FIFA 21 Reviews
Stadia is battling with something as standard as FIFA 21, and that is honestly disturbing. It’s one more story of the greatest highs and the most minimal lows, and it spells further issues for the fate of the platform.
You know exactly what you are going to get with FIFA and FIFA 21 has some misses but a significant amount of hits. Player faces could be improved with some key players missing their actual faces but that’s only a minor point in the grand scheme of things. It feels substantially better than FIFA 20 and it’s definitely a game that will get a lot more game time from me than the previous title. There are still a lot of gameplay elements that need improving so hopefully, a patch will address them very soon.
The few positives do not outweigh the negatives. EA Sports continues to phone it in with the FIFA series while single-player gamers cry out for better options.
The lack of changes in FIFA 21 overall, particularly compared to FIFA 20 is telling. The iconic pairing of Martin Tyler and Alan Smith have been removed from commentary, and for what it's worth they may as well have taken the goalkeepers with them. Modes have had tiny incremental touches added to them which amount to very little more than quality of life enhancements. However, it cannot be argued that FIFA 21 is still a fun arcade experience bursting with a plethora of different modes whether it be FUT, Career Mode, VOLTA or House Rules.FIFA 21 hasn't re-written the wheel but it is fun, fast attacking football and hopefully EA have big plans to shake up the franchise next year for its true next-gen console experience.
If you think of it as a new FIFA game with small mechanical enhancements without expecting much, it's pretty good.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
“The beautiful game” is a phrase with a history that runs back to 1958. Football really has, for better or worse, the most passionate fans in the world. Those fans head out in their droves every year to buy the latest iteration of FIFA. Unsurprisingly FIFA holds the title for fastest selling sports franchise game series of all time. Every single year FIFA tends to face some harsh criticism. This is rightfully so when you consider last year’s Nintendo Switch offering reviewed by Harvey Fry here. The question is, do EA Sports really care about the gameplay and immersion into the football experience? Or, are they more focused on their bottom line, Ultimate Team micro-transactions and licenses? Well this year, I’m pleased to say comfortably, they’ve found a perfect balance of commerciality and customer experience.
FIFA 21 provides enough new content and changes to set itself apart from FIFA 20 but ultimately this feels like an entry that plays it safe. This is totally understandable; we are on the cusp of a new generation of consoles that will allow EA to take this series to the next level. Truly, it needs exactly that - the graphics and presentation are in dire need of an overhaul. Nevertheless, the bolstered Career Mode and gameplay balances contribute to this being a decent swan song for the current generation of football simulators.
FIFA 21 is not a bad game, but attitude of it's developers is bad. They are charging triple A prices for mediocre product, which is almost identical to it's preductor. Updated labels are just not worthy enough for buying.
Review in Czech | Read full review
FIFA, to no one’s surprise, remains the kingpin of sports and FIFA 21 is the best this generation has seen. Providing you’re not playing on Switch, of course.
In conclusion, we cannot say that FIFA 21 brought the changes we expected, especially since last year we wrote that we are looking forward to its arrival in the new generation.
Review in Greek | Read full review
So FIFA ends its run on this console generation as the undisputed champion of sales, and will probably remain that way for years to come. Whether EA will try to further innovate the actual game, or if they even want to remains unseen. eFootball PES continues to outshine it on a pure gameplay level, but without the flashy licenses and expensive bells and whistles many will be content to keep rolling with EA's juggernaut. FIFA is still a fun game to play and at times can still be addictive as anything. You just can't help but wish for those two or three major signings that would take it to the next level.
A victory lap for the FIFA franchise on current generation hardware, FIFA 21 manages to combine every positive addition to the series and triumph. Despite it skewing towards Ultimate Team and microtransactions, the on-pitch gameplay is the best it's ever been.
The big step forward remains missing but Fans of FIFA Ultimate Team will find a lot to love in this game. If you have waited for relevant new gameplay features, in Volta or the carreer mode, you should stick with the last two games.
Review in German | Read full review
There’s so much work to be done to make FIFA a viable contender again as a genuinely great sports game. The sad part is, I don’t think EA Sports really care anymore.
In the end, as a football fan, I can't find a better expression that synthesizes FIFA 21 than the shout for a goal that was disallowed by the referee.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
It is entertaining but not very unique Football game. We anticipate more news with new platforms.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Expect an even further expansion on this from their live content team as the year progresses, but do so with the understanding that at some point, you’ll be required to spend on top of the $60 you invested on the game itself just to keep up with the pack.
FIFA 21 is just kind of there. It's not bad, but don't expect any major changes from the last installment.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
FIFA 21 is not a huge leap forward from last year’s iteration. It does, however, take some strides forward and while not all the new features add to the experience in my opinion (I’m looking at you agile dribbling), these can be turned off in the settings. I do hope we see more gameplay additions in the next-gen version though.
Now though, EA Sports’ series really needs to be analyzed in regards to how and where it improves, and FIFA 21 is a mash up of incremental steps forward, baffling design choices, and seemingly ignored issues. It simply doesn’t do enough to make the overall experience significantly more enjoyable than it was last year.