In FIFA 21 the Volta mode enters its second year. Will the street variant be more popular this year? EA Sports has a few features to offer that are supposed to improve the mode.
This is Volta: “Volta” is the street football mode that was introduced in FIFA 20. It aimed to combine the classic FIFA feel with the roots of football.
The announcement of the mode, which slightly resembled FIFA Street, was well-received. However, the experiment ultimately met with little enthusiasm – as there wasn’t much to do in Volta. The story barely convinced fans, and online play with friends was lacking. This year, Volta is back for a second round – and wants to win you over with new features.
1. Online co-op is finally here
You can now play Volta together: This is probably the strongest argument EA Sports wants to use to make the Volta mode more appealing. After the much-requested multiplayer feature was simply absent in FIFA 20, it is now included in FIFA 21.
In Volta Squads, you can work together in teams of three. This allows you to build the best street football team in the world with your friends. The matches are five against five – meaning each player controls not just one, but multiple players.
If you were impressed by the gameplay in Volta but found it rather unappealing to play alone, you might want to give the new online feature a chance.
2. New modes onboard
These modes are new: Last year, the story of Volta failed to convince. This was evident from the fact that the PS4 achievement “End of the Road” was unlocked by only 4.3% of players – it was awarded for completing the story. Most of the remaining Volta trophies also remained largely unattained.
In FIFA 21, Volta also gets a type of story, “The Debut,” which is supposed to last only two to three hours, making it about one-third of the original Volta story. There you will primarily learn the basics of Volta – which probably makes sense if you didn’t really connect with the game mode last year.
Additionally, the “Featured Battles” are introduced, reminiscent of Squad Battles from Ultimate Team. Here, you can not only secure cool jerseys but also win icons for your team and challenge strong teams.
3. Outdated gameplay & more cosmetics
This is changing in gameplay: The gameplay itself was not necessarily Volta’s problem. It felt like a kind of hybrid of FIFA 20 and FIFA Street, but the combination was fun. Issues, such as the extremely difficult scoring (which we also noted in our testing of FIFA 21), could be solved with some training. However, the long-term motivation was lacking.
In FIFA 21, Volta will nonetheless have a few new tricks up its sleeve – quite literally. For instance, “Agile Dribbling,” which we can also use in the rest of FIFA 21, will be incorporated into the mode. This allows you powerful dribbles in tight spaces, and you can also apply slick nutmegs to your opponent. Many complicated skill moves are executed more easily than in the rest of the game. It’s clear: In Volta, fun takes center stage, rather than tactical behavior.
However, the new blocking system from FIFA 21 will also be applied in Volta. Defenders can now block balls more skillfully if they are in the right position – so expect no easy games. New flair shots and passing animations have also been added.
If you have mastered the gameplay, you can use your skills to earn plenty of cosmetics again. This includes stylish, Volta-specific clothing, as well as street clothing in the style of real football teams. Finally, there are also new locations to discover.
Whether these innovations are enough to keep Volta exciting in the long term will become clear at the latest upon the release of FIFA 21. By the way, all the information that is currently known about the game can be found in our overview of FIFA 21.
