Like every year, Football Manager returns with its annual edition, strong or not more or less major additions but above all with a hell of a challenge to take on each time: to do better than the previous episode and continue to prove that he is THE reference in football management, all media combined. So, another title this year or the crisis for Sports Interactive? It’s worm-worm-worm-ver-dict time!
If you are a regular visitor to the site in terms of news and previews, you probably already have a little idea of the answer to the question raised a few lines earlier. After a short getaway to London and a playable presentation over a few hours, Football Manager 2024 convinced us. Firstly on the bases on which this new component is based, the success of which we no longer boast. Then on its best-of side, since the Sports Interactive teams never stopped reminding us that FM 24, available upon release on PC, consoles (Xbox, Playstation) but also on Netflix, was the last of its generation, FM 25 being the episode of renewal, of profound change, highlighted by a brand new graphics engine, Unity.
But now, to really appreciate Football Manager, you have to spend more than four hours. And even several games with different clubs are not necessarily immediately enough to experience everything the title has in its belly. However, what we strongly thought in London in the premises was verified quite quickly once in front of our PC screen in the warmth of Paris: FM 24 is indeed the best episode to date of the license. The reason ? The developers have taken into account a certain number of points raised in recent years by players and have optimized as much as possible what could still be, in order to allow football fans to truly live in the shoes of the manager they dream of. to be.
The experience of which you are the hero
On this point, the accessibility of gambling by chance. Always equipped with an assistant accompanying each of your steps in the game, FM 24 adds a new set-piece system, based on a question/answer session to determine how your players will behave in the offensive and defensive phases. Useful for novices – and those who did not particularly want to devote time to this aspect -, the success of the maneuver will also rely on the quality of the staff involved in this sector of play. Needless to say that the We still have to spend time testing the different options offered for a defined system before finding the right one. Because that’s the essence of Football Manager: search, search, rack your brains and find. Even if, it must be admitted, the interface as a whole and the sometimes invasive wealth of information on the screen (especially during matches) may put off more than one person.
Distributed over three very distinct modes – normal, to experience the adventure “as usual”, with players already recruited by their club at the time of the game, reality, with transfers which are modeled on their real dates in real life life and my reality, in which summer transfers have never taken place and the player can have a more or less substantial financial windfall to do what he wants – the adventure on FM 24 is intended to be more realistic than the previous episodes. Clubs always buy players for
We’re crazy but a little less than in the past, and especially less from the start of the game. They will mainly spend their money on purchasing items that they lack, which means that the competition for a player is much greater than in the past. The same goes for tactics. Before, it took a good season for everyone to analyze your style of play and counter you. This happens much earlier in the season and – be careful – not necessarily on the expected terrain, with less strange turnover on the part of opposing coaches. The “dad” of Football Manager, Miles Jacobson, was clear: in recent years, his baby has clearly been inspired by Pep Guardiola, the coach of Manchester City and reigning winner of the last Champions League, reminding us during of our English stay to the extent to which the latter continued to innovate on a tactical level. It is logical that the functions of winger and inverted full-back, implemented on the green rectangle by the Spanish coach, arrive in the game. And always with this same perspective, your opponents will not hesitate to tinker with something something to bring you down, even if it means changing your style of play and lineup a few hours before the match.
Finally, an important element: you can load your saves from FM 23 to FM 24. Result? We pick up the game where we left off a few weeks ago but with the added features of the last episode and additional championships, like the J-League, the equivalent of our very old Ligue 1, but in Japan. This may only be a small detail for you, but for Football Manager fans, it certainly means a lot.
Transfers more in line with real football, tactics too
As for transfers, which reflect the face of current football – many loans with purchase option, transfers with payment spread over several months, with a maximum of bonuses – the arrival of intermediaries brings a real touch of realism in the game. Already because they are commonplace in football. Then because they are particularly useful – as in reality – to exfiltrate an unwanted player from your club, after negotiations for a departure have collapsed with the player and the agent. And even if various levels are accessible – depending on the urgency in your eyes of the transfer in question -, the latter are there to take advantage of the situation and make as much money as possible on your back, so it will be up to you to determine how much. ‘where such a transfer is necessary for you. In the same vein and even if it is not one, the appearance of the TransfertRoom platform in the game is a more pleasant way to offer your players to the highest bidder, this arrival being only a “ skin” more pleasant than the traditional “Suggest to clubs” function.
Finally, how can we not be complete by mentioning the 3D rendering of the matches. This is not the main selling point of Football Manager, far from it and although it is its last gasp in this form, the engine used for years has not been put aside this season however. As proof of the changing conditions, the arrival of night matches, new gestures for the players and a much more realistic reading of the matches. Yes, it’s still not very beautiful but it’s readable, coherent, faithful to what each coach puts in place on the field and the aim of the maneuver is to allow the player to visualize in real time the success or the failure of his tactics. Not to win a beauty prize, even if again, to convince new members, it will be necessary to step-up in terms of graphics.
Clash for everyone
SO ? No need to procrastinate to confirm that to date, Football Manager 24 is indeed the best in the series. The whole is no less perfectible and in the revolution that the Sports Interactive teams wish to bring – in the works on FM 25 for several years already – it will be a question of working on a warmer aspect to the whole. Given the number of hours spent on FM, and despite the possibility of downloading skins, making the menus more attractive, especially to the uninitiated, will be one of the first challenges to overcome. This will not be the case for AI, particularly with regard to the possibility of generating your own responses to interviews that you may have during the game and of testing the software yourself… Miles Jacobson having rejected this idea when we put the question to him. ChatGPT will come back.
On the other hand, the game has gained in depth and realism. Football regulars will not be surprised to see their players rebuff in the event of a conversation deemed too harsh in their eyes – and this, after a catastrophic performance on the field – clashes are a little more frequent and to defuse them, by plus possible promises to players, we can challenge them, just to clear ourselves in the event of failure. Another addition far from being gimmicky, and which gives the player more latitude to manage the ego of his locker room. Because, to win, nothing beats perfect unity.
