FIFA 21: Latest Metacritic Review Scores and Ultimate Team Mode Tips

If you have EA Play, you've probably already dipped your toes into the FIFA 21 early access period as it opened up Thursday. If you don't, then you've waited until now to lace up and put boots to pitch.

This year, the career, Ultimate Team and Volta modes are all back and revamped to varying degrees. For some slight aesthetic improvements at a more detailed level, some more players' faces have been appropriately scanned, and minor animations, like adjusting shin pads, have been tossed in. 

Here, we'll look at some of the reviews from experts and players found with Metacritic's aggregation, followed by some tips for the ever-popular Ultimate Team mode. Since EA didn't allow anyone to officially review the game prior to its release date, one can expect these early reviews to be complemented by more extensive analyses as fans get time to sleep on their experience with the title.

Metacritic Reviews

While its early expert reviews are fairly positive, FIFA 21 marks the fourth year in a row that the game's expert Metascore has dropped (looking at PlayStation 4 specifically, as it has the most reviews available). FIFA 17 hit an 85, but modest drops each season have left the EA title's newest title at a lukewarm 73. 

On the hotter side of things, Forbes' Brian Mazique gave the game an 83, explaining that the game "delivers most of what I'm looking for in a world football title, which tends to be the story every year. It features solid-to-strong gameplay, attractive visuals and a good variety of options."

At the opposite end, DualShockers' Ricky Frech gave FIFA 21 a 65 and expressed general disappointment: "FIFA 21 feels like a game with a ton of potential that's being held back by its engine. ... For all the bells and whistles the team adds every year, the on-field product leaves so much to be desired."

All things considered, the majority of reviews seem to fall somewhere in the middle. Most critics seem satisfied by this title, but anxious to see some legitimate improvements with the next generation of consoles.

Ultimate Team Tips

Like FIFA 20, Ultimate Team chemistry is crucial, and prioritizing one of the game's 22 chemistry styles can amplify your playstyle and bring the best out of your roster. Unlike FIFA 20, you no longer need to worry about tedious fitness or training cards.

Those maintenance and upgrade items have been done away with entirely in FUT and instead been replaced with fun stadium-based upgrades in the mode's packs. With this year's edition, you can actually customize your own stadium (fan chants and all), so get ready to slowly but surely upgrade your arena and set a perfect ambience for your team.

What you should be spending more energy and coins on, rather than your stadium cosmetics, is upgrading your roster. While securing managers and keeping chemistry in mind can be key early on, there is one roster trick that appears to be paying even fatter dividends this year: buying and selling players based on real-world performance.

FIFA fans have been noticing that some players have been doubling or tripling in FUT price on the open market following goals and big performances in the real world. An easy example is Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins, whose FUT price went up seven-fold following a hat-trick against Liverpool on Sunday. 

With people so eager to purchase the virtual avatars of those players they're seeing produce on television, savvy FUT managers can therefore invest in guys whose form they trust in upcoming matches and then sell those talents at a premium.