Returning for its annual release, FIFA 21 looks to bring a fresh batch of new updates to the seminal soccer experience. However, the build-up to FIFA 21 hasn’t exactly been the smoothest, with the team behind the title encountering several heated controversies and making some polarizing decisions.
Recently, the game was accused of promoting gambling to minors after advertising microtransactions in a kids’ magazine, while EA also told players that there wouldn’t be crossplay in any of its various releases. On top of all that, longtime fans weren’t convinced that FIFA 21 was adding any significant gameplay changes, complaining that the title looked almost identical to last year’s FIFA 20.
In anticipation of the game’s official release date on October 9, critics have finally shared their thoughts on what the next entry in the FIFA franchise is actually like. With a number of publications weighing in on whether this iteration of FIFA is the best to date, it’s worth taking a look at the general consensus of some of the industry’s biggest names. So, without further ado, what are critics saying about FIFA 21?
Forbes (Brian Mazique)
“FIFA 21 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. However, flawed execution in VOLTA, a lack of customization and no traditional franchise mode for EPL or La Liga keeps it from being a classic.”
Score: 8.25 / 10
GameSpot (Richard Wakeling)
“Career mode is still a mixed bag, then, but it’s reassuring that EA has made some additional moves to try and freshen it up. If you do grow tired of simming through training sessions and managing sharpness, FIFA 21 is still chock full of other stuff to do, whether you want to head to the streets of Paris to show off your skills, hop into Ultimate Team with a friend, or play through a season on Pro Clubs. This is a substantial package that’s propped up by exciting gameplay that puts the onus squarely on attacking football. There are moments of frustration on defense when the balance doesn’t feel quite right, but then you’ll go down the other end and score a Puskás Award contender that makes you forget why you were mad in the first place.”
Score: 8 / 10
Game Informer (Jason Guisao)
“The graphics and gameplay of FIFA 21 deliver fun and functional football, but its ambitions don’t extend far beyond that. Over time, the grinding leads to burnout and boredom, and the gear and rewards you’re working so hard to obtain are rarely satisfying enough to make the chase worthwhile. Nailing the fundamentals is important, but it takes more than that to be a real winner.”
Score: 7.75
IGN (Simon Cardy)
“Through small tweaks and refinements, FIFA 21 plays as well as it has done in recent memory, but lacks the relatively big features that are usually used to justify a new version of an annually released game. Attacking is fun and fluid, defending is a real challenge and an art to master, but goalkeeping leaves a lot to be desired and the AI is inconsistent in several ways. Career Mode has received small enjoyable additions but has not seen the overhaul I’m still wishing for and feels like an opportunity missed, while Volta still struggles to prove its relevance. All in all, FIFA 21 is a year of small improvements with much to enjoy, but little to shout about.”
Score: 7 / 10
Screen Rant (Rob Gordon)
“FIFA 21 is certainly a better game than last year’s entry, with more fun general play and specialisations between game modes that are long overdue. However, between the franchise’s never-ending controversies and the same old face models outside of the big teams, it does feel an awful lot like its predecessors. Hopefully, the next gaming generation will see a more bold progression.”
Score: 7 / 10
Dualshockers (Ricky Frech)
“FIFA 21 feels like a game with a ton of potential that’s being held back by its engine. Konami decided to take the year off and switch to Unreal. I can’t help but feel like EA really needs to do the same. For all the bells and whistles the team adds every year, the on-field product leaves so much to be desired.”
Score: 6.5 / 10
The Telegraph (Dan Silver)
“For now, though, FIFA 21 plays a very good game and it’s clear the devs have been paying attention to criticism. Headers appear to be effective once more and off the ball movement has seemingly been rebuilt from the ground up, with two new mechanics attempting to address the deficiencies of team-mate AI. The first lets you manually direct runs with a flick of the right stick. The other allows you to take direct control of a runner by pressing in both sticks at once and then timing the return pass as normal. It’s tricky to master and feels a bit like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time but does introduce a welcome set of skill-dependent attacking options.”
Score: 3 / 5
Eurogamer (Wesley Yin-Poole)
“Fun football with plenty of goals, but the grubby business of selling loot boxes lets the side down.”
Score: N/A
Overall, it seems FIFA 21 is a bit of an underwhelming next step for the annual soccer behemoth. While Konami decided to let PES take some time on the bench this year, offering a large update instead of a whole new release, FIFA’s decision to roll on and release its yearly entry means it doesn’t quite have the additions to make a full-price purchase worthwhile. Many noted the lack of major features to really sell the game, while others claimed that the egregious microtransactions made for a more frustrating experience.
That being said, it seems FIFA 21 does work on the fundamentals of the game, making small improvements which critics largely seem to be pretty happy with. As it stands, the game is currently sitting at a relatively mixed 73 on Metacritic, although the score is likely to fluctuate over the coming days. For comparison, last year’s FIFA 20 managed to bag a 79 overall, while FIFA 19 score slightly higher with an 83.
It’ll definitely be interesting to see how the game’s next-generation ports stack up, with EA confirming that there would be versions of FIFA 21 available for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Fans will have to wait to see whether the enhanced versions are more impressive, with EA confirming that they’ll launch at an as of yet unspecified date later this year.
FIFA 21 releases on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on October 9, with support for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S planned.
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