EA UFC 5 has dropped for PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X users who pre-ordered.
I’ve had a digital copy of the game for about 4 days to evaluate, courtesy of EA, and I’ve already logged significant hours across each mode.
The online servers are already well populated, and there is almost no wait time between opponents in Ranked Championship and the new online career modes. We’ll see how things hold up once the game is available to everyone, but so far, so good on the connectivity front.
Now that we’ve discussed the most essential prerequisites, let’s discuss the ten things I’ve learned in my time with EA UFC 5.
You Must Guard Your Head…Seriously
Head damage in EA UFC 5 is the most crucial piece of the overall gameplay puzzle. The gameplay team has done an excellent job of intensifying the consequences of taking too many strikes to the head.
In addition to heightening the chances of getting knocked out from a punch, elbow, kick, or knee, there’s also the real possibility you could lose because of a severe cut.
The new facial damage component can’t be ignored, and it’s not just for gore and show. If you get a bad cut–especially above the eye–there is a chance the referee will step in to stop the fight. Sometimes, you’ll get a look from the doctor and be allowed to continue. If you get a second look from the doctor, it seems more times than not, the fight will be called, and you’ll lose.
It’s a brutal way to lose a fight online, and I can imagine some users will have some level of outrage. However, I don’t have an issue with it. I always lean toward realism, where it makes sense in sports titles, and this makes sense.
The vulnerability of the head is even more of a thing when your opponent is in top position on the ground and firing strikes. Getting pounded out from this precarious position is much easier than it was in EA UFC 4.
Being too reckless in EA UFC 5 will result in many KO or TKO losses.
Spinning Attacks Aren’t As Practical to Use As Before
I was guilty of using a spinning backkick with my kickboxer in EA UFC 4. I mastered the range to pull it off, and the cost of missing it wasn’t enough for me to stop.
In over 4,000 online matches in EA UFC 4, I’d gotten good at it.
EA UFC’s gameplay team wanted to nerf me and others who loved spinning attacks. In EA UFC 5, all spinning attacks are more challenging to execute. Instead of pressing L2/L1 and circle to land the powerful spinning attacks, you must tap X and circle to start the spin and then another face button to choose the strike.
If I’m being honest, I haven’t mastered a way to throw this with any regularity. Perhaps that was the plan, considering so few fighters throw many spinning attacks in real-life MMA.
I’ve yet to face anyone online who has frequently used spinning attacks, which tells me others are struggling to find a comfort zone with the new controls.
Do I want the old spinning back? A little because I’m competitive and I like to win, and that strategy worked well for me. However, I believe it is better for the overall gameplay to raise the difficulty of the execution of this kind of attack.
Because of that, I’ll either learn it or delete it from my approach.
The New Grappling Isn’t All That Different From EA UFC 4
The seamless transition concept that has been advertised is genuine, but it boils down to quicker transitions on the ground, a few more games, and the removal of the submission mini-game.
What does that mean for people who played a lot of EA UFC 4? It’ll feel like the last game, except for submitting opponents.
Gaining the win this way will come down to a combination of your fighter’s skills in that area, stamina, and your opponent’s ability to block your advances.
I Appreciate Online Championships Excluding Created Fighters
In EA UFC 4, users could use their created fighters in online championship. I almost always used my created fighters in online championship.
In this year’s game, you’re forced to find an actual fighter whose style you can get comfortable using. Moreover, you’ll have to find some level of comfort with a fighter in every weight class as the rotation of divisions returns from EA UFC 4.
This setup requires more skill and feels more official for a ranked mode.
Online Play is A Much-Needed Lift For EA UFC’s Career Mode
The EA UFC career modes have left a bit to be desired as an offline experience. This year’s game is similar, with Coach Davis doing little to take the offline experience to the next level.
Thankfully, EA introduced an option allowing users to take their created fighters into online career mode, competing against other users and their creations.
You’ll also upgrade your fighters’ attributes and movesets and change their appearance with physical features and gear. It feels similar to NBA 2K’s MyCareer without the City experience.
This is about as close to perfect as you would want for an MMA game. The one thing that would improve the career mode is a bit more of a compelling story in the offline component.
Some still enjoy campaign concepts, while others just want to take their creations into online combat. If both groups are being fed, it’s ideal.
Fight Contracts Are a Potentially Cool Past Time
Fight Contracts is a mode that tasks the user with playing generated matchups with multiple fighters from the EA UFC 5 roster. The matchups range in difficulty and weight class.
They’re all there for a limited time and carry a coin bonus for trying and winning the bouts. It’s pretty good practice and a way to stack coins for purchasing in-game items.
Perhaps the biggest reason to give it a look is the experience you can gain from using different fighters on the roster. You might find a new main for Online Championship based on your experience in Fight Contracts.
Kumite Bouts Are Insane
The Kumite feels pretty similar to EA UFC 4, only there is only one round, and that frame lasts 25 minutes. I highly doubt anyone will get through the round without a KO, but in the process, the action looks like the Bloodsport that popularized the Kumite with American audiences.
It’s a crazy match type that you should try at least once, and it works in local player-vs.-player situations.
Fight Week is Another Pretty Solid Side Feature
Who doesn’t enjoy picking winners ahead of fights? That’s one of the things EA UFC 5 allows you to do the week of a real-life event within the game.
We saw a glimmer of this during the beta, but it wasn’t active for UFC 294 as the game was still in pre-release. The first event the Fight Week feature should be active for is the Nov. 4 Fight Night featuring Jailton Almeida and Derrick Lewis in the main event.
EA needs to add Almeida to the heavyweight division. If he does what I expect him to do to Lewis, the demand for his presence on the roster might get a little louder in the next two weeks.
In addition to Fight Picks, users can also complete contracts and challenges with fighters who belong to the upcoming card. Only three fighters from the Nov. 4 card are on the roster: Lewis, Angela