It’s pre-season. Soccer teams throughout Europe are currently in the throes of re-building match fitness and sharpness. Contractual obligations require plenty of teams to head out across the world to take part in fan-building tournaments that don’t mean anything. Ah. I love it. Every year, pre-season also means that lovely time where we’re in-between the last FIFA and the next. We already know that Ronaldo will grace the cover of FIFA 19 and that FIFA 19 Champions League is on its way. Fans across the world are eager to know exactly how the new football extravaganza plays. Thankfully, some FIFA 19 Europa League gameplay has leaked.
Indeed, posted by Redditor WhadaFack, we now have our first look at FIFA 19 gameplay. It looks, um, rather similar to FIFA 18 on first appearances if we’re honest. At least the official Europa League licensing looks excellent.
The video shows off a Europa League final clash between Manchester United and Manchester City. A match I’m sure both teams would love to play. Graphically, the game is similar to FIFA 18. The lighting looks a touch better and player faces a little more realistic. A new commentary team of Derek Rae and Lee Dixon await in both the Champions League and Europa League matches. Some new active touch animations grace FIFA 19, however. The ball control looks different, more realistic to some extent. 50-50 challenges appear to have been improved, too, with a finer sense of player strength given.
All told, FIFA 19 looks like a tweaked, slightly improved edition of FIFA 18. The new animations offering new gameplay in shooting, control, and responsiveness. Time will tell if these small changes are for the good, however. It may look overly similar on the surface, but there are changes afoot in FIFA 19.
It won’t be long before EA give us an official look at FIFA 19 gameplay. For now, we plan on re-living the 2018 World Cup just one more time.
