FIFA 23 in the test: Unfortunately not EA Sports’ hoped-for masterpiece

The best, the biggest, the most beautiful FIFA ever! In the run-up to the release of FIFA 23, publisher Electronic Arts did not hold back with superlatives. On the one hand, that’s a little understandable, after all, such a small era ends on September 30th: After 30 years, this year it will be the last football simulation from EA Sports that bears the iconic four letters on the cover . Of course you want to say goodbye with a big bang. On the other hand, such grandiose promises naturally fuel enormous expectations that it is better not to disappoint. Otherwise the emotional farewell tour will quickly turn into a real PR disaster.

So how does “the last FIFA of all time” fare? We spent dozens of hours on the virtual pitch, tried out all the important innovations and revealed in the test: That’s how well EA Sports manages to conclude its football series.

More power in shots and tackles

Let’s start with the first promise: Is FIFA 23 (buy now ) the best fifa ever? For this we take a look at the gameplay and the most important new features. Above all, the new Power Shot stands out positively. If you hold down the two bumpers and the shot button at the same time, you now charge a particularly crisp shot. It almost reminds me a little to Captain Tsubasa. And some of the hits you get with the mechanic are really TV-worthy too!

At the beginning, however, it takes a little practice to even get the pill on the goal. The power shots are controlled manually. So you have to aim very precisely, otherwise you will shoot the ball onto the stands. In addition, the charging animation is relatively long. So you should be careful not to be blocked by an opposing defender. With the new hard tackle, they have the opportunity to go into a duel with even more bang.

Fire-free! The Power Shots are one of the most fun new features in FIFA 23.

Source: PC games



There was also a notable revision for all set pieces. For corners and free kicks, you now use the left stick to rotate the camera, a preview line shows roughly where the ball could land. You then use the right stick to determine where you want to hit the ball. For example, you can put a little spin on the ball with your outside instep and circle it around the wall. Or you pull corners sharp and flat on the first post.

For penalty kicks in FIFA 23, you’ll see a pulsating circle around the ball that gets smaller and smaller. If you shoot at exactly the right moment, all you really have to do is decide on a corner. The game then automatically places the ball between the posts. So you can’t go completely wrong anymore. That’s almost a little too easy.

Now this is pod racing Football!

But of course that doesn’t mean that FIFA 23 isn’t challenging. Thanks to Hypermotion 2, a whole bunch of new animations have found their way into the game, making the movement of your kickers even smoother and more realistic. Of course, that also has an effect on the feel of the game: it’s slower and more cumbersome compared to last year – even if this sentence is now a little overused in the FIFA scene. Sprints and dribbles have been nerfed. Especially when changing direction quickly, you can feel how the player first has to slow down and then accelerate again. So you can no longer turn wild circles around your opponents.

In terms of play, FIFA 23 offers perhaps one of the best experiences we’ve had in recent years. Finally, more is being asked of you than simply getting through to the fast winger with a through ball and then running past the opposing line of defense towards the goal on your own. Finally, what’s happening on the pitch feels a little more like football: tactically shaped, with a clear focus on passing and combination play, which requires patience and precision.