FIFA 21 on the PlayStation 5 makes footballers' hair look like they're models for an Aussie advert, not running up and down a pitch chasing a ball for lots of money.
It's funny, honestly. Like it's turned up the sheen and shine to the maximum setting, but not the sweat and swelter. No one looks attractive after ninety minutes of high-intensity exercise, not even the most beautiful of influencers, but we play games to escape reality, right? So, these sportsmen's luscious locks float gently in the breeze, free of the stickiness of gel and slickness of sweat. Not even hairbands keep these barnets under wraps. They're flying free.
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Now, onto the nitty gritty. This wondrous footage comes courtesy of Digital Foundry, a vertical for technical appraisals of software and hardware performances, so ta for that. Sports sims, such as FIFA 21, are an effective point of reference for advancements in gaming technology as their core columns stay the same over numerous releases. Additionally, they're based on reality, so we're able to compare the representation with the real version of the person, pitch, strip, and so on.
FIFA 21 released for PC, Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 in October, and it... didn't get glowing reviews. Those who did pick it up asserted that the game felt like a carbon copy of FIFA 20, bar the handful of enhancements. It's FIFA, it's football, it's good, but it's not knocking your socks off. It seemed like Electronic Arts weren't showing their hand when it came to the latest iteration of FIFA, and with this recording of the game running on current-gen and last-gen consoles, we're finally seeing what they had hidden up their sleeves.
During matches, the Frostbite engine holds at a consistent 4K resolution and 60 frames per second on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. It does reveal that only the big cheeses on the pitch are letting their hair down, as the tech that renders each strand of hair individually is very expensive to implement. Ergo, it's not worth the overall dip in performance, which is fair enough. To conclude, the game does look very impressive on the new consoles, making an argument for postponing the launch of FIFA 21 until the PS5 and Xbox Series X launched.
Fortunately, the game does offer a free upgrade to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X version if you purchase the last-gen version. It's a nice thought to have in your back pocket if you've not gotten a console yet, and the game is even on sale at the moment.
Featured Image Credit: EA