The latest entry in the long-running FIFA series has recently hit stores, and, as is often the case with EA Sports' flagship title, the reception has been mixed. The Xbox Series X iteration of the game has a decent Metascore of 78, though the User Score is currently at a brutal 2.4, which is quite impressive considering a couple of points lower would presumably be just a disc snapped in half.
Although the general perception of FIFA is very low at the moment, there's a reason as to why it's so popular, and there have been a handful of universally agreed positives about the latest title.
8 Didn't Love: Career Mode
Every time a new FIFA game is announced, there are many fans who eagerly await news about improvements to the single-player modes, with a particular interest in a revamped Career Mode. Unfortunately, FIFA 22 follows the long trend of releases that treat Career Mode like an afterthought.
EA have implemented a few changes to Career Mode, including a new option for players to create their own team, though by and large, the mode remains very similar to previous releases. This is a great shame, as many people don't like the online or pay-to-win elements of the ever-expanding Ultimate Team mode, which continues to be pushed as the series' main feature.
7 Loved: Visuals
Unsurprisingly, FIFA 22 continues its trend of offering spectacular visuals to compliment the gameplay. The wide shots of stadiums look particularly nice and are now at the point where it can be hard to differentiate it from real life.
Along with the stadium shots, the players continue to look fantastic, and the officially licensed kits look as brilliant as ever. Sure, a game's visuals will always be secondary to the gameplay, though it's hard not to be encapsulated when the match day cutscenes start rolling.
6 Didn't Love: Heavy-Handed Microtransaction Implementation
As touched upon before, microtransactions are back and are just as morally questionable as before. During the build-up to the game's launch, there was some hope of improvements to the pack opening system, as it was announced that players could look into a pack before opening it.
However, this has had made very little difference as only some packs can be previewed, and even so, people will be just as tempted to buy the pack to see what's in the next one. Realistically, EA won't be stopping microtransactions unless they're legally forced to, as the company confirmed in its 2020 annual report that it made an eye-watering $1.62 billion across its various Ultimate Team modes.
Consequently, EA continues to push the microtransaction element of Ultimate Team, ensuring that the mode is well and truly "pay-to-win".
5 Loved: HyperMotion Technology
Thankfully, FIFA 22 isn't completely devoid of new features. HyperMotion Technology was one of the most heavily advertised features in the build-up to FIFA 22's release, and it thoroughly lives up to the hype.
By motion capturing an 11 vs. 11 game with players wearing Xsens suits, EA were able to implement over 4000 new animations into FIFA 22, which lived up to its promise of offering more intensity and physicality to each and every game.
4 Didn't Love: Absence Of A.I. Fouls
One difference in FIFA 22 that not many would have seen coming is the bizarre absence of A.I. fouls. For some reason, it is very rare that players find themselves taking a penalty or freekick when playing against the computer, as the A.I. almost never commits a foul. In fact, fouls are so inconsistent in FIFA 22 that a player could complete an entire Career Mode season and be able to count on one hand the amount of direct free kicks that they took.
Although the absence of fouls helps the game flow better, it is entirely unrealistic, and frustrating for those who enjoy taking free kicks and penalties. For those who want to implement more fouls into their game, turning handballs on is the simplest way.
3 Loved: More Balanced Gameplay
Aside from the lack of fouling, the overall balance of a match in FIFA 22 is far better than before. EA finally seems to have ironed out many of its most significant issues to create a match experience that feels far more akin to the real thing than before.
This is particularly the case with how much more action takes place in midfield, instead of the Basketball-like experience from some previous games. Moreover, goals are now scored in a huge variety of ways, differentiating FIFA 22 from other games in the series where there's often one optimal goal-scoring method.
Granted, there are still issues, but FIFA 22 offers by far the best gameplay in the long-running franchise up until this point.
2 Didn't Love: Legacy Edition
It's worth taking the time to mention the Legacy Edition of FIFA 22, as clearly EA couldn't care less about it, so someone has to. FIFA 22: Legacy Edition is the Nintendo Switch iteration of the game and, as described on Nintendo's official website: "will feature the same gameplay innovation from FIFA 21 without any new development or significant enhancements."
Believe it or not, this is the same statement (aside from the games' titles) that has been said about FIFA 21: Legacy Edition and FIFA 20: Legacy Edition, so yes, FIFA 22: Legacy Edition's gameplay is based on FIFA 19. The joke about FIFA games being glorified roster updates is quite literally the case for Nintendo Switch owners.
FIFA 22: Legacy Edition currently has two reviews on Metacritic, a 20 from IGN, and a 20 from Nintendo Life; truth be told, these could be considered generous.
1 Loved: Pace Is Less Overpowered
One gameplay issue that was synonymous with the FIFA series for many years was how overpowered pace was. Players simply needed to select players with the best pace stats, regardless of their technical abilities, and watch them rush around the pitch, scoring goals for fun like human Rocket League cars. This issue got to the point where players would play full-backs as center backs to help try and combat the strength of through balls to quick strikers.
Like in real life, fast players are still a great tool to have in FIFA 22, though the abilities of technical and defensive-minded players have become far more essential, making teams more well-rounded and realistic.
FIFA 22 was released on September 26, 2021, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia.