FIFA 23 Review: Barely Even Trying
FIFA 23 — out now worldwide — is the last football game from EA Sports to bear the FIFA moniker. With the global footballing body demanding a pretty penny for renewing the licence, Electronic Arts has decided to tear up the contract altogether. But as it was going to expire in late 2022, around the time of the Qatar World Cup and in the middle of FIFA 23's run, EA and FIFA have had the common sense to extend it for several more months. This ensures that the new (and last) FIFA game won't be rebranded midway through the season to the awkwardly and laughable choice of “EA Sports FC”. That's still set to happen next year, starting with FIFA 24 — I mean, EA Sports FC 24 — so be prepared for the memes to follow. For now, there's calm and consistency.
New-gen is also pulling away from previous-gen when it comes to visuals. While the graphics are basically the same as FIFA 22 on PS4 and Xbox One, there's more detail in the pitch on FIFA 23 with PS5 and Series S/X in comparison to FIFA 22 on the same platforms. That said, the daylight grass feels over-sharpened — almost as if the texture and sharpness have been turned up to 11.
And not just in the title — there's consistency on the pitch as well. (I played FIFA 23 on a PS5 and an Xbox One X.) There's very minimal difference between FIFA 22 and FIFA 23, as long as you're comparing on the same platform generation: PS4 + Xbox One, and PS5 + Xbox Series S/X. Unless you're on PC, in which case EA has upgraded you (after ignoring PC gamers last year). While FIFA 22 PC was clubbed with PS4 and Xbox One, FIFA 23 PC is now on par with PS5 and Series S/X.
The differences from previous to new-gen are more pronounced though. Thanks to HyperMotion 2, “machine learning”, advanced match
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