It’s less than a month now until we get to play FIFA 23. Sometimes we get carried away in player ratings, the official soundtrack, and how the game looks, as evidenced by the reaction to the recent leaks. But what about gameplay? That’s what we’re here to address by going over every new major FIFA 23 gameplay feature EA has announced, including HyperMotion2.
Every year, EA promises the new FIFA game will have “revolutionary” new gameplay mechanics. Opinions on whether that’s true may vary, but no one can deny that EA implements new features in each title, revolutionary or not. FIFA 23 will be no different. EA’s marketing has revolved around HyperMotion2. Let’s see what the fuss is all about.
What’s HyperMotion2?
HyperMotion2 has the difficult job of making FIFA 23’s gameplay resemble real life as much as possible. Here’s exactly how it works.
First, EA recorded real-life footage that it could then feed to HyperMotion2’s machine learning. The motion capture sessions include two full matches and five training sessions of professional clubs, as well as, for the first time, a motion capture recording of a women’s match. These sessions resulted in 9.2 million frames of what EA calls “advanced match capture.”
Then, the machine learning process begins. It goes through the advanced match capture and creates in-game animations that replicate the real thing. The 9.2 million frames resulted in over 6,000 unique animations that will make players in FIFA 23 feel more responsive and have them move more realistically than ever before, according to EA.
EA detailed some parts of gameplay that will be affected by HyperMotion2 the most. These are acceleration, dribbling, defending, shooting, and goalkeepers’ animations when dealing with crosses. All of those are self-explanatory, but one stands out before the rest. The way EA describes the change to how defenders move and react could have a huge influence on the game. The developer used HyperMotion2 to “rewrite the jockeying system, enabling defenders to better counter oncoming attackers.” Dealing with pacey attackers in particular has been a nightmare in years prior, so a potential improvement in that regard would be welcomed with open arms.
More new FIFA 23 gameplay features
The most exciting new gameplay feature is clearly the Power Shots mechanic. The idea here is that you can trigger a more powerful, yet slower, shot at the risk of being deprived of ball possession before the shot goes off. The risk vs. reward system that Power Shots come with could add a new flavor to the FIFA 23 meta. There’s always the fear they could be overpowered, but that naturally comes with the introduction of a new core mechanic.
Another change that could make a big difference is the redesigned set pieces. Options for direction, trajectory, curl, and more will be available while striking the ball. These could impact set piece balancing quite a bit. FIFA 23 gamers will hope this happens in a positive way. There’s also going to be a new camera angle on corners that “better reflects the drama of dead ball situations.”
Despite HyperMotion2 existing, EA presents a couple of separate “on-pitch physics” mechanics, called Advanced Impact Physics and Net interaction Physics. The former deals with ball deflections, making players blocking a shot or getting in the way of the ball in any way react more naturally to the collision. The latter will do the same for interactions between players and the goal net.
There’s one final physics feature we haven’t mentioned yet. It’s not because it lacks importance, either. All this emphasis on player collisions has been incorporated into a new player awareness component, which should help them avoid tackles and collisions.
FIFA 23 AI will be more responsive to the on-pitch situation. In other words, it will adapt to the match time, the score, and available substitutions and adjust its tactics and playstyle accordingly.
The last bit of new gameplay worth mentioning is the new shooting, passing, and defending options:
- Low, dipping, and bouncing shot trajectories
- Volley passes, outside of foot passes, and off-the-back passes
- Physical tackles, hard clearance slide tackles, and backheel tackles
- Diving headers
- New clearance animations
While these aren’t likely to be what makes or breaks FIFA 23, they could add some variety to day-to-day gameplay. That’s not something that should be neglected in a game with such a long life span.
FIFA 23 crossplay
All the HyperMotion and all the on-pitch physics can’t compare with the best gameplay improvement of them all, cross-platform compatibility. It’s been a long time coming, but crossplay will finally be fully implemented into FIFA 23, with a small asterisk.
Crossplay will be available to all platforms. Not all of them can be paired together, though. Players on PC, Stadia, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X will be able to play with each other. The old-gen consoles, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, will be compatible between themselves but unable to match with gamers from the first group.
FIFA 23 game modes that will incorporate crossplay at launch are:
- FUT Division Rivals (except Co-Op)
- FUT Champions
- FUT Ultimate Online Draft
- FUT Online Friendlies (except Co-Op)
- FUT Play a Friend
- Online Friendlies
- Online Seasons (except Co-Op Seasons)
- Virtual Bundesliga (available only to players based in Germany)
Are all of the new FIFA 23 features available on every platform?
Sadly, no. The old generation’s segregation doesn’t stop with cross-play compatibility. Most notably, HyperMotion2 is exclusive to PC, Stadia, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X. Another feature that won’t be present on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of FIFA 23 is Advanced Impact Physics. Everything else we’ve mentioned in this article should make its way to each platform, except Nintendo Switch.
You can see EA’s full presentation on the new FIFA 23 features on its official website.
If you liked what you read, you might be tempted to go pre-order FIFA 23 right away. We won’t discourage you, but a glimpse at our extensive pre-order guide could make your purchase much easier. FIFA 23 launches on Sept. 30, so there’s more than enough time to read through the guide and still enjoy that early access.
