Fifa 22 has brought with it a whole host of new features, with the likes of the new ‘Create a Club’ for Career Mode helping to give the game a badly needed injection of life after the staleness of the past few editions.
There have also been several tweaks made by EA that have helped the game stand out as one of the best competitively, so why not check out Gamelevate’s take on the 5 reasons why Fifa 22’s gameplay might just have SAVED the series.
The Slower Pace
One of the most noticeable changes in the gameplay between Fifa 21 and 22 is how much slower the pace feels this year.
With this being the first game in the series to be released for the next generation of consoles in the Xbox Series X and Playstation 5, it’s clear that EA have tried to move things on from the stale arcade-styled type of gameplay the Fifa community had become accustomed to over the years.
According to various reports and leaks, the introduction of Hypermotion Technology has allowed EA to program in over 4,000 new animations, slowing the general gameplay down somewhat, but also eliminating the overpowered pace and skill move spamming styles of play so commonplace in the likes of Fifa 21, 20 and 19 especially.
Also, a slower-paced game gives an injection of viability to players in the game without the top-level stats that most Fifa players have historically been priced out of, giving Fifa 22 a much more level playing field competitively.
Added Realism
As the go-to title for the best immersive soccer experience, there’s a lot of pressure on EA to provide the sports gaming community with the best amount of realism possible.
And whilst things had grown a bit stale with Fifas 20 and 21, 22 has been released with several changes to provide the most amount of realism ever seen in the series. The AI has been tweaked to be more intuitive, and the introduction of the explosive sprint have both helped make this edition feel far more like an actual simulation of the beautiful game than ever before.
Improved Goalkeepers
Fifa has never been known for having the best goalkeepers, with even the likes of Manuel Neuer and David de Gea feeling capable of dropping a clanger.
Fifa 22 has addressed that, however, with there being a noticeable buff to how good goalkeepers are in the game this year. On top of the new animations that allow keepers to make more saves than most players are used to, the bar has been raised further for competitive players with goalkeepers being given substantial buffs to their positioning and decision-making.
Whilst goals are what every soccer fan loves to see, the improved goalkeeping AI in Fifa 22 has single-handedly addressed one of the biggest complaints most fans of the series have had, whilst also helping to keep things realistic with lower scorelines.
Better Passing
The slower pace of the gameplay in Fifa 22 and the influx of new animations have also helped the edition feel like a breath of fresh air when it comes to passing the ball.
Teammate AIs have been tweaked to be more intuitive with when and where they should make their runs, opening more channels and giving players better options with the ball. Attributes now feel far more impactful than before as well, with Fifa 22 rewarding players who study their team and take note of the perks and traits their squad have; for example, a player with a strong long pass now feel much better at performing long passes than most others in the game.
The Little Tweaks
EA have garnered a ‘rinse and repeat’ reputation, with some in the community claiming that the company simply pumps out the same title every year with the bare minimum included helping the title stand out from the one that came before.
However, aside from the plethora of new features in Career Mode and Ultimate Team, there have been many small tweaks thrown in by EA in Fifa 22 that have genuinely gone a long way in helping the game feel more like its own thing.
Examples like referees performing drop balls, the stadium announcer being from the same country in which the team is playing in, or greater attention to how certain players react to on-field events have already had a huge impact on the overall enjoyment of Fifa 22 so far this year.
