FIFA 23 Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos, Features, Career, FUT and More

FIFA 23 is a farewell of sorts as the football powerhouse undergoes a transitional phase not unlike the series' continuing shift to next-generation consoles.

While the series will continue after this year's release, it will do so under the fresh "EA Sports FC" banner in the wake of EA's' 30-year partnership with FIFA coming to an end.

Evolution might be a better word as Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappé shares the various covers with Chelsea star Sam Kerr, the latter making her debut alongside Women's Club Football's debut.

That's one of the many new features and upgrades planned for FIFA 23, and the overall package has created the hype-filled hope that this is very much more than a standard annual upgrade.

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Gameplay

Longtime players will feel the changes coursing through a match of FIFA 23 right from the first kickoff.

The game throws many of the upgrades under the HyperMotion2 umbrella and credits extensive motion-capture and machine-learning technology for the changes to on-pitch interactions, physics and more.

A wealth of new animations enriches the experience. The big highlight is the major variance and better control over the transition between dribbling and shots. The end of a shot, be it a header, goalkeep or something else, feels more natural than past years, when everything felt like pre-canned animations.

Pre-release material also trumpeted upgraded physics that impacts how individual limbs impact the ball. Those new quirks are notable, especially on goalkeepers depending on whether they interact with a ball with their arms, legs, torso, etc.

Even something as small as the different ways footballers now begin a sprint and reach top speed is impressive. How that happens now hinges on the pressure of the trigger pull, defenders and the individual animations baked into each on-screen player.

Dribbling feels notably re-tooled too, with the player's character better reacting to the position of the defender. Another small—but rather big—tweak comes in the form of better camera angles and functionality on corners.

The arrival of Power Shots is a fine addition. But the risk-reward for a highlight-worthy play might be something players simply opt to avoid unless widely alone on the pitch.

It's clear that droves of new set pieces and more realistic-feeling behavior from opponent A.I. plays a huge part in making this game feel quite different than last year.

But it also excels in the fundamentals, often in response to longtime player feedback. A great shot indicator really helps players see where an attempt will go and new passing options help compensate for the improved defense. There are also new fake shots that can especially give human opponents problems when deployed well.

It all combines to make FIFA 23 feel distinct and, in most ways, improved. There is a bit of a learning curve that might have even seasoned players eyeballing lower difficulty settings at least momentarily, but that's a small price to pay for a better-feeling football experience that is, most importantly, great fun with solid balancing and pacing.

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Graphics and Presentation

FIFA took a big step forward last year in immersive presentation in large part thanks to the stronger technology behind the new consoles. That included highlights such as wow-worthy physics behind things like jerseys, nets and hair.

But the series also took innovation as a way to move the experience forward. The prime example was the refreshing new camera angle that permitted better viewing of certain passing lanes and fresh names in the announcing booth.

FIFA 23 capitalizes on that foundation with a push toward atmosphere that works really well. Something as simple as all new audio that pairs with pre-match cinematics outside of stadiums leans into this nicely. In-stadium crowds are also clearly upgraded, with more realistic mannerisms and an emphasis on showing a bigger variety of NPCs with fewer repeats.

The presentation also steps forward in terms of gameplay. A revamped replay system doesn't just show off cool angles and the wow-worthy graphical detail. It also takes the opportunity to throw in new overlays that provide interesting, if not useful, information about distances, shot powers and chance percentages.

The pitch itself is also a bit of a star under the new changes. Not unlike a racing game's track wear as an event continues, the pitch now becomes notably worn as a match continues, especially in places where players slid or tackled (or did a sliding celebration, even).

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Career, FUT and More

FIFA 23 won't surprise players in that the usual-suspects game modes remain top dog.

Career, be it the player-based path or manager-based path, offers attention-worthy updates to better and deepen the experience.

On the solo front, last year added a lot of personality and RPG-like skill trees to invest time. That takes what feels like another organic step with the introduction of a Personality engine.

