How FIFA 21 Gameplay Compares To FIFA 20

FIFA 21 has been released for current-gen consoles, and the changes to gameplay from FIFA 20 (not for Nintendo Switch FIFA owners, obviously) are taking some getting used to. There’s a new way for attackers go at defenders with agile dribble moves, and goalkeepers seem more intelligent than last season. The ball was all over the place last year, skidding around the pitch even if a top-class player passed it with perfect strength. That’s been turned down this year. Overall, there’s not a ton of gameplay enhancements. More additions are expected when FIFA 21 makes the jump to next-gen consoles.

The biggest change that last season’s FIFA brought was the way the ball moved around the pitch, much to the detriment of the game. FIFA had always been an arcade game with a realistic skin that saw the ball shoot like a pinball around the pitch. Last season, the path of the ball seemed much less true, bobbling around as it was launched over trimmed lawns. That setting was scaled back this season. The ball still does bobble, especially at the end of a soft pass, but thankfully it’s much more manageable.

There’s new dribbling system in FIFA 21 called Agile Dribbling. It’s activate by the right shoulder button (R1/RB) and left stick. When Agile Dribbling, the player will take more precise touches at a higher rate, trying to keep the ball close in feet. Players like Neymar, Joao Felix, Bernardo Silva, and Messi in FIFA 21 should massively benefit from these new controls. It seems like Agile Dribbling will affect players at the high end of the skill spectrum more than others. Agile Dribbling is going to be a huge change to FIFA 21 eSports, but that’s not to say casual players won’t figure out how to dribble better than in previous years as well. This season’s FIFA appears to favor the attackers over the empowered defenders of FIFA 20.

What New Game Modes FIFA 21 Has

Away from the pitch, there are plenty of new features to the game, especially in manger career mode. While Ultimate team and Volta Football are the two shiny modes right now, FIFA’s manager mode has always been a fan-favorite with room for development. Fans begged for new features to be added to manager mode, which had stagnated over the last few editions of the game. FIFA 21’s career mode made those changes. Now that FIFA has three huge game modes to spend time in, the game is deeper than ever before.

While there’s no massive new features, FIFA 21 took expected steps in the right direction, and didn’t change the winning formula. The changes to career mode are nice, and the new dribbling system will hopefully lead to more goals. The ball rolls better than it did last season, and passes are easier to complete. First touch is more generous, and fast FIFA players have been buffed. There’s also a few changes rumored to be coming when FIFA 21 makes the jump to next-gen consoles, so much so that cross play isn’t allowed, even between PS4/PS5. This year’s FIFA is a small update to FIFA 20, but the changes are positive.

FIFA 21 is available now for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.