Football Manager 2022 is Fun, but a Bit Too Familiar
I don’t envy those who are involved in developing annual sports games. Many players believe they are just doing low-effort rehashes every other year, but the truth is that it is impossible to do anything except iterate each year. In the second half of the year, developers release a game, then they have to fix and add things and then move on to the next game, where they need to figure out how to add new features. The pace is very fast and there’s not much downtime. Add in an international event that has made us all better friends with our (now much more smelly) couches, and the balance becomes even more difficult.
All of this is because Football Manager 2022 is difficult to view as anything other than an iterative release. My zeal for Football Manager has been a constant since 2017. FM 22 has been a huge help to me. I have spent close to 60 hours on it since beta release. This is a significant amount of money and a major disruption to my daily life. But I don’t see myself adding any more. Although it feels a little more familiar than 2021 and 2020, it still provides enough immersive, emotional-devastating fun to be worth a glance.
Football Manager 2022’s “headline features” wouldn’t be enough to make headlines. The Data Hub is the most important “back of the box” feature. This hub will allow you to dig deep into your team’s performance and bring in those who are numbers-oriented. You can use the Data Hub to check if your team is struggling to score goals. It’s possible to search for specific data like shooting, passing, crossing and so on. Although it’s an interesting addition, it may not be for everyone. If you’re looking for actionable information on why your star striker stopped scoring goals, this is the place to look.
There’s also the revamped deadline day experience which reinforces the belief that agents have too much power today. You will receive offers to play as either tentative inquiries or “Please get me out of that club” situations throughout the day. It’s generally more chaotic on deadline day and more fun to participate in. However, as it will likely take approximately 10 minutes per season, it doesn’t feel like much of a change.
However, the most important changes are made to the pitch and the game engine. The latter feels much more dynamic in terms animation. The pitch will be much more dynamic and players will not have to turn at the speed of a 16-wheeler. Instead, they will try to beat their opponent with simple tricks and feints. With a wider range of goals scored, it will also feel far more dynamic. Although some football matches can be quite beautiful, not as polished as FIFA, FM is arguably more reliable than FIFA in terms of quality.
Other than those three changes, it is difficult to point towards any notable additions for Football Manager in this year’s season. A few QoL improvements are made, there is a new role for the wide-eyed centre-backs and the 4-2-3-1 gegenpress has been reworked. However, FM 22 is still a topic that I cannot discuss without mentioning FM 21. I was already familiar with my experience, including the conversations, interactions and general experience. While I may continue to use FM 22, I don’t think I will be as obsessed as I was in the past years with Football Manager.
