EA Sports FC 24 is No Revolution. And That's Actually Great

You could say that I've been playing FIFA since I was born. Ever since I can remember, I've been sitting on a chair next to my dad, bravely fighting an unequal fight against a much better opponent who was 25 years older. Over time, the situation changed, the duels became more equal, but each new edition of FIFA meant hundreds of hours with a controller in hands. When I found out a year ago that it was the end, that there would be no more FIFA, I must admit I was quite surprised. The dust has finally settled and now I'm familiarizing myself (probably just like you) with EA Sports FC 24.

Thanks to an invitation from EA Sports, I was able to participate in a special event promoting EA FC 24 in Amsterdam. I had the opportunity to play the no-longer-Fifa for a few hours, talk to the developers, YouTubers, pro gamers, and see what it all looks like behind the scenes.

My first gameplay impressions are positive, because I received more or less what I expected. The implemented changes are what this series has long needed. However, I am convinced that many of you will be surprised, because on streams or video content, EA FC 24 doesn't look impressive and at first sight, it hardly differs from its predecessor. However, most changes are not immediately visible.

5 years of designing to achieve this

The biggest positive change in FIFA 23, in my opinion, was that physically larger players became more playable. Even though they couldn't run fast. The introduction of AcceleRATE running styles has led to the biggest equalization of opportunities in the history of the series, between sprinters like Kylian Mbappe and slower players like Edin Dzeko or Romelu Lukaku.

In EA FC 24, developers decided to go one step further and instead of 3 types of AcceleRATE, we now have 7. In my opinion, it was necessary because the players who benefited the most were the extremes, while the "middle-of-the-road" players, who didn't fit into either of the mentioned types, lost a lot. Robert Lewandowski wasn't agile enough to be described as "explosive," but he dribbled too well to be counted as "lengthy." In EA FC 24, intermediary styles were implemented, thanks to which Lewandowski, for example, has a chance to get into the "mostly lengthy" category. Of course, it means that he won't get as big a bonus to his speed as with the "lengthy" style, but he'll still move faster than his pace would indicate.

A lot has also changed in terms of animations. From the first minutes of the presentation, it was clear that the players were moving around the field differently, better, and perhaps even more naturally. The same goes for the ball's movement, which up to now has been rather predictable and happened to break the laws of physics while shooting.

It turned out that an improved HyperMotion technology with a V (for "volumetric") is behind the much more enjoyable ball simulation. It differs significantly from the previous HyperMotion. This time it is not based solely on motion capture (which has been the industry standard for nearly 20 years), but instead relies mostly on AI algorithms that scan player movements from real games. It allows to create an almost infinite number of new animations. This explains the 590 million animation frames, as they didn't just record a special match in a rented stadium, but read data from real games.

I asked Samuel Rivera, the man responsible for gameplay and match experience at EA Sports, for details about the most important elements of the game for me. He revealed that it took the team almost five years to develop and implement the technology from scratch. According to him, such a solution greatly accelerated the process of implementing animations in the game, as almost everything that had been done manually until now could be entrusted to artificial intelligence. He said that in addition to animations, HyperMotion V also allowed to render the shapes and proportions of the world's best soccer players with full realism for the first time. This means that individual physical characteristics, such as musculature, length and shape of arms or legs, are now almost perfectly rendered, based on scans performed by AI.

Realism above all?

Sam also gave me an answer to a question that probably bothers many of you: will women be able to challenge men on the field as equals? The answer is: it will be realistic. When it comes to shoulder-to-shoulder duels in EA FC 24, height, weight, and body build will play a major role, so it's gonna be harder to play as women against men. Physics are merciless, and an athlete standing 6 feet and weighing 150 pounds could push through, for example, a massive defender like Virgil van Dijk who measures 6’4” and weighs over 200 lbs.

However, all other aspects of the game in mixed line-ups will be much more balanced, because all actions like shots, passes, dribbles, and crosses will depend on attributes. This means that a female athlete with a pace rated 90 should easily outbid a male opponent with a pace of 80 (assuming that they have the same running style). I see a certain consistency in this, and if I were to bet my money, I would say that you'll find much more female players on the wings and in the attack than in other sections of the field.

