PETER HOSKIN reviews the pick of this week's video games

Could this be farewell to Fifa? PETER HOSKIN reviews the pick of this week’s video games

Fifa 23 (PlayStation, Xbox, PC, £69.99) 

Verdict: Iteration not innovation

Rating: *** 

It’s the end of Fifa. Sort of. The game developers at Electronic Arts have cut ties with the – and I have a lawyer standing over my shoulder as I type this – upstanding fellows at world football’s governing body, effectively making Fifa 23 the last of its kind. Next year, it will be EA Sports FC instead.

Does the series go out on a high? Again, sort of. What can be said of Fifa 23 is that it’s very much a Fifa game – improving on what came before it, without really changing much.

What can be said of Fifa 23 is that it’s very much a Fifa game – improving on what came before it, without really changing much

Let’s start with the improvements. The one that’s got the marketeers most excited is Fifa 23’s – ugh – Hypermotion 2 technology. Basically, more effort has been put into recreating real-life players’ movements, and, it must be said, it shows. Your shimmies and shots now have a fluidity to them that’s never really been present in Fifa before.

But more exciting, for me at least, is the inclusion of England’s Women’s Super League, as well as the French equivalent. As an equal-opportunities Manchester United supporter, I appreciate the opportunity to thrash any gender of Liverpool team.

And then? There are more improvements but few that warrant mentioning. What starts to stand out is Fifa 23’s sameish-ness. The same dodgy graphical glitches in a game that, by now, ought to be nearly photorealistic. The same money-grabbing ‘Ultimate Team’ mode. The same menus, even.

There’s none of the experimentation that brought us a fun story mode a few years ago, or the kooky Parisian intro of last year. But perhaps EA are saving that for next year, when they go it alone. So long, Fifa.

Valkyrie Elysium (PlayStation, PC, £54.99)

Verdict: Mood and monsters

Rating: **** 

Bloody Nora! No, really. The main character in this game is a valkyrie, one of the angels-on-steroids from Norse mythology, called Nora, and she doesn’t half cut up a lot of monsters with her sword. Bloody Nora, indeed.

Why she’s doing this is a little mysterious. Technically, she – that is, you – have been dispatched by an ailing Odin, chief of the gods, to the mortal realms to try and stall the end times.

The main character in this game is a valkyrie, one of the angels-on-steroids from Norse mythology, called Nora, and she doesn’t half cut up a lot of monsters with her sword

But when you actually play Valkyrie Elysium, you’ll soon forget about the particulars as the imperative of zipping from one shambling beast to another, and subjecting them to the judgement of your blade, takes over.

Thankfully, though, the combat isn’t just frequent. It’s also inventive and fun. Valkyrie Elysium recalls its classic Japanese predecessors, going back to 1999’s Valkyrie Profile, by giving you plenty of options in each fight – from spells to phantasmal allies – but manages to make them all fit comfortably in your controller hand. What could have been a mess of quick button presses instead feels entirely natural, even for someone with my levels of incoordination.

Then there’s the atmosphere. Compared to, say, an Elden Ring or a Horizon Forbidden West, the world of Valkyrie Elysium might seem sparse to the point of being incomplete. But when you combine its empty halls and pastures with Motoi Sakuraba’s elegant soundtrack, the whole thing becomes almost… sepulchral.

In the end, I could even forgive Odin whining away in Valhalla in his gaudy white and gold suit. You just sit there, dude. Bloody Nora’s got this.

The DioField Chronicle (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, £49.99)

Verdict: Lets itself down

Rating: *** 

What is it about Leicester and Japanese fantasy games? Just a few years after Fire Emblem: Three Houses and its kingdom known as the Leicester Alliance, we now have The DioField Chronicle and its region of Lestershire. A different spelling, sure, but still redolent of a particular English county town.

As it happens, The DioField Chronicle is similar to Fire Emblem in other ways – beyond the Leicester connection. Both games involve you moving your little soldiers around miniature landscapes and then engaging in battles with any enemies you encounter. In between all the scrapping, you get to natter with your comrades.

Just a few years after Fire Emblem: Three Houses and its kingdom known as the Leicester Alliance, we now have The DioField Chronicle and its region of Lestershire

But The DioField Chronicle also differs from Fire Emblem in two particular ways, one of them bad. Its world, its story, its characters, its graphics… almost everything just feels half-baked, as though this game were completed on a low budget and to a punishing deadline. Instead of luxuriating in a medieval epic, you’ll just skip past all the turgid dialogue.

Which is a great shame, as the other difference is a good one. The DioField Chronicle doesn’t ape Fire Emblem’s battles but instead introduces its own system, mixing fast-paced action with more deliberative strategy. It’s a wonderful and quite individual blend, which deserves to shine in a more polished setting.

Yet, as it is, The DioField Chronicle’s experiments are likely to go uncelebrated. It could have been a contender for Fire Emblem’s crown. Instead, it’ll just be buried, figuratively speaking, under a carpark in Leicester.

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