Fifa 21 on PlayStation 5, the analysis of the improvements of the next-gen version
Fiat Lux
Let's go by saying that Electronic Arts has not set up an ad hoc engine for the transition to the next-gen: on the other hand, the Frostbite is quite recent and changing it would not have benefited the development timing of a game engine that, free from any criticism that we can grant to pro players and to those who surf the hundreds of hours of gameplay already after a month, has paid off.EA's intention with the landing on PlayStation 5 was to start groping the water in which to go to im to emerge shortly thereafter, going to work a lot on lighting: we know how important it is at the directorial level to have the right light and therefore the work done to improve the technical performance could not but start from that aspect. As redundant as it may seem, the ultimate goal of Fifa 21 is to enhance realism even more, going to work a lot on the turf: you will find yourself noticing the lighting effects right on the pitch, especially when you find yourself on those lands that make someone turn up their noses and that are divided into vertical lines, alternating between light and dark.
Before you can even enter the field, however, Fifa 21 offers you a few more scenes, to immerse yourself even more in the context of the game. Emulating those graphics that have now become SkySport pre-game practice, the intention of Electronic Arts is to lead you step by step inside the sports facility, before kick-off: for this reason you will also have a scene with the teams that get off the bus and approach the changing rooms to wear their social uniforms. Small additions that do not hurt and that make you appreciate even more the immersion work that EA wanted to recreate.
Obviously attached to this aspect we could not expect a refinement on the details of the players, to make them even more recognizable and to solve some ugliness that we found ourselves having during the last patches (how many of you happened to find yourself with Manolas and Gomez suddenly without hair?). Many faces have been modernized, starting with Lionel Messi, but Fifa has decided not to add new ones, focusing only on those already present.
Face improvement is also about the decision to propose more sensible hairstyles and more appreciable, starting with the hair of Neymar Jr., who now no longer has a birds nest positioned on his head, but something more concrete and enjoyable to the eye. And that justifies the money spent by his hairdresser. It is obvious, in any case, that these aspects do not stand out to the eye that focuses during the match, whose goal is to skill and arrive at the goal as soon as possible to finish on the net: the replays will be happy to support you.
Hear and see football
Fifa 21 on PlayStation 5 also brings with it a new shot, which we imagine will be difficult for players to appreciate, especially during the hectic online challenges. It is a view that takes the field with an isometric positioning, which tries in vain to emulate the footage of SkySport. Unfortunately, if scenically it can also make sense, in a single game we realized that managing the perspective in this sense does not help: if it is already sometimes difficult for us to guess the direction of a long ball that cuts the whole field horizontally, with this new view we noticed that it was really difficult even to face a one-on-one. Unfortunately, a similar proposal on PES had not met with great favor from the public, ending there too with a skeptical feedback that prompted users to not care too much about a novelty that can thrill those who pursue the scenic aspect of the races, not those instead he doesn't go for the subtle and prefers a coarse technical rendering with the aim of favoring the gameplay.It is clear that from the point of view of PlayStation 5 we also expected results from DualSense. If in titles like The Pathless and Immortals we found ourselves living with haptic feedback, we couldn't expect less from Fifa 21. Having such a technology available allows the player to feel the ball with his own fingers according to the action performed: whether it is a stop, a pass, a shot, moreover the most surprising aspect is linked to the hemisphere of the controller that will vibrate, because if you act with your left foot you will find yourself hearing the feedback with your left hand and vice versa. An aspect that should not be underestimated in the relationship between player and DualSense, also allowing you to have immediate feedback on the action you have taken and which will come in handy from a gameplay point of view.
Not least adaptability of the dorsal keys, with the grip that will learn from the game when to force you to press more and when not. It goes without saying that here the remapping of the keys works in your favor, but if you find yourself using the standard configuration you will notice that pressing the R2 button for the sprint will become much more tiring at 85 'for the attacker who ran ahead. and back all over the field. A defect? It cannot be deactivated.
In short, Fifa 21 on PlayStation 5 takes those small steps forward that we would have expected from a transitional title that transits from one console to another. We are sure, as we had already had the opportunity to say during our review of the base title, that with Fifa 22 we will have the true expression of the next-gen we were waiting for, with Electronic Arts that will surely be able to provide us with improvements worthy of the name. Meanwhile, we can continue to admire the DualSense technology, which allows us to become even more attentive to the dynamics of the game and to look less at the graphic interface, which will give us some visual feedback, but which will have less charm than what the backbone will tell us. adaptive or the haptic response of our controller.
If you have not yet purchased Fifa 21 you can do it on Amazon, taking advantage of the next-gen!
