The newest addition of FIFA brought gameplay mechanics that no other has had before for the newest generation consoles of Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 as well as PC.
The addition of ‘accelerate’ styles meant that players’ speeds would differ greatly when running with the ball. Controlled players would perform like a player on past editions of the game with their speed being consistent throughout their period of running with the ball. However, two new styles were introduced which made great differences in the gameplay and which players are most effective.
What has Changed?
Lengthy players would start at a slower speed, which would increase to a speed that players of other types could not reach. Explosive players began their run with great acceleration but slowed down quickly in their initial format. But with the most recent World Cup update these have been altered greatly and lengthy players have gone from being the ‘meta’ to being a much more balanced option alongside players of other acceleration types.
The update of course brought FIFA’s World Cup mode, which allows a player to play out the tournament on the video game; prior to the update, a squad filled with lengthy players such as Germany may have been the most likely winners of the game. But now Brazil led by pacey players such as Neymar Jr will surely be one of the strongest options. Currently, in the Canada World Cup odds, they are also the standout favorite to win the real-life competition offered at 4/1 at Bodog, and so the argument could be made that EA Sports have made effective changes to allow teams within the game to perform more closely to real life.
Brazil are in the house! 📸🇧🇷#FIFAWorldCup | @CBF_Futebol pic.twitter.com/pOaolD1N7v
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 20, 2022
Who are the best players now?
The update has seen many lengthy players that do not have the greatest acceleration and sprint speed attributes decrease in value on the market. Players that are not lengthy but possess great pace have rocketed in price and are now much more desired, but who are some examples of them?
Neymar as priorly mentioned is now where he should be in the game, he performs like one of the best players of all just like in real life for Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil. Another player hugely improved by the patch is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, he was always a goal machine when used correctly in the game, but now he is visually much faster within the game, and much harder to prevent from scoring – which is a problem defender in real life also face, due to his immense speed and power to shield the ball from their grasp.
Theo Hernandez’s out-of-position card is one that has skyrocketed in value since the update, his 95-pace stat which is one of the highest in the game, is now truly represented after the update. His ability to play a number of attacking positions means he is truly effective when getting in behind opposition defenses in the game, he can be deployed on either wing or at striker which is truly unorthodox for the player who will start at left back at the World Cup for France.
Another extremely effective player now is the newly released World Cup hero Saeed Al-Owairan, possessing 99 pace and incredible dribbling and shooting ability he now truly represents the iconic player that lined up for Saudi Arabia in 1994 and scored one of the most iconic World Cup goals ever against Belgium.
They’ve arrived, and just in time.
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) November 11, 2022
The first set of FIFA World Cup Heroes are now available in #FUT in #FIFA23. pic.twitter.com/EMJdPIQBGV
Some fans of the game will still have their complaints but no doubt EA has brought a strong balance now, star players of the present and past are effective within the game, and players with the lengthy accelerate style are still viable options but are not as illogically ‘overpowered’. Different styles of players are more beneficial in different areas of the pitch for different situations, and this is perhaps the closest the FIFA gameplay has ever mirrored the real-life game.