The latest installment in the FIFA series offers an interesting feature: In the story mode of FIFA19, you can play football like in the 60s.
Attention: Spoilers for “The Journey: Champions” follow. Close your eyes now if you want to discover moving gameplay material for yourself at release.
FIFA 19 creates a retro feeling: Not only the Icon cards featuring heroes from the past bring a retro feeling to the FIFA series – this year EA Sports goes a step further: In the third part of the story about Alex Hunter, you can play like in the 60s.
Jim Hunter in The Journey: The main protagonists in The Journey 3 are Alex Hunter, his half-sister Kim, and his friend Danny Williams. However, you also get to control Alex’s grandfather Jim Hunter for the first time.
Retro football in “The Journey 3”
Time travel to the 60s: When you start “The Journey 3”, you land right in the 60s. The time travel is noticeably reflected in the presentation: The grass is muddy, the footballers wear short shorts and long hair, and the audience is predominantly dressed in long coats.
The scoreboard is also designed in retro style. A first impression of the retro scenes is provided by the following video from the YouTube channel DTT, which has already been able to play The Journey 3:
After a cutscene, gameplay material featuring 60s football can be seen. It is striking that the grass quality suffers considerably from the football game.
More retro options in FIFA 19?
Special FUT reward: If you win the game with Jim Hunter, the game rewards you with a special card of the striker for your Ultimate Team, which comes with a 77 overall rating:
Retro mode only in “The Journey”: Outside of The Journey, there is no trace of the retro mode; there is no kickoff option in the 1960s setting.
This is what the fans say: In the comments, several players are already wishing for a corresponding retro mode with classic teams to recreate legendary matches. One user writes, “Just imagine: Retro mode in FIFA 20. Barça with Ronaldinho, Inter with Ronaldo! Maradona and Napoli, Beckham at Man United. That would be incredible.”
Another suggests: “Imagine a career mode where you build a club in the 60s and play until 2030.”
The verdict is clear: The retro style is well received. Who knows – maybe EA Sports will deliver a corresponding mode with upcoming titles.
This article is by Max Handwerk.
