearly soccer game: FIFA 23 is a good game – it’s flashy, fun to play, and has a lot of modes – but in the end, you realize it’s mostly the same game you’ve been playing for years.

Fans of FIFA and and football should definitely purchase this title and also it is the last FIFA title they will probably play under EA, so they should pick up this end of an era copy. Well that is not the only reason that players should purchase the...

This has been the case since Ultimate Team was introduced 14 years ago, so none of this comes as a surprise. And with the next World Cup taking place in Qatar--a country known for sports washing its human rights record--it's all par for the course when it comes to football. The age of FIFA might be coming to an end, but EA Sports FC is likely to kick off in much the same way: offering a fantastic game of football that's otherwise consumed by an exploitative cash grab.

FIFA 23 is the most expansive game in the series' long history; women's football has never been better represented, there's fun new activities like Volta Arcade, and there's still all of the classic modes. Still where FIFA 23 takes steps forward in some areas, it could still be better in others. The action on the pitch is fun and engaging, but the user interface can be clunky, and modes like player career mode feels like an afterthought with largely superficial changes, compared to the investment in Ultimate Team. FIFA 23 is the end of an era and goes out on a high, but still has the hallmarks of the series' gradual yearly evolution.

It's still the leading football game in town, but EA has made only minor changes in FIFA 23, such as set piece tweaks and a new way of shooting. If you didn't enjoy 22, chances are you won't be too impressed with this one...