Booting up the pre-release version of EA Sports FC 24, I was strangely excited and curious to find out what was waiting. I’ve played every FIFA since about 2010 so, despite being more taken with some and less with others, there’s always been a degree of certainty about what you’re going to get from a new one. Sure, there’ll be upgrades and tweaks, but seasoned players know what to expect. With EA FC 24, there was little of that.
I was immediately reassured by the menus (bear with me). The FC 24 logo comes up first, clean and minimalist. The more I’ve thought about this branding and name change, the more I’ve liked it. Especially as the largest portion of the player base (myself too) spends most of their time with Ultimate Team, recent FIFA iterations have felt more and more like building your own football club. What better name than FC, then?
Because it was such an early build I got hands on with, there isn’t much I can say about many new features – they weren’t tangibly there to explore or uncover. I can, though, talk about the new UI and UX. EA made a big deal of this during the official Amsterdam reveal, confirming the overhaul of the streaming-service-like blocks in favor of a retro and quaint text-based menu system. It’s clean to look at and, while there were few options for me to get bogged down in, it was quick and responsive too.
The only teams playable were Man City and PSG, thrashing it out against a typically excellent looking Champions League backdrop. No FIFA license, no problem. I was a little disappointed with the Team Management section. It was absent of any major changes from the FIFA 23 one. I’m well aware of the mantra “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” but I had expected tweaks based on the UI changes and the adjustments coming to Career Mode in the form of pre-match reports, match specific training and Tactical Visions. Perhaps Kick Off won’t get these improvements (a shame for us old-timers who still like to battle friends from the same couch) or perhaps they just weren’t in the build I had access to. Either way, I got the typical satisfaction from seeing the new transfers in-game, throwing Mateo Kovacic into my midfield to dictate the tempo. Into a game I went. Or so I thought.
For FC 24, EA has dialed up the realism in the form of detailed and beautiful pre-match cutscenes. I saw Pep Guardiola geeing up players in the dressing room in front of a convoluted tactics board (knowing Pep, he’s just devised a new 1 at the back system in which Haaland will star). I saw the players limbering up before heading out onto the pitch. Hell, I even saw a few patting each other on the back encouragingly, presumably to ease the nerves of the youngsters ahead of the big UCL match. I’m not convinced these pre-match details will be for everyone. I can see some players shrugging and spamming X/A to jump through and get to the game. It’s why we’re all here isn’t it? I’m not so sure. I really enjoyed the detail and the effort that’s clearly gone into them. We’re here for the football, yes, but the football is the players and the managers and the occasion and the fans and the stadium – as well as the football. FC 24 seems to know that and tap into it accordingly.
When playing, the default pitch and graphics look slightly more zoomed out than in past titles. It’s not just that; the players appear slightly smaller and the pitch slightly bigger. It heightens the precision I felt I needed to play with, whether I was weighting a pass out wide, timing an over the top ball or pulling players back as the CPU countered. It also slowed the general pace of matches down. Admittedly, I’m currently accustomed to late-stage FIFA 23 Ultimate Team in which all my players are 90+ OVR. The change of pace was nice though, adding to the realism and giving me ample time to put thoughts into what I was asking my players to do. I even pulled off a new precision pass — it was with Kevin De Bruyne, he probably did most of the work — setting my Erling Haaland free in a way we’ve seen in real-life many times.
This is where I noticed the Hypermotion V impact. Sam Rivera, speaking at the game’s reveal, highlighted that Frostbite will aid how the game looks, PlayStyles aid how it plays and Hypermotion V how it moves. The V stands for volumetric, with EA’s new technology letting them mimic hundreds of animations for specific players. When my Haaland was tearing after the ball, I knew it was him by how he moved. The tall, powerful, languid style shone through, even in the pre-release build I was playing. The likeness was – and I’m not being hyperbolic here – astounding. It was Erling Haaland.
Similar nuances have been present in the past, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s unique running style easily identifiable in past FIFAs. This did feel tangibly better though. Where I’m curious to learn more is the extent to which it’s been implemented beyond the biggest names. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not expecting EA to have analyzed and implemented specific running styles and body shapes for 20,000 different players. Part of the appeal of EA’s football games, especially Ultimate Team, is picking up and falling in love with a random player from a team I’m not especially familiar with. Their boosts make them viable in-game. They won’t make them stand out aesthetically though, so I’m hoping the Hypermotion V has been added broadly so as to make different players feel and look different, even if they’re not one of the world’s best.
There’s also welcome changes to set pieces – most notably corners (I think I only took one or two free kicks in my time so far). FIFA 23’s were slightly lacklustre, turning quickly into a hit and hope exercise. Too close to the goal and the opposition keeper was bound to claim it. Too far from the goal and my player’s pathetic header wouldn’t trouble anyone. They were more precise than FIFA 23’s, giving me more scope to place it where I wanted and move attackers accordingly. Here’s hoping they feel that way against real-life opponents too, with the classic ‘bring the keeper and snuff out the danger immediately’ tactic a gameplay aspect that certainly needs to be left with the FIFA moniker.
Those were the changes I noticed most in my fleeting time with FC 24. It’s not that nothing else is worth a specific mention, it’s that it’s still the reliably enjoyable and smooth football experience I keep coming back to. Some might be disappointed there’s not a complete overhaul and redesign of the match engine. I don’t think it was ever going to be, though. EA’s FIFA series has its issues – microtransactions, I’m looking at you – but it’s long been a fundamentally good footballing experience. FC 24, based on what I’ve experienced so far, builds on that by ratcheting up the immersion, spectacle and specifics. I’m eager to get back in already and play more. It’s why we’re all here isn’t it?
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