In this review we will get to know the “new” FIFA 23 in its PC version the last chapter of the series before the name change
FIFA 23, the most anticipated sports video game in Italy and beyond, has finally landed on our gaming platforms. For years now there have been no major improvements in sight, especially as regards the PC version. The previous chapter, in fact, had left us somewhat stunned by the choice to adopt the old gen version. Almost any PC in users’ homes can safely launch this game, yet Electronic Arts had opted for a “version already born old”Compared to that of the counterparty PlayStation 5 e Xbox Series.
This time, however, the developers have understood the hint and have decided to release for all consoles the version current gen. Also we PC Master Race can finally enjoy the graphic improvements that go to modernize this series. But will this be enough to make us like the video game or are there any surprises yet to be discovered? Let’s start this FIFA 23 review for the PC version and let’s find out what innovations have been made and what still has remained, unfortunately, unchanged.
HyperMotion2 also exists on PC, but …
Yes, finally this technology also lands on PC. The long awaited HyperMotion Technology that should have landed with FIFA 22 on our computers, has finally arrived, albeit a year late. Obviously HyperMotion2 looks like the improved version of the one that was present in the previous chapter of the series. This technology is based on a capture and machine learning system used on real football matches for create more than 6,000 in-game animations.
Compared to the previous version which created better movements but still too far from reality, this one comes close enough. While getting closer, however, the usual imperfections always remain that wreck not only the immersion, but even all the physics present in the game. Obviously we will not see players taking off at three meters in height to intercept a cross, but most of the time we have seen the players thrown, literally, two meters away after a game contrast occurred almost stationary.
The main problem, however, we have with the goalkeepers. If last year, at least initially, they could be cataloged as real Superman, this year there is an excessively excessive weighting. Obviously we are not just talking about diving, but about general movements. Several times it has happened to us that the goalkeeper, despite the ball being kicked from a distance, launched with guilty delay, almost as if HyperMotion2 were to analyze the right movement to assign to the goalkeeper’s dive. Obviously such a thing is impossible, but actually in some situations the extreme defenders seemed slow and awkward in their dives in an excessive way.
Slow, but flawless – FIFA 23 review
We have tried this game in all ways. Each mode was weighed with the right parameters, but one thing most of all made our blood boil. The difficulties are objectively disproportionate both in one sense and in the other. Surely now you are thinking: “Well it is obvious that the first difficulty is very easy while the last very, very difficult”. In part yes, it is, and in part no.
Obviously the easy difficulties must be easy to favor those who are less experienced in the title and the difficult ones create the right challenge even for the most experienced. But precisely, they have to create a challenge, both in one sense and in the other. The levels must be set to create the right rhythm based on the user who uses the title. Here instead we notice an AI that goes from being little smarter than a zombie to a fusion of all the Greek, Norse and Egyptian gods combined. But let’s go in order and explain everything step by step.
Practically in the simplest mode of the game you can safely play with your eyes closed that you will not risk catching a network even paying them. It will be easy to observe inaccurate shots even at a distance of 1 meter from the goal and their goalkeeper’s level on set pieces will be really awkward. On the other hand, the more we increase, the more these parameters are reversed, until they become the exact opposite when we reach the last difficulty. In this case we will be able to see some eurogols that compared to Florenzi’s goal in Rome-Barcelona in 2015, the latter will seem a dull shot.
In fact, AI won’t get one wrong, from whatever position it is. We will attend shots that have little of real. Balls that will be lowered at the end just enough to pass over the goalkeeper’s hand and end up under the crossbar. Obviously, this improvement does not only concern the attackers, but all players in general who they almost become seers and anticipate our every move. This also applies to goalkeepers who, in case of penalties, will save every single shot, even the most angled and impregnable one. Precisely this is another sore point of this video game.