Slower means better

Although all of this may sound quite complicated, probably the best testament of these changes are my impressions from the gameplay proper. A year ago I wrote that FIFA 23 in the beta version was much faster game than FIFA 22. The final version of the game turned out to be a bit slower, but still seemed faster than the previous part. With EA FC 24, I was expecting the same, but as soon as I sprinted, I felt something completely opposite – the game slowed down.

EA Sports FC 24 was slowed down to such a degree that my thoughts sometimes ran into the future faster than my players could execute the actions. It's not just about the speed of the players, but the gameplay itself. The realistic ball movement means that it moves differently than before – in my opinion just slower. The same goes for animations, which are more complex, so they also seem somewhat less dynamic. Keep in mind that I played the pre-beta version, but it seems to me that the developers specifically slowed down the pace of the base gameplay, because the Ultimate Team will very soon feature sprinters with "maxed out" pace stats.

Playing with probably the fastest player in the game – Kylian Mbappe – I didn't feel the gap in pace between him and other footballers. Sure, breaking away from the defenders was incredibly easy, but it wasn't a matter of sprinting half the field at full speed, because a player like Kyle Walker wasn't lagging behind the Frenchman at longer distances. This may sound strange, but I feel that long-time fans of one dead soccer video game series will perfectly find themselves in EA FC 24. That series is… Pro Evolution Soccer.

EA also boasted at the presentation that Frostbite engine responsible for the game's visual layer received a major overhaul. EA focused on lighting, the looks of players and more realistic crowds. All of this, however, is most visible on replays, as I didn't notice most of these changes myself during the games, except perhaps for the slightly more attractive lighting, especially at night.

First and foremost – Ultimate Team

For years, the most important feature of the FIFA series (today EA FC) has been the Ultimate Team multiplayer module. The same goes for EA Sports FC. Developer focused very strongly on expanding it. The company has added an option to upgrade the cards that are present in the club (Evolutions), they have simplified the way of changing positions, which will no longer require additional cards, and the icons have finally received a bonus to chemistry, which was sorely missed in FIFA 23.

In my opinion, the most important move in FUT mode is, however, the addition of so-called "play styles.” These are new special skills, developed in collaboration with the Opta analytical company, that allow us to customize players to our preferences. They don't directly affect in-game stats (they don't raise the level of any skills), but instead allow you to unlock new, unique animations or simply improve the effectiveness of certain plays, e.g. refined shots, headers, accuracy of centers. In combination with traditional game styles (chemistry styles), they can make a really big difference and according to what EA says, even a slow forward can be made quite fast. An average dribble is able to significantly increase the effectiveness of feints with the appropriately selected combination of play style and game style.

Remember, however, that play styles won't be represented by purchasable cards, but rather arbitrarily awarded by EA. The best players (or those in special versions) will have improved play styles +, which should influence the gameplay even more. I don't know about you, but this reminds me of the special skills (badges) from the NBA 2K series.

Well worth the wait

Well, okay, there are new features, it's fun to play, but is there any point in spending more than 60 bucks on a game that isn’t FIFA anymore? Of course, it depends on how much you like sports or football games, but in my opinion – it is worth the money. In terms of gameplay, this is an evolution of solutions from the really good FIFA 23. The new animation system seems fresh and appears relatively free of bugs, which makes it much better than a year ago with FIFA 23.

I also suspect that Ultimate Team will be even more engaging than before due to dozens of different activities. During the conversation with the developers, I also learned that innovations, such as so-called "evolutions," are not focused on microtransactions and are intended to create a better balance between players who pay for packs of cards and those who don't want to spend more in addition to those $60 (although I don't think it will help much in narrowing the gap in the quality of squads in Ultimate Team).

I'll also frankly confess that my excitement for this title is now reaching its peak, especially in view of the fact that FIFA 23 is practically dead and I don't really want to play it after interacting with the much better, new EA FC 24.

I only have the silent hope that the developers will not speed up the gameplay in the full version, and you will find out about this from the review when the game’s out.