Anyone who plays sports games will be aware of the few options for variety, with basketball dominated by 2K and football games dominated by EA Sports FC (formerly known as FIFA). Still, UFL looks to break up the latter’s monopoly.
In recent times, despite Konami's best efforts in developing eFootball, FC has been the leading contender in this space. However, this year, the introduction of UFL could mix things up for fans. The heavily rumored 2K FIFA game is supposedly arriving this year, so the whole landscape could be about to change, and hopefully for the better.
Strikerz Inc. is developing the game, its first to date. The studio hopes it can bring something fresh to a landscape that has grown increasingly stale. As part of the launch, from June 7 to 9th, people can check out the game’s open beta, which I’ve already sunk some time into and seen the potential on offer.
This is an early build of the game, but there’s plenty on offer to check out and play. The design is very clean and showcased from the moment the game’s fired up, initially asking the player to name their club, choose a captain, and then formation (which can be changed later).
I chose 91-rated Kevin De Bruyne, but there were four options, including cover star and investor Cristiano Ronaldo and Roberto Firmino. After picking your captain and formation, you will be given a squad of players, most of which are very average, and then it’s time to jump into some games.
It’s hard not to compare the gameplay to FC 24, the current benchmark for football games, and the differences are immediately quite noticeable, especially when compared to Ultimate Team in its current form, where most players used are 90+ rated.
Moment to moment, the ball feels floatier, and you can feel your player’s deficiencies. If a player doesn’t have the stats, a pass is more likely to be wayward, and trying to sprint constantly is a surefire way to lose the ball. With UFL, it’s essential to choose your moments when to play that killer ball or when to press sprint, otherwise, possession will change constantly.
Taking on an established series like FC is no easy feat, especially with how deep the many systems in place are, UFL has nowhere near that level of detail, but this can also be a plus for any newcomers to football games – it’s undeniable UFL will be much less daunting.
Right now, there is only one game mode, which is equivalent to Ultimate Team. However, the mantra here is to try and avoid a pay-to-win model. It means the only way to earn new players is by spending the rewards earned playing games and unlocking more rewards in the Team Pass. Here, you can grab new kits, accessories, bonuses, and more.
There are currently only seven pages in the Team Pass, so it’s safe to assume this will update over time, it did cost some in-game currency to unlock, but you’re given enough to do this when first playing the game – whether this is maintained throughout remains to be seen.
One of the most significant sticking points for many fans is licenses and authenticity. Fortunately, there are currently over 4,000 actual players in the game, which will inevitably grow, but there are still some huge omissions.
Many players from the recently invincible Leverkusen side, like Frimpong and Boniface, are missing, while the ratings are currently all over the place. Luckily, this is a straightforward fix, but for example, budding Brighton striker Ferguson is 86-rated, the same rating as Liverpool’s Alisson and only one rating less than Virgil van Dijk.
Ronaldo and Messi both remain 91s as well, which, despite their legacy, is still very generous considering they’re both in the twilights of their respective careers. Some of the positions for players could also do with some finessing. Chelsea Winger Sterling is currently listed as a CAM, which is common among many of the game’s players. With realism in mind, it’s also worth mentioning how every player is incredibly two-footed according to their card, with even Jarrod Bowen, a very left-footed player, able to use both feet effectively.
Once you’ve begun building a team, you also have the opportunity to unlock new backgrounds for your cards, meaning you can customize them. These customizations are based on the card’s position and rating. However, some players like Ronaldo can be equipped with dynamic images that change while on the menus.
The long-wanted feature of upgrading certain cards is also included here, so once you’ve got enough XP built up on a specific player, you can level up some of their attributes – one of the first things I did was add some defensive positioning to my defenders until I can get better ones in.
If you’re a frequent player of FC 24, then you’ll know just how genuinely poor the menus can be. Sometimes, they’re slow, unresponsive, or just don’t work. Admittedly, the offering here is considerably more limited, but it’s slick and concise, never slowing down or causing me to wait. There were a few technical issues over a few hours of gameplay, and I had one hard crash. Yet, for an incomplete game, it runs very well and looks excellent in Unreal Engine 5, even if it lacks some extra pitch and kit details.
UFL is a free-to-play game void of egregious microtransactions or nefarious ways to snatch players’ money. Right now, it lacks many modes and gameplay options associated with FC 24, but it’s still very early days, and competition can only be a good thing.
It’s been a long time since the existing monopoly has been threatened. Although this Beta is more of a showcase of the gameplay on offer, it’s different enough to suggest UFL has potential, even if it isn’t the ‘FC 24 Killer’ some fans are crying out for – although, who knows what it can grow into. For now, we know the game is set to launch later this year, and it’s without a doubt one to watch.