FIFA 21

Even though the Career Mode offers a good bit of options and control, the focus still feels like it is on VOLTA and FUT in terms of game modes even though neither mode changed much. FIFA 21 is a great soccer experience for those who don’t play these types of games often, but the limited mode selection and the overall feel of the game will leave a lot to be desired for yearly fans.

On the pitch, FIFA 21 is an incremental improvement over FIFA 20, but doesn't address some of the biggest issues with defending and the high-scoring matches this leads to. With Volta still missing a certain spark and Ultimate Team not really changing much, it's the Football Manager-inspired Career mode that takes the biggest step forward. It's still a good football game, but it feels like the real focus is on next-gen.

FIFA 21 is an often great football game packed with content and modes. The few gameplay tweaks that are here make for a better overall experience and keeping Volta around adds some variety. Sadly, the redesign of career mode focuses on the wrong features and feels like a wannabe Football Manager without any of the depth.

FIFA 21 is entertaining, but the constant grind can make progression a slog.

This is a substantial package that's propped up by exciting gameplay that puts the onus squarely on attacking football. There are moments of frustration on defense when the balance doesn't feel quite right, but then you'll go down the other end and score a Puskás Award contender that makes you forget why you were mad in the first place.

Through small tweaks and refinements, FIFA 21 plays as well as it has done in recent memory, but lacks the relatively big features that are usually used to justify a new version of an annually released game. Attacking is fun and fluid, defending is a real challenge and an art to master, but goalkeeping leaves a lot to be desired and the AI is inconsistent in several ways.

The moment-to-moment action may be better than last year's game, but this is nothing more than a glorified roster update. Only Career Mode fans have reason to celebrate.

Getting excited about the annual release and then it falling to pieces has defined FIFA's current-gen performance. There's genuinely hints of a better future here. However, like Manchester United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, you can file it under "fun" and "cautiously optimistic" with the note that it is likely to crumble at some point in the season.