Is “FIFA 21” a sure shot goal or does it deserve a red card penalty?

EA Game’s “FIFA 21” was released for Playstation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch on Oct. 9, 2020, as part of the “FIFA” soccer franchise. Players that have purchased “FIFA 21” on the Playstation 4 or Xbox One will receive a free update to the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X version. Volta street-style football returns this year with all-new dribbling mechanics. This year’s cover athlete features 21-year-old Kylian Mbappé, a forward for the Paris Saint-Germain football club. 

Gameplay

Standard major league soccer is back, but the biggest change and appeal come from another style of soccer. Street soccer makes a big comeback in “FIFA 21.” Volta is the street soccer mode that has the player’s created character as a captain of a street soccer team. Players will play soccer in cities like Sydney, Milan, São Paulo, Dubai, and more. Whenever players defeat another team, the winner gets to choose a player from their opponent’s team. That mechanic is a remnant of FIFA’s other game mode “FIFA Ultimate Team.” 

The big addition of control mechanics is the addition to agile dribbling. Agile dribbling and gives players control with a new system that gives more tools against a defender.  Players can agile dribble by holding the R1 button and then using the Left Stick to control the player. Xbox players, however, use the RB button and Left Stick. Swift footwork provides players control and responsiveness that lets player’s keep possession of the ball in one-on-one engagements.

Graphics

The graphics are not as consistent as advertised. If you take a look at the image above, then you can see decent rendering and smoothness. However, take a look at this image:

Notice how the players look a bit blocky when the camera is expanded at a wide angle. Players take a few seconds to render outside of close-ups and highlights depending on the speed of the game. 

All of the game modes have the same issue with player rendering, but the physics are on point for generating tackles and ball control. Weather conditions can change the momentum of a game and how controlled players are affected. In some cases, the game may exhibit some increased sensitivity, meaning players may fall a lot easier when coming in contact with other players.

Verdict

“FIFA 21” is extremely fun to play. The Volta mode contained more features than last year’s Fifa, however graphic rendering is still a big issue. Attacking is awesome and defending is difficult to get used to, but overall the game is fun to play. FIFA deserves the yellowcard for this year because as fun as the game is it should be further along in the graphics department than it is. Spinnaker rates “FIFA 21” a 3.5 out of 5 sails. 

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