HyperMotion 2 scores for FIFA 23. It’s a more beautiful game

A gamer and a footie fan? Who’s ever heard of such a thing? Well, those dudes over at FIFA and EA Sports, for starters. And us at mustardFX of course, so, in honour of the World Cup 2022 tournament, we’re taking a look at FIFA 23 and some of its noteworthy upgrades.  

Released on 30 September, and usable on PS5, PC, Xbox Series S/X, and the other usual darlings, AKA PS4, Xbox One as well as Nintendo Switch, FIFA 23 is the very last EA Sports title in its FIFA series. We’re not going too much into that, but don’t start hyperventilating yet – EA Sports FC is being launched next year, so relaaaaaaax! 

What’s particularly noteworthy about this edition is the inclusion of HyperMotion 2 technology, the all-singing and -dancing, updated HyperMotion engine.  

If you can remember all the way back to FIFA 22, when HyperMotion tech made its debut, then you’ll also remember that its advanced 11v11 match capture was created by football pros donning Xsens suits during matches. This produced over 4000 unique animations as well as player positioning. 

But HyperMotion 2 is one step ahead of that old news! This time around, FIFA 23 is using 6,000 animations from stadium cameras.  

“But what can this mean, oh wise one?” 

The sheer quantity and quality of visual info, for one, which makes the players seem to pop out of the screen from realistic pitches. This, in turn, gives the whole game a more authentic feel. The rigid limbs of yesteryear have been sent off and replaced by players who show off natural movement and responses. 

The new engine is also able to cope with another new feature – power shots! No, not a free can of Red Bull, but a full-on, ‘smash it into the top corner’, complete with your own camera close-up. You feel like you’re watching yourself play on a live broadcast – a completely different you, with a football pro’s body and someone else’s face and hair, but you know what we mean.  

FIFA 23 scores with its beautiful photo-realistic star players. Kylian Mbappé, Sam Kerr, Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish have obviously all been face-scanned, so coupled up with attention to detail like flopping hair, tracks in the turf accompanying a tricky tackle, explosive and lengthy sprinting capabilities, and on-screen augmented reality stats during replays, there’s plenty to impress, even if the glitches irritate at times.  

One of those glitches is that the players occasionally make weird mistakes, but then isn’t that more realistic than ever? Hey, we’re going for the pint-half-full scenario here.  

Lastly, and not that it’s anything to do with the HyperMotion 2, but we thought we’d sign off by giving FIFA 23 two more shout outs. First off is the long-awaited increased focus on women’s football. About time!  

Second is the very welcome appearance of Richmond FC courtesy of Apple TV Plus. Ted Lasso is in there, as well as Jamie Tartt da da da da da da, and “he’s here, he’s there, he’s every f*****g where, Roy Kent!” If you don’t know what that last bit was on about, shame on you, and subscribe to Apple TV+ immediately. Now, back to the game…