FIFA 23 Review: 8 Ups & 6 Downs

See above for the kind of fun you can have in EA's final FIFA ever.

This writer plucked Diego Simeone from Atlético Madrid and took him to London for a new adventure managing Arsenal. Immediately, Career Mode took on a fresh feel due to that exciting fantasy element and the fact that Simeone's avatar is gorgeously-recreated.

That's just it though - Diego's character is a mask. Suddenly, it became obvious that there wasn't much to this change beyond the superficial, and that was disappointing. Of course, new improvements to the Career suite generally, FIFA's overall presentation and on-the-pitch gameplay soothed this pain.

One gets the sense that EA, who will split from the FIFA license following one last annual entry and develop their own footy franchise, held a few things back this year. Perhaps that makes sense, but it might make a full-priced purchase difficult to justify for those still enjoying FIFA 22.

The 'Ups' and 'Downs' counts reveal something special though: FIFA 23 is the definitive version. Does the series bow out gracefully across the board though, or do some familiar frustrations remain? Read on to find out.