FIFA 21’s PlayStation 4 user score on metacritic has reached the record low of 0.8 after a torrent of negative player reviews.
While 62 reviews from certified critics rate the game at a respectable 72/100, over 1,700 of the 1,916 user reviews rate the game as negative. This means that FIFA 21 is now classed as having an ‘overwhelming dislike’.
The criticisms that most users seem to have is that not much of the game has changed since EA released FIFA 20 in 2019.
One angry user wrote: “The game state is the worst. Literally a copy and paste of fifa 20. The worst game what happen[ed] to the good ole days. And for EA, f**ck you for another year of losing my s**t and making me everyday lose me mentally and physically.”
Another said: “It’s actually a copy and paste of FIFA 20, except with squad updates! I am so disappointed I purchased it and should have just stuck with 20. There is also a team license issue where they have less teams than they used to. I think after this I will go back to buying PES again. DO NOT BUY!”
History repeats itself
The FIFA franchise is no stranger to review bombing. FIFA 20’s PS4 review score also saw a disproportionate amount of negative reviews in comparison to critics favourable opinions. While it’s not as low as FIFA 21’s 0.8, FIFA 20’s 1.2 isn’t far off.
Funnily enough, much of the same criticism was levied at FIFA 20 when it was released in 2019. User ‘rumbledore’ wrote: “EA Just gives us the same game every year with some minor changes no one cares about.”
Another disgruntled player said: “FIFA 18 v3. The same game. The same graphics. The same gameplay. The same scripts and handicape. EA bye bye.”
That said, the negative reactions don’t seem to have harmed the sales performance of the FIFA franchise. Though boxed sales were down by 42% at launch, EA still saw a huge growth in their digital sales market [via gamesindustry.biz].
Despite the negative user reviews, are you still having fun with FIFA 21? Let us know across our social channels.
[Featured Image Credit: EA Sports]