The to-the-point summary is players will need to make choices on the pitch and off it to better align with one of three personality archetypes. Doing so and earning points in these areas leads to further upgrades and bonuses. It's a nice touch given that players needed to project themselves onto their created characters a bit in the past, whereas this lessens some of that in favor of more in-game player choice.

This year there are more ways to play, such as the presence of the new Playable Highlights.

It's all in the name: During a simulation, the game will prompt the player to hop in and play a key moment of a match. Impressively, it's not just "hey drop in and take this shot," either. There are a robust number of different highlights to play, such as solo runs, free kicks, corners, throw-ins, etc. And for purists who don't have the time to actually play a full match, it's nice to choose this route, play a key role and still have realistic full-match numbers for the career mode.

Players also have the option to assume control of a real-life manager as opposed to a created one, which is again another nice step toward giving players more agency over their experience and international football as a whole.

Because after all, this career mode builds on a strong foundation and returns all of those in-depth systems from past games. The result is two rather distinct modes that could command a player's entire attention despite plenty of other modes to check out.

One of those, of course, is FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT). The collect and build mode returns with a few very important tweaks in the name of improving the experience.

FUT Moments is a fun, if not predictable, addition given the similar addition to career mode. It's a single-player experience that offers quick moments to play for experience and is a nice tutorial of sorts. In a nice twist, rewards tie nicely to the chosen difficulty level, so it can be fun to go back and re-run them as a player improves. It's also comforting to know more will roll out with future updates and seasons.

But even that solid addition feels tiny compared to FUT's big change—the overhaul of the chemistry system.

Gone are the days when only certain stars could form chemistry with certain positions. The game drops the restrictions notably so that all positions can form chemistry. It doesn't stop there, either, as stars now boast multiple secondary positions.

It's an important step in the right direction for the game mode as it opens up club-building options dramatically. We'll see how it impacts the online side of the mode, but more freedom to build dream clubs in a game that advertises as such is never a bad thing.

That said, a new "Stars" currency still feels grindy, and even those changes probably aren't going to win over players who just don't like these sorts of modes.

What should help the overall experience, though, is the arrival of crossplay for head-to-head modes on same-generation platforms. That should only help the player counts, plus the transfer portal remains as one very populated market across all platforms.

Women's Club Football finally makes its debut and loops in clubs from the England's Women’s Super League and France's Division 1 Arkema to great effect, with all of the gameplay and presentation upgrades present. It's certainly a nice start for a mode that should rapidly evolve from here.

Pro Clubs and VOLTA FOOTBALL, the co-op modes of simulation and arcade variety, respectively, return and don't feel majorly overhauled, though VOLTA does offer new arcade games to experience.

What's more notable than flashy headlining items is that these co-op modes have moved closer together than ever with this release thanks to the arrival of shared progression. That's a boon for players who felt past iterations were too grindy and a smooth way for players to work on their created avatars in new ways.

Finally, a new Training Center mode acts as a strong onboarding process for new players. There are helpful tutorial videos to watch before lessons, plus drills and challenges to tackle. It's a mode other sports games should frantically look to emulate as onboarding new players who then enjoy the series for a long, long time is a no-brainer.

Like in past years, there is a borderline overwhelming number of options players are free to tweak, whether it's basics like general settings, difficulty modifiers or outright strategic deployments and lots more. The game runs well and gives players more freedom than most, as they have come to expect.

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Conclusion

A quick verdict? It's hard to call FIFA 23 a mere standard annual release.

There's simply too much going on around and within the release to classify it as such. If last year was the first truly next-generational-feeling football title, this is the upgraded follow-up that resets the bar.

That's the result of a game pushing for even more player agency, smoother player onboarding and a steady, organic evolution of both gameplay and its various in-depth modes.

More important than anything, FIFA 23 is a blast on the pitch for veterans and newcomers alike, and the game feels notably fresh in these areas because of the utilization of that next-generation tech.

It's not easy to overcome the hurdles FIFA 23 does, but topping what was the best sports title of last year is arguably the most impressive feat. For another year, there isn't a sports title that matches what FIFA 23 accomplishes here, and it's impossible not to be excited about where the series goes next, no matter the name.