If we analyze penalties, we will notice how much the goalkeepers are made with little accuracy and realism compared to everything else. The dive of the extreme defenders in fact seems to be divided into two distinct phases: the moment of loading for the momentum and the flight phase. In the first we notice the usual heaviness to which we are now used to after so many hours of play, while in the second they turn into real jets ready to intercept the ball. Furthermore, we only have these movements if we guess the trajectory of the ball. In fact, when we will be displaced, the goalkeeper will not even hint at launching and will simply lean towards the selected side looking at the ball, without even mentioning a little grebe.
Small changes in gameplay – FIFA 23 review
Therefore, although there are some downsides that we have just described, a good job done to update the last chapter of the series (from next year it will change its name) is that done on set pieces. These are only small improvements that, however, significantly change the style of play; the path taken is abandoned to have a slight return to the past, especially as regards free kicks and corner kicks.
A welcome return that improves some mechanics that in FIFA 22 had gone irremediably worsening. Let’s go in order and start with free kicks. Let’s face it straight and round, the widening target made life impossible for many. The return to the good old line, although it is not synonymous with absolute precision, does not absolutely affect our shooting, even if it makes the game slightly more arcade than it should. However, the timing mechanics have been maintained, although it is not always active on free kicks.
This change was also implemented on corner kicks, making the cross simpler and easier to evaluate for the beater. A different remodeling, on the other hand, was made to penalty kicks which were quite impossible to beat if the appropriate tutorial was not done. Now I am much more intuitive and easier to kick. You will always choose the direction with the left stick, but this time the accuracy will be dictated by a holographic circle on the ground that will close on our ball. The smaller the latter, the more accurate our kick will be.
Also there FUT mode received gods as small as significant changes. The links, those lines that connected the various players, and the team understanding have been removed, all to make the new understanding system easier and more intuitive. For more details, we refer you to our guide that will explain you any changes made to this system.
But the technical sector? – FIFA 23 review
Let’s now move on to the most crucial point of this FIFA 23 review, which is the technical sector. We tested this title on two different computers: the Acer Nitro 5 (the 2022 model) and an assembled computer. The latter is equipped with the following components:
- Operating system: Windows 11 64-bit
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 3900X
- Memory: 16 GB in RAM
- Video Card: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
As you can see, both in one case and in the other the recommended specifications have been significantly exceeded, so during the game phase everything (almost) it is smooth yarn. While we haven’t encountered any major glitches and graphics bugs as in past seasons, the game still created some major problems. Nothing striking is clear, but it still risks compromising the general experience.
First of all there are gods not just audio problems with commentary that, although the previous match felt perfectly, in the next it was absolutely absent. We have not found effective solutions in the settings menu; the only alternative was to close and restart the game. During the commentary we found a point that could be revised by the developers. The rumor that introduced the news from other fields was somewhat metallic and robotic and it was very out of tune with that of the commentators. Unfortunately, this immediately brought us back down to earth, making us immediately remember that we are on a video game and we are not watching a real game.
To want to be picky, even the menus have not undergone major changes, resulting practically a copy paste of the previous chapter. On the other hand, the soundtrack that accompanied us during our test was good as always and also the reactivity of the players seems to have improved. However, greater reactivity is also accompanied by a more gameplay “this”Who prefers team play to individual games.
So is it worth it?
We have reached the end of this FIFA 23 review and it is therefore time to take stock. The title as always turns out to be the best around as far as the simulation experience is concerned. Much of the credit also goes to technology HyperMotion2 which finally arrives on our PCs after a delay of a year compared to the latest generation consoles. HyperMotion2 returns movements more faithful to realityalthough this is not always fully respected.
The new chapter finally he prefers team play more than solo actions. In fact, it will not be possible to start with a defender, dribble all the opponents and finish at the net as in some editions. To get to the bottom it will take a lot of team play, especially at high difficulty. Right here, however, we encounter the usual problems, with an AI that becomes infallible and gives us shots that Oliver Hutton and company could only dream of. Even the goalkeepers are exalted in this case, passing from being heavy statues to being flawless defensive missile systems.
Instead they seemed to us very good changes to the set shots that simplify the mechanics, giving even the less experienced the opportunity to …