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FIFA 23 (PS5) Review
Developer: EA Vancouver / EA Romania
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Genre: Sports / Football Simulation
Release: 2022
FIFA 23 is the final entry in EA's long-running football series to use the FIFA name before the transition to EA Sports FC. Building on FIFA 22, it expands the football experience with HyperMotion2, improved gameplay, women's club football, cross-play, new shooting mechanics and significant additions to Ultimate Team.
On PS5, FIFA 23 delivers a polished and visually impressive football simulation with a huge amount of content. While the core experience remains familiar, the combination of improved animation, more realistic physicality and expanded modes makes it a substantial final entry in the FIFA era.
Gameplay & Mechanics
The core football remains the game's biggest strength.
FIFA 23 builds on the HyperMotion technology introduced in the previous year's game, with HyperMotion2 providing more realistic player movement, animations and physical interactions.
The result is a more authentic-looking match experience. Players react differently depending on their momentum, positioning and physical attributes, while collisions and challenges generally feel more dynamic.
One of the most noticeable gameplay additions is AcceleRATE, which gives players different acceleration profiles. Fast players don't all reach their top speed in exactly the same way, making pace feel more varied.
Shooting also receives improvements, including Power Shots. These can produce spectacular finishes but require more time and accuracy, making them risky to use in crowded situations.
Set pieces, passing and dribbling have also been refined.
Strengths:
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Excellent overall football gameplay
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HyperMotion2 improves movement and animation
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AcceleRATE makes player acceleration more varied
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Power Shots add another attacking option
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Strong passing and dribbling mechanics
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Physical battles feel more convincing
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Players have noticeably different characteristics
Weaknesses:
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Some animations still look awkward
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Defensive AI can be inconsistent
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Goalkeeper behaviour can occasionally be frustrating
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Certain matches can feel overly influenced by the game's animation system
Career Mode
Career Mode remains one of the strongest traditional single-player options.
Manager Career allows players to manage an existing club or build their own footballing dynasty. The ability to create a manager and customise the club provides additional flexibility.
The Playable Highlights system is particularly useful for players who don't want to play every single minute of every match. Instead, you can take control of selected important moments and simulate the rest.
Player Career also receives improvements, allowing greater control over player development and personality.
The overall structure remains familiar, however. Transfers, scouting, training and squad management provide plenty of content, but the underlying management systems aren't as deep as a dedicated football management game.
For players who enjoy building a team over multiple seasons, there is still a considerable amount of content here.
FIFA Ultimate Team
Ultimate Team continues to be one of the main attractions.
The introduction of FUT Moments provides short challenges that reward players for completing specific scenarios and objectives. Chemistry is also significantly changed, allowing greater flexibility when building squads.
The revised chemistry system makes it easier to combine players from different leagues, clubs and nationalities without being as restricted by traditional positional chemistry links.
There are also thousands of players, special cards, objectives and squad-building challenges to work through.
The downside is that Ultimate Team remains heavily focused on continual progression. Players are constantly encouraged to improve their squads, complete objectives and chase new cards.
For dedicated FUT players, this provides an enormous amount of content. For players who simply want to play football, the mode can feel unnecessarily complex.
Women's Football
One of the most important additions is the expansion of women's football.
FIFA 23 introduces women's club football, including the Barclays Women's Super League and Division 1 Féminine. This significantly expands the representation of women's football within the game.
The addition is more than a cosmetic inclusion, as women's teams receive their own leagues, players and competitions.
This also complements the inclusion of women's international football, providing a more comprehensive representation of the sport.
Multiplayer & Cross-Play
FIFA 23 expands multiplayer functionality with cross-play, allowing players on compatible platforms to play together.
This is particularly useful for friends who own different consoles within the same generation.
Online Seasons, Pro Clubs, Ultimate Team and other multiplayer options provide considerable variety.
Pro Clubs remains especially enjoyable when played with friends. Creating and developing a Virtual Pro while competing as part of a club provides a different experience from controlling an entire team.
Online gameplay can still be affected by connection quality, latency and inconsistent player behaviour, but the expanded multiplayer functionality is a major advantage.
Final Verdict
FIFA 23 is a fitting conclusion to EA's FIFA-branded football series. Rather than completely reinventing the formula, it takes the foundation established by FIFA 22 and expands it with HyperMotion2, AcceleRATE, Power Shots, women's club football and cross-play.
The football itself remains highly enjoyable. Players feel more individual, matches look more natural and the combination of tactical play, passing, dribbling and physical battles creates a satisfying simulation.
Career Mode remains a strong choice for traditional single-player fans, while Ultimate Team provides an enormous amount of content for players who enjoy squad building and long-term progression. The addition of women's club football and expanded multiplayer further strengthens the overall package.
It isn't without problems. AI inconsistencies, occasional awkward animations and the familiar progression-heavy approach of Ultimate Team remain noticeable. Career Mode could also have benefited from deeper management mechanics.
Even so, FIFA 23 is an impressively comprehensive football game and a strong final chapter for the FIFA-branded era.
Score: 8.5/10
