Review: FIFA 23 is a last-minute winner as the final whistle blows on EA’s partnership

videogameschronicle.com:

It’s almost surreal to think that as of next year, the FIFA brand of video games (as we know it, at least) will no longer exist.

When the first FIFA was released on the Mega Drive back in 1993, the Premier League was in its infancy, the back-pass rule was a brand new thing and modern superstars like Neymar and Salah weren’t even born yet.

Now, with this 30th edition of one of the most successful video game series ever, EA and FIFA join forces one more time before going their separate ways.

The results within FIFA 23 are mostly predictable, though there are a few additions designed to freshen things up a bit. Despite this, it’s hard to shake the feeling that while this year’s game is another high-quality entry in the series, EA may be holding its best tricks back until it’s free of its long-time partner.

FIFA games always live and die by how they play on the pitch, and FIFA 23 will undoubtedly see the usual fanbase divisions, with some declaring the tweaks a breath of fresh air and others claiming it’s been ‘broken’, until everyone just gets on with it.

The main feeling is that 23 is a slower game, in that player pace isn’t as important as it once was. There are some instances where this isn’t the case – the new sprinting mechanic, dubbed ‘AcceleRATE’, gives some players a more explosive start while others take a while to pick up speed – but for the most part passing has been given greater importance this time given that it’s a bit harder to simply leg it past a defender.

Set-pieces have been given their umpteenth overhaul too, and this time we think EA has nailed it. In a sense it feels like a return to old-school FIFA, in that free kicks and corners have you moving a line to set the kick’s trajectory then using the right