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EA Sports FC 24 is our FIFA at its heart.
There are some changes but there’s much more realism to it and you can’t have almost-real and arcade-like gameplay together.
FC 24 is out, in Early Access. Thanks to a dedicated fan base and a FIFA player since 2002 in me, this EA Sports FC 24 gameplay review is a sneak peek into what it is and what it isn’t.
EA Sports FC 24 Gameplay Review: Early Access Notes
This review includes spoilers, opinions, and independent review excerpts.
Next-Gen Graphics
FIFA 22 brought in a new age of almost-real graphics powered by the FrostBite engine. With FC 24, we get the optimal version of it.
Characters show anatomical precision. Bellingham looks like Bellingham.
In short, this is the best-looking FIFA (nostalgia) yet. By a distance.
Even the UI’s revamped. Looks cooler.
And this comes to life even more when you start playing it. Read on.
New-Gen Realism
Striking the right balance between an exciting game and a realistic one is a thin line.
EA Sports’s been on either side of this line, and they’ve always come out better 2 times out of 3.
This time, they’ve poured in the latest tech to go heavy on realism.
HyperMotionV backed by Opta data has created ultra-realistic player animations and we are steadily approaching a blurred line between a real telecast and an in-game match, for the untrained eyes.
Some are complaining about a laggy UI and gameplay.
I remember dialing down on the graphics to get better fps and faster games on FIFA 22.
But – volleys, kicks, headers, bicycles, everything looks and feels realistic. The animations are spot on. The controls are satisfying.
Overall, FC 24 gameplay is a substantial upgrade over FIFA 23 when it comes down to immersion.
Rounded Meta
Let’s talk about a few returning features.
Controlled sprint is back. It’s a popular gameplay feature. Adds realism and opens to new meta. Doesn’t really make sense to either stand ground or accelerate in full.
Speaking of which, FC 24 brings more types of acceleration. We already had AcceleRATE in FIFA 23. FC 24 has improved on that with 4 new acceleration types.
| Type | Height | Agility | Strength | Acceleration | Agility vs Strength Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explosive (Pure) | <= 175 cm (~5’9’’) | >= 80 | — | >= 80 | >= 20 |
| Mostly Explosive | <= 182 cm (~6’0’’) | >= 70 | — | >= 80 | >= 12 |
| Controlled Explosive | <= 182 cm (~6’0’’) | >= 65 | — | >= 70 | >= 4 |
| Controlled | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Controlled Lengthy | >= 181 cm (~5’11’’) | — | >= 65 | >= 40 | >= 4 |
| Mostly Lengthy | >= 183 cm (~6’0’’) | — | >= 75 | >= 55 | >= 12 |
| Lengthy (Pure) | >= 188 cm (~6’2’’) | — | >= 80 | >= 55 | >= 20 |
This brings us to another enablement.
From now on, player weight matters a lot more and is directly linked to almost every player aspect including the play feel. It also applies to the whole game. Now, shorter defenders are snappier on the run but easier to push over for taller or stronger players when jostling, and vice versa. The controls are not straightforward, and the struggles will be tough, but fair.
This changes many key dynamics of the gameplay, from team building to match strategy to individual player movement – all hinting towards more realism at the core of FC 24’s meta.
A Big Load of Add-Ons
Firstly, you now get PlayStyles and PlayStyles +.
PlayStyles let you OP select players. So, you can add Power Shot to Haaland or Trickster to Gavi for serious advantages.
Replacing the Traits system, these specific attributes let you upgrade individual players and think long with them.
PlayStyles+ are available on select PlayStyles and let you access more fine-tuned and most importantly custom animations while executing those skills. + is more cosmetic.
This whole system trickles down to Ultimate Team.
FUT
Well, it’s not the FUT anymore. With FC 24, it’s just Ultimate Team. The FIFA adage is gone.
But everything is almost the same and sometimes change is not good. It’s great that EA Sports understands how fans want some things to be just the way they are.
To me, keeping the Ultimate Team setup almost identical barring the new PlayStyles system, the per-card progression grind, and a few more subtle upgrades, is a good call that will pay dividends for EA.
With PlayStyles, you can grind to build an Ultimate Team of your fav players, max them out, and compete against better default ranked players. So, Kvaratskhelia can be OPed into a world-class POTY just as much as Harry.
A Better Representation of Football
If there’s one thing that’s drastically different between FIFA 23 and FC 24 gameplay, it’s the concentrated effort towards (finally) bringing women ballers to the mainstream.
Not just in UT, FC 24 gameplay includes UEFA Women’s Champions League, Barclay’s Women’s Super League, etc. You can add female footballers to your UT, create mixed teams, and more.
There’s no female FC 24 career mode yet but FC 25 might.
FC 24 Gameplay Review
There’s a lot more that EA Sports could have done with FC 24, but I don’t blame them for the shortcomings – low fps, greedy Ultimate Team mode, old wine in a new bottle feels, and a few more.
As a fan though, I’m just happy it’s here and that it is an upgrade from FIFA 23.
With FIFA leaving the table, EA apparently spent more on marketing and licensing than they could have in actual fundamental gameplay development. It’s not that there is none, but the improvements read and look better.
FC 24 gameplay feels like a FIFA 23 that’s thinking before responding to your inputs.
Although these are early days and EA is sure to continue patching things over, FC 24 is below expectations but at par with reality. It’s better to have a new non-FIFA FIFA than none.
We are still in Early Access. I’ll add a more detailed FC 24 gameplay review in a few weeks. Happily though – It is in the game.
