FIFA 22 Review: Next Gen Gameplay is an ABSOLUTE game changer


FIFA 22's arrival is imminent, with many players already tucking into the game thanks to the EA Play trial - and many more ready for four days early access starting this week.

For those that are yet to get a taste of this year's game, we thoroughly recommend utilising the 79p / 99c offer for EA Play, granting you 10 hours of FIFA 22 gameplay to put the game through its paces.

We've written our First Impressions, conducted an early Review in Progress - and now it's time for our full FIFA 22 review.

After tucking into the various game modes, you should be very excited.

First Impressions

Gameplay is the fundamental aspect of any FIFA title, and after getting to terms with the new game's meta - which takes a little bit longer this year thanks to the new more realistic broadcast camera - we believe fans will be very pleased with what the EA team has produced.

That new camera angle, plus the ability to spread the ball to the flanks with ease, immediately makes you think this is more akin to real football rather than another arcade-like simulation.

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FEEL IT ALL - Regardless of the mode, you really feel the in-stadium atmosphere on FIFA 22

The 11v11 motion capture conducted by EA has worked wonders, with your forwards making more intelligent runs, your midfielders dropping off into space, and your defenders defending as a unit to quell the opposition attack.

For passing and shooting you can now afford to hit the ball a bit harder, although we are yet to master the tricks of the trade when one on one with the goalkeeper - especially in Ultimate Team.

Defenders can lose their markers from time to time, meaning that "sweaty" goals could be common until patched out, but it also does provide a realistic balance when crossing balls into the box.

Ultimate Team

This is where most players will spend their time, with Ultimate Team EA's flagship mode across FIFA, Madden, and NHL.

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WAIT AND SEE - FUT 22 hangs on its changes to Division Rivals and FUT Champions

It's still early days in Ultimate Team and there isn't anything too noticable in comparison to last year.

Preview packs, which were first seen halfway through FUT 21, will be a hit with fans - allowing you to see exactly what is in certain packs before you buy them.

More rewards are on offer in Division Rivals, which sees you pick up packs for playing matches, not just for wins.

It may need to be a touch clearer on how far you are away from the next division, and we are really interested to see how FUT Champions will play out thanks to the arrival of Play-offs and Finals.

Career Mode

We struggled to put the controller down after using the new Create a Club mode.

Whether you want to create a new super club or work your way up from the bottom of the football pyramid (this by far the better option), whichever save you create will be bespoke to you - and a lot of fun.

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CUSTOMISATION STATION - Kits are on offer from Adidas, Nike and Hummel

From the starting transfer budget to the make-up of your squad, to the look and sound of your stadium - you can do it all thanks to Create a Club in Career Mode.

Perhaps EA can go further with a £1 million starting transfer budget the lowest you can have is approximately £1 million more than League Two side Barrow spent in the summer.

Even when selecting the lowest standard of squad, the board still somehow expect £12 million profit in sales within the next two seasons, when League Two's Oldham recorded a net loss of £80,000 last year.

Despite this, it doesn't take away from the experience, and we felt for the first time we were utilising all of Career Modes features - from player scouting to training to the youth academy - because suddenly all became far more necessary due to the fact we knew nothing about our squad of generated players.

Volta

The arrival of Signature Abilities and the Skill Bar will be welcomed by the FIFA community in Volta, who really just want FIFA Street back in their hands.

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LEVELLING UP - Volta continues to move in the right direction

That said, the removal of last year's Volta Story is a shame, and has only been replaced by a short story when you open up FIFA 22.

A new arrival is some fun arcade games to play with mates - and it seems that Volta is starting to move in the right direction - but still don't expect your FUT die-hards to be turning over anytime soon.

Anything else?

We haven't moved onto Pro Clubs as of yet, given the lack of online play, but we will highlight it in the coming weeks.

It must be said, the overall "look" of the game with the menus is simply stunning, having the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Heung-min Son, Phil Foden, Sam Kerr, Alphonso Davies and Christian Pulisic appear and run off your screen is a nice touch.

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SHARP LOOK - The new menus will immediately grab players' attentions

Haptic Feedback with the PS5 controller works really well, especially when feeling the roar of your supports when you score, although the vibration of the full-time whistle may just be overkill.

Stewart Robson is Derek Rae's new partner in the commentary box, and as much as it is nice to hear a new voice, Robson may need a couple more years in the hot seat as his lines sound much more scripted.

FIFA 22 is a very strong game, and one fitting for Next Gen consoles.

From what we've seen so far, players should make the move for the new game, but in our opinion isn't quite worth the hefty £69.99 / $69.99 asking price on PS5 and Xbox Series X.

RealSport Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

We reviewed FIFA 22 on PS5.

FIFA 22 will be available on PS4, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Stadia from Friday, 1 October 2021. A Legacy Edition will also arrive on Nintendo Switch.

For more articles like this, take a look at our FIFA page.