FIFA 20 Legacy Edition Review

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It is not often that a game I play gives me such contrasting emotions. On one hand, I think that this is the single laziest game that has released on the Switch thus far. On the other hand, however, I do still find it quite fun to play online, not to the level I did the previous two years, but still fun. Nonetheless, one of my emotions regarding the game certainly outweighs the other and it is not that hard to work out which it is.

If you’re not clued up about the latest FIFA release on the Switch, firstly, EA probably loves you, and secondly, this is just FIFA 19 in disguise. You see, this year’s FIFA on Switch is a Legacy Edition, which just means that nothing new has actually been added to the game other than the new kits and updated player rosters, that is it. There are no new modes added, no new gameplay tweaks, nothing.

FIFA 20 Legacy Edition Review Screenshot 1

Whilst looking up just how much EA is charging for this reskin – I will come onto that in a moment – the retailer I found actually has Volta football listed as a feature for the Switch version. Now unless I am missing something, that mode is nowhere to be seen. For those that don’t know, Volta football is the new big mode in FIFA 20 that is all about street football, with a variety of modes to choose from and even a small story to play through, all missing for Switch owners.

I haven’t played much FIFA on other consoles for years now – I did dip in and out if I visited a friend that had it – but this year is different. I managed to get myself a free month of EA Access on the PS4, and with it comes 10-hour trials of new games, including FIFA 20. Therefore, I have had a decent amount of time with both versions of the game. What I have taken from this is that the difference between the Xbox One and PS4 version and the Switch version is getting bigger and bigger.

FIFA 20 Legacy Edition Review Screenshot 2

After I praised FIFA 18 and FIFA 19 for being the best handheld games ever to release on handhelds (Not that there is a great deal of competition). I felt that trend would keep happening every year and the gap between all versions would be getting smaller. This was EA’s chance to give us another improved game, add all the modes the other consoles have. To give players who have FIFA 18 and FIFA 19 for the Switch a reason to jump in again rather than trying to cash in on unware people, but they simply haven’t bothered.

The worst part about this whole thing, is EA knows fully well that people are going to buy this. Parents that want to buy the latest FIFA game for their kids are being fooled. Yes, it says ‘Legacy Edition’ on the front, but really, who would even know what that meant unless they have just read it in the paragraph above. The fact that it costs full price is ridiculous too, considering no effort has been made to improve the game in any way. You can get last year’s game for less than half the price, so if you want to play FIFA on Switch, that is your best and cheapest option.

FIFA 20 Legacy Edition Review Screenshot 3

In terms of what you are getting, the standard modes are there such as Kick Off, Ultimate Team and Skill Games. With Kick Off, you are able to set up different ‘house rules’ to make it a bit different than a typical game of football, such as goals scored from outside the box now counting as two and not having any fouls or offsides. These are best when playing against a friend as it can create some hectic games. Again, not every mode is included within Kick Off on the Switch, such as the new ‘Mystery Ball’ mode.

Playing against random people online is not always my cup of tea for all games, but on FIFA, it always has been. Other than playing against friends, I could sit there and match up against random people online all day long. It helps that I am not all that bad at the game and I don’t get as easily frustrated as you see some people do. If it wasn’t for the online mode of FIFA 20 for Switch, I would never touch the game again after this review.

Putting it simply, there is still fun to be had with FIFA 20 Legacy Edition and playing against others online is still a joy. Nevertheless, charging full whack for a game when absolutely no effort went into is out of order. Simply ask yourself this, are new kits and some roster changes worth over £40 to you? If you answered yes, then you have too much money.

Version Tested: Nintendo Switch
Review copy provided by Electronic Arts

5/10
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