FIFA 18 Review (Nintendo Switch)

FIFA 18 on the Nintendo Switch offers the first FIFA on a Nintendo console in 5 years (FIFA 13 on the Wii U) and the first on a Nintendo handheld in 3 years (FIFA 15 on 3DS). It's safe to say that Nintendo console owners have been missing out on the series for a while and especially FIFA's big moneymaker, Ultimate Team. 

FIFA 18 Switch presents the opportunity for a console FIFA experience on the go & the first of its kind, in an age where portable FIFA games tend to be gimped and feel more like a mobile game. I was excited with the announcement of FIFA at the January event but couldn't let myself go too far as EA does have a tendency to ruin it. For example, with FIFA 13 on Wii U, EA decided to release it without Ultimate Team, a stupid decision that ultimately pushed Nintendo gamers away from picking it up. And with that, EA had a good excuse to say sales were too low & there was no point releasing another one.  

If I had to describe FIFA 18 on Switch, it would be: acceptable. FIFA 18 plays a damn good game of football but the problem here is that it's running on a custom engine, that feels more like the legacy edition of the game from 2 years ago. I was accepting of the fact that they wouldn't be able to port Frostbite in such short time & as a result, I was happy to assume I'd be able to play a game of FIFA 17 on the go. However, the fact I saw it was pretty much the presenation and gameplay of FIFA 16 on PS3/Xbox 360 did leave a sour taste in my mouth.

Yet with that sour taste, I can't help but love this game. In the space of 2 days over this past weekend, I put in nearly 30 hours. I had Persona 5 waiting for me but I couldn't stop playing FIFA. The ability to play FIFA in handheld mode while watching Youtube videos or Netflix was too compelling.

Let me make this clear, if you're buying FIFA to play in docked mode for the majority of your time, this is not for you. Go get the PS4/Xbox One/PC edition. But if you're like me and play the Switch in handheld mode 90% of the time, this is perfect. I have a daily commute to work of 2 hours there & back altogether and the ability to play a console level FIFA is unbelievable.

Hell, even during my lunch break today, I ended up playing a game against my coworker with split joycons & it ended up working out great. I can't see myself playing with split joycons for a long time but for the hour we had for lunch, it was perfect. It even sold my coworker on the promise of a Switch & the opportunity it offers.

Now how is the rest of FIFA 18? Well it's about what you expect without the latest additions to FIFA 18 on current gen consoles like new Ultimate Team modes, The Journey, new Career mode additions and the biggest omission currently, the inability to play with a friend online. I believe the latter's fault rests on both EA and Nintendo's shoulder and I hope can be patched in at a later time, as other games such as FAST RMX have done.

Ultimate Team on Switch is the exact same as you'd see on last year's FIFA, except since this is a new console with a low install base, the market is currently lacking in comparison to other consoles. The most transfers I've seen currently is 21,000 when you see close to 700,000 on PS4 at times. I hope in time, it does stabilize but that does remain to be seen, based on how much Nintendo fans will gravitate towards this port. However, the rest of Ultimate Team plays like a charm, with Squad Building Challenges and all included.

Career Mode is the same as usual, reminding me more of FIFA 16 than 17, which is a shame and I didn't manage to give Player Career Mode a chance. Playing online has been great, even with my shit connection, and I only had one laggy match this weekend out of the 50 or so I played.

The other thing that's great about this version is how fast it is. The game loads up so quickly and matches load up quicker than I can even start the loading mini-games. It's made playing Ultimate Team a joy for once as I'd usually be frustrated with the slow UI on PS4 in prior years.

All in all, this is an acceptable game of FIFA and a good first effort for a new console. I'm happy with the polish of the game, the overall speed in the UI and the ability to play such a game on the go is unbelievable. However, if FIFA 19 is the same next year but just with squad updates, I'm afraid I'm done with the series on Switch. If you want a great game of football on the go or in handheld mode, this is the game for you but if you're playing this on the TV solo, don't bother.

My score for FIFA 18 on the Nintendo Switch: 7/10