On the weekend, you can once again test the new football simulation with the Open Beta of UFL. After mostly positive feedback from the community, the developer studio “Strikerz” announced that it would improve some criticisms from the first test run.
What kind of game is this? UFL is from the small developer studio “Strikerz”, which is tackling its first major project in the gaming industry. The game was announced at Gamescom 2021.
Since then, the developers have been working on their own football simulation. After the first version of the Open Beta was released over the weekend from June 7 to 9, you can test an improved version with numerous updates for free this weekend (August 2 to 4).
Which consoles is the Open Beta for? The Open Beta is only playable on the next-gen consoles, namely PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. All other consoles cannot try the test version for now.
Fans give a lot of positive feedback after the first test
What did fans appreciate? Fans are excited about a fresh approach to football simulations. This is particularly shown in a post on the subreddit “UFLTheGame”:
User Beautiful_Life_1788, the sender of the post, especially celebrates that the gameplay is something different than what he has been used to from FIFA or EA FC for the last decades. Many fans agree with him in the comments.
Especially the UI, meaning everything related to the user interface outside of gameplay, is very well received by the Reddit community (via reddit.com).
FIFA expert also sees UFL as a potential EA FC competitor
The FIFA expert and former coach of the German eNational team, Matthias “Stylo” Hietsch, has played more than 100 matches in the first version of UFL. After that, he gave an informed opinion about the new competitor.
We have summarized his analysis for you at MeinMMO: FIFA expert tests the Open Beta of a new competitor of EA FC – names 3 things that UFL does better
Stylo highlighted especially 3 positive aspects in his analysis.
What impressed the expert:
- the various skins for players are a very good approach that still has a lot of potential for further improvements.
- the communication between the developers and the community was very good during the first test.
- the special movements are very realistic and reward players with better skill.
However, the game still needs a lot of time to become a serious competitor for EA FC.
Because besides the good approaches, Stylo, like the fans on Reddit, found many aspects that need improvement. Especially regarding the gameplay. With his analysis of the game’s weaknesses, he summarized many criticisms of the community.
Update should bring requested improvements for gameplay
These were Stylo’s biggest criticisms in the first test:
- Sprinting is unbalanced: poor ball control, too slow in top speed.
- Passes were still very inconsistent.
- Ball handling from pass receivers was very sluggish.
- Chipped shots with good players almost always resulted in a goal.
- Defenders took too long to control regained balls.
A few days before the start of the second beta version, UFL announced on X that the “team has worked hard to ensure that UFL has a special place in the hearts” of the fans. Additionally, the new patch notes for the update were added to the post:
In the patch notes, you will find a whole series of new adaptations for the second Open Beta. We focused on the most important changes.
What should improve in the new version? Some of the biggest criticisms that Stylo addressed in his analysis are said to have been directly improved in the new version. These include:
- the OP shots with R1 (curled shots), which were far too strong, have been nerfed.
- Players generally no longer feel sluggish, allowing for better movement.
- Passes are now supposed to be executed more accurately.
- For ball receptions, the pass receiver positions himself better, and receptions are smoother.
- The sprint speed has been increased.
Further important improvements for gameplay
- Goalkeepers have been improved: new animations, better rushing out, fewer rebounds.
- Defending has been strengthened: faster direction changes, new animations for tackling and sliding tackles.
- AI for defense improved: players recognize dangerous situations in defense faster, position themselves accordingly to cover dangerous areas.
- AI for offense expanded: smarter and more efficient runs to create and convert scoring opportunities.
The new Open Beta offers the following changes:
- the skins for players now partly include upgrades for certain stats.
- the reputation system for buying players has been revised.
- the players have fixed perks at the start, and further perks can be unlocked by leveling up.
- new game faces from over 200 players have been added.
How the announced changes will affect the game remains to be seen. The servers for the second test run are set to start in Germany on August 2 at 2:00 PM. Then you can judge for yourself the promised improvements. Many things are also expected to improve in the new EA FC. You can find the most important information here on MeinMMO: EA FC 25: All information on release, price, and innovations
