Every year we get a refresh of some of the biggest franchises in gaming and ever since FIFA dropped a few weeks back, I've been spending a fair proportion of my gaming time playing it. This was of course to be expected as FIFA is one of those games which I could quite happily play for an entire year (providing there is decent promo content)! So, most people love to bash EA and say that FIFA doesn’t change every year and to a certain extent, they are right but, if you are someone who plays a lot of FIFA, you’ll notice quite a lot of changes which do actually justify then new price tag. Throughout this review them, I’m going to break down these new additions/changes and discuss what they mean for the overall experience, whilst also obviously giving my thoughts on the game as we go. I have also written up an initial thoughts article which can be found here, and youll see some live video content within this article as well so without any further ado, lets get straight into what I thought of FIFA 20.

FIFA 20 – EA Sports – Out Now – PS4, Xbox One and Switch

Gameplay

EA are notorious for completely changing the gameplay experience within FIFA at the start of each game cycle. This was once again apparent this year however fortunately, it’s not as bad as before. Gameplay completely changed between the Beta, Demo and full release with the latter being the best in my opinion. There have been a few minor gameplay patches since launch with nerfed L2 R2 defending but other than that, its pretty much the same as launch. So, how is it? Well that’s a tough one. It’s not by any means bad and it feels pretty refreshing when compared to FIFA 19 in all honesty although, it does have its issues. It feels a lot slower than previous years which lends itself to pace abuse play styles and drop back defending. I find that 75% of my goals are through balls to my pacey forwards who finish near post or go across the goalie if needs be. This is my play style though and I've seen people score a huge variety of goals via a load of different methods which makes for a decent attacking experience overall. The meta seems to be pace but unlike previous years, there isn’t just one broken shot style that dominates the game (ie: Low drivens or top of the box finesse). Crosses became a big issue towards the end of FUT 19 and thankfully, they’re absolutely terrible within FUT 20 so don’t bother with those at all.

Moving on to defending, youll immediately notice how hard it is as previous methods aren’t effective this year. Its more manual so you need to time your challenges perfectly or you probably won’t win the ball. L2 R2 defending was pretty effective for me until they nerfed it last week so try it out and see how you do with it but I feel like ultimately, the best method is having your team on drop back 1 depth and pressuring your opponent into making a mistake. Defenders with high physical and pace are essential and its pretty much the same story for midfielders. Goalkeepers seem to be pretty average regardless of rating so I wouldn’t worry about getting a high rated GK too much. Overall though, gameplay is decent, and it at least offers something new to learn for players who may not be a fan of the meta.

Game modes

Looking at the modes within FIFA 20, each one has got a bit of loving from the dev’s however, some have fared a lot better than others. I’m going to break each mode down into each section to discuss changes and my thoughts. The only mode I won’t be mentioning is Career Mode as it is unfortunately pretty broken at the moment, so I haven’t started playing it as I’m waiting for it to be fixed before I start a career.

Ultimate Team

FUT is arguably the most important component of FIFA, at least for EA that is. Ultimate Team is the real money maker within the game and it has seen several big additions in the past few years however, this year not much has changed in all honesty. The main addition are the Season Objectives which gives players challenges to complete throughout the season as they work towards a big final goal. This system takes the form of a Battle Pass and is tremendously hard to complete and the rewards aren’t really that great either. Its not a bad addition by any means, I just feel like it needs rebalancing to make it more beneficial for us players. Another big change came in the form of Friendlies which now offer several mini games which can be pretty fun. Mystery Ball is a good laugh, Headers+Volleys and survival are alright but the others are pretty boring in all honesty. The final major change comes in the form of the squad menus which look really good but fail to function in a sensible way. They’re not terrible but they’re not great either and they definitely take some getting used to. Overall though, FUT feels pretty good this year and EA are going to be making a few small changes soon which should relieve some of my frustration. Ill definitely be playing for the whole cycle and fingers crossed that we get some more awesome promo’s this year!

Volta

Volta is the new mode within FIFA 20 which replaces The Journey and aims to combine FIFA street and the traditional FIFA experience. Its essentially a street football mode which embraces the culture surrounding the sport and brings several new ways to play to the game. I’m sure you have all heard/seen enough about Volta by now so ill spare the details and just discuss my thoughts. I actually really like the mode and the way it’s been integrated makes me very excited for its future. The story portion is decent enough but not that long overall which is fine in my opinion. Gameplay within the mode is solid and being able to play the ball off the wall and complete some insane skill moves really sets it apart from the main game. Customization plays a big role in the Volta mode and I feel like it has been implemented in a way which is pretty fair for the player as things can be easily earned or grinded for. The one problem I have with Volta is its potential. As with most modes within FIFA, it could be so much more than it is, and I have absolutely no idea why they didn’t include a pro-clubs style section into the mode. That would be so good and they did say that it will be coming at some point but you just know that will be FIFA 21 as they wont earn any money by releasing a game update will they… Overall, it’s a solid new addition to the game and offers a different experience to what we’re used to.

Pro Clubs

Clubs did receive some attention this year but once again, nowhere near as much as it should have as it still feels like it could be so much more. We got a more in-depth character creator and a slightly rearranged attribute system. These two changes do add to the mode, but It should be much more than it is. Why can’t we create a club and grow it into a giant, not just our own players. Why can’t we manage and hire different CPU players for our team, building relationships and making our own stories with these characters. Pro Clubs could be massive if EA just gave it a bit more attention! Anyway, back to my actual thoughts, the mode is pretty fun this year and the gameplay doesn’t feel too bad overall. I would recommend trying out the mode as it is good fun and offers a break from stressful FUT.

Overall Impressions

Looking at some of the features present across the whole game, its easy to see why FIFA 20 is a solid entry into the series. The menus have a nice pink and white style which looks fresh and even features a small amount of animation too. The games soundtrack is solid with just two songs that I can’t stand (which is better than previous years) and several bangers. I loved the addition of a full Volta soundtrack which makes the mode feel fresh every time I go into it as I get to hear songs that I haven’t really heard yet. Overall then, the game is pretty solid. The experience has changed a fair amount this year with plenty of gameplay changes, a whole new mode and some smaller additions to some popular modes. I feel like these changes to warrant a purchase and depending on what EA do with the future of this game, I even think that this could be one of the best FIFA’s to date.

Grab a copy of FIFA 20 here - https://bit.ly/2Y6VupB