During the weekend of June 7-9, 2024, players worldwide were able to test the open beta of a new football game called UFL. A designated FIFA expert took the opportunity to thoroughly examine the potential new competitor to EA FC. After 30 hours of gameplay, he explains in a detailed video what UFL already does better than its competitor from EA.
Who is this expert? Matthias Hietsch is better known in the eSports scene as “STYLO.” The expert has been producing new FIFA content weekly on his YouTube account for over 8 years now. He regularly provides his followers with the best formations and tactics of the professionals.
STYLO has established a very good reputation as an insider and has already had the chance to coach the FIFA World Champion MoAuba and even the German eNational team. He is now part of the FOKUSCLAN team of influencer eliasn97 and shares his expertise there.
In the UFL open beta, he played over 100 matches and can therefore give an informed opinion. We present to you the things he particularly liked about UFL.
3 Things that Make the UFL Open Beta Better than EA FC 24
At the beginning of his analysis, STYLO says that the menu and player card system of UFL is very reminiscent of the ultimate team mode of EA. However, this is not a criticism, as Ultimate Team is the most popular mode in FC 24.
Nevertheless, there are some things that would make UFL better in the open beta:
1. Menu Content: Player Skins Have Enormous Potential
A crucial change occurs with pack openings. Unlike in FC 24, players are no longer drawn from packs but only skins with which player cards can be outfitted. However, the skins do not provide stat boosts but rather passive abilities that positively affect the player’s earned experience points or their own coin balance.
What STYLO likes about the skins in UFL: STYLO considers himself a fan of skins. He specifically refers to a skin of UFL cover star Cristiano Ronaldo.
On the skin, the Portuguese is depicted with a goat silhouette in the background. This is a reference to the English translation of “goat” (GOAT), which is also an abbreviation for the Greatest of All Time.
Moreover, STYLO sees extreme potential in the skins. Special skins with stat boosts for specific players could appear for events.
2. Gameplay: Skill Moves Feel More Realistic
Many gameplay mechanics are identical to FC 24, according to STYLO. This includes the button mappings and the respective actions that can be performed with and against the ball.
Many skill moves known from EA FC also reappear in UFL. However, the expert had praise for the implementation of skill moves in UFL.
What STYLO finds better about skill moves in UFL: In UFL, it is no longer so easy to outsmart opponents with a trick. Skill moves require better timing. Less attention was paid to speeding up gameplay with skill moves, but rather to making them feel realistic.
Only when a trick is used in the right situation and at the right time will it be effective. His two favorites among the special moves were the ball roll and the roulette dribbling.
3. Communication: Developer Team Engages with the Community
An important point that STYLO highlights is the successful communication between players and the game’s developers during the testing phase. The expert praises the developer team “Strikerz” for their active exchange with the community on the official X account of UFL:
What STYLO likes about the communication: Stylo particularly praises the feedback culture of the developers. They even opened a dedicated Discord channel where every player could express their criticism about the open beta.
The interaction between the community and the players, according to STYLO, is something that EA completely neglects. This was recently evident during this incident during the Team of the Season: EA made a serious mistake in FC 24, then made a strange decision at the expense of the players
However, of course, there were also some things that the expert criticized about the open beta of UFL. You can watch the full video at this link on YouTube.
Here are the main points of criticism summarized:
- Passes were still very inconsistent
- The ball control of the pass receivers was still very sluggish
- Cuts with good players almost always resulted in a goal
- Defenders took too long to control lost balls
However, the biggest point of criticism was the sprint system. It was hardly balanced, as players would push the ball too far ahead at the beginning of a sprint. On the other hand, even fast players were too easily caught up with by defenders at the end speed.
For the expert, it is clear that the open beta of UFL already shows many good approaches that need to be improved, especially with community feedback. However, one must not make the mistake of finishing the game under pressure now but rather take the time for improvements. This way, UFL could truly become a competitor in the long run. Another developer team could challenge EA FC already this year: Fans have been waiting for FIFA 25: Release is reportedly still coming in 2024
