FIFA 22 review: morally bankrupt monetisation lets the side down once again

I’d say I sound like a broken record but at this point I may as well chuck out the record player. FIFA 22 is a game with plenty of solid improvements, but it is – once again! – let down by morally bankrupt monetisation.

FIFA 22 reviewPublisher: EADeveloper: EA SportsPlatform: Played on PS5Availability: Out now on PS5, PS4, Xbox, PC and, in legacy form, on Nintendo Switch

I’m going to start with the good news because I like to kick things off with a positive. FIFA 22’s gameplay is a crowd pleaser. It’s slightly slower, more considered, with less emphasis on ridiculous skills and more emphasis on passing. It is a reaction to FIFA 21’s high-scoring fun, which by the end of that game’s life had become something of a joke within the hardcore FIFA community. FIFA 22, then, plays harder.

That is to say, it’s harder to score and harder to win for a raft of reasons. The goalkeepers are much improved. In one-on-one situations they’re all prime Buffons, with an annoying habit of getting a hand to shots from inside the box that would almost always go in in last year’s game. There are some new animations for the keepers and you’ll see them quite often. They’ll reach across with their strong arm to save shots now, and pat strong shots to the ground before gobbling up the ball. Defenders with low pace are more viable because they have a habit of blocking shots and passes in the final third. They feel stronger, too.

The players are at the heart of this new, weightier feel, which is certainly an improvement over last year’s hyper-ball, but sometimes it feels like they react too slowly to your commands. There’s a new Explosive Sprint (R2 / RT) mechanic but I find it barely makes a difference. Players seemingly take an age to pass or shoot after you’ve pressed the button. Playing FIFA 22 can sometimes feel like getting 11 tiny oil tankers to run after a pretend football.

FIFA 22 Ultimate Team | Official Trailer Watch on YouTube

New animations come into play here. There are some lovely additional touches players make when controlling the ball, bringing a high pass down, for example, before spraying it out wide. Lofted passes are more effective this year, and the ball physics for these passes looks more realistic. Through balls – either in the air or on the ground – are an early favourite of mine, particularly for playing in a forward from the wider parts of the pitch. Driving into the box and simply shooting isn’t as effective. It’s early days, but so far I’ve found there’s joy to be had from working your way towards the box from the wing for a potential cutback goal. That or a finesse from just outside the area.