The weeks ahead of the release of a newFIFAtitle is always a season of high hopes and hyperoptimistic promises from EA Sports, the game’s developers. Fans are eager to see something that’s even remotely innovative after years of releases that have not really improved upon the sport sim’s tried and true formula.
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This is not to say thatFIFA 21was a bad game. Quite the contrary - it’s a great football sim, and a big part of why players have seen so little changes in recent years is the fact that EA’s competitors don’t even come close toFIFA’slevel of quality. However, there is still plenty of room for improvement across the game’s most popular modes.
8Add More Modes For Volta
The Volta mode was first introduced to theFIFAfranchise inFIFA 20and became an instant hit with football fans all over the world. It is a spiritual successor to the cult classicFIFA Streetgames of the late 2000s, with smoother controls and improved graphics.
Thanks to the extremely entertaining gameplay and fast-paced matches, fans fell in love with EA’s version of street football. Unfortunately, one common complaint was that there weren’t enough online modes for gamers to really sink their teeth into Volta. The inclusion of a highly competitive mode that resembles the main game’s Ultimate Team formula would surely keep people playing Volta for long, long hours.
7Make FUT Less Invasive
While the competitive nature and addictive gameplay loop of improving one’s team with better cards and competing for the highest honors in FUT Weekend League are definitely the highlights of theFIFAseries, the Ultimate Team mode can get a little exhausting with time.
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One of the culprits behind that is the invasiveness of FUT. Ads for the in-game events and pack offers can be seen inFIFA’smain menus, and sometimes, a pop-up window will directly encourage players to try out Ultimate Team. The gacha mechanics implemented in the pack opening system don’t help, either. Easing off of pressuring players to play FUT will surely benefit the game as a whole, as well as the Ultimate Team mode itself.
6Add New Animations
EA Sports has already announced that they will beimplementing new technologyto the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions ofFIFA 22, with a brand new “Hypermotion Technology” being used to reimagine the movements of players on the pitch. Fans hope that this also means the abandonment of the buggy, unpredictable Frostbite engine used in the previous titles.
Hopefully, the Hypermotion Technology will improve player animations, especially in tight-knit situations, where a mistake or bug could mean the difference between a goal and no goal. Fixing animations will make the gameplay feel more responsive without many tweaks, as bugs related to animations were the main culprit behind gameplay fluidity issues in the latest iteration of the franchise.
5Remove Toxic Mechanics From FUT
Nearly everyFIFAplayer plays Ultimate Team, and nearly every single one of them hates it for all of the toxicity surrounding the game mode. EA Sports should be quicker to ban users who insult, threaten, or discriminate against other players mid-match, as well as implement better punishment mechanics for rage-quitting and abandoning matches, as some users (especially on PC), have figured out ways to get around the existing ones.
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Of course, a lot of FUT’s toxicity comes fromFIFAitself, as the pack-opening mechanics and the encouragement of buying packs have ramped up in recent years. This became a serious issue for some players since they feel like microtransactions and the gacha-like pack system have been prioritized over a high-quality user experience.
4Redo The Commentary From Scratch
InFIFA 20,Martin Tyler and Alan Smith have been replaced by Derek Rae and Lee Dixon as the default commentators, but the in-game commentary continued to suffer from the usual problems: awfully repetitive phrases, not enough range to accurately cover everything that happens on the field, and dull, insufferable periods of silence when playing as some of the lesser-known teams.
EA Sports has already announced the introduction of Alex Scott (the first female commentator inFIFAhistory) and Scott Robson as new additions to theFIFA 22commentary team. Hopefully, it will be followed by the announcement of an expansion of recorded commentator lines and phrases to make it less immersion-breaking than it was inFIFA 21.
3Bring Back Stadium And Staff Options In Career Mode
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Upgrading one’s stadium and staff would make players' skills develop faster, allow the club to sell more tickets, and attractmuch better talentto the team. These upgrades add so much more depth to the career mode without being too difficult to implement. Due to their removal and the overall lack of focus on the game’s offline modes, many players have turned their backs onFIFAaltogether. Bringing some of these old mechanics back would surely motivate these gamers to give the franchise another chance.
2Fix The FUT Marketplace
Trading players on the massive Ultimate Team marketplace has comprised the bulk of player interactions inFIFAever since the Ultimate Team mode was introduced to the game. For those who don’t spend money on packs, buying and selling players on the market with FUT Coins is the only way to assemble a star-studded team.
Unfortunately, in recent years, the FUT marketplace became riddled with bugs, delays, and failed transactions. As FUT’s popularity grew, the trading system failed to keep up with the sheer amount of coins and cards that get exchanged every single minute. Tweaking that system to adapt it to the massive scale of the market is a surefire way to improve the user experience of all FUT enthusiasts.
1Bring Back Alex Hunter
The introduction of a story mode inFIFA 17took many players by surprise. After all, character development, cutscenes, and family drama aren’t exactlyassociated with sports games. Taking control of Alex Hunter and his footballing career turned out to be a very fun and rewarding experience, though, and fans were excited to continue that journey in future releases.
Unfortunately,FIFA 19was the last time players got the chance to step into the fictional football star’s shoes. It didn’t have to end there, though. There were plenty of potential storylines to follow, and most players were in agreement about the story mode being a great getaway from the high intensity of otherFIFAmodes.
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