Piece improvements sit apart from the rest of FIFA
While these set-piece improvements sit apart from the rest of FIFA’s gameplay, there are also a series of changes right at its heart. These are the ongoing tinkerings that eventually determine the quality and longevity of the game in any given year; a careful balancing act of introducing the new without breaking the old FIFA 23 coins.
So, physical play has been rejigged, with the introduction of more free-will physics into player interaction. When players come together over or around the ball, FIFA 22 is better able to calculate the forces acting on each body. In practice this new physical play supersedes a lot of the dark arts jostling and guarding from last year--now, if you want to pressure a player with the ball, or shield the ball when in possession, you press L2.
I had trouble adjusting here. Playing a new FIFA for the first time is always an odd thing. Some changes which seem immediately gratifying turn out to be rather simple in the long-run, and other changes which don’t click immediately offer subtleties over time. All of which is, of course, a way of explaining why I was rubbish for my first few games of FIFA 22.
In FIFA 23 I use L2 for precision dribbling, slowing down play and turning away from defenders. Here, though, L2 would tangle me in physical confrontations, or at least get my player ready for one. The ball often felt stuck under my feet, and I found I couldn’t beat defenders with a change of direction or a quick turn over the ball. What I’m saying is, I don’t think my struggling is necessarily bad, just a measure of how big a change the physical play overhaul will be. And even as I struggled I enjoyed the new areas of play it opened up: stepping across players for blocking, over-the-ball tackles, finally being able to physically challenge keepers in 50/50 situations cheap FUT 23 coins, and holding off defenders under a high ball in order to bring the ball down rather than, as was always mandatory before, simply challenging for a header.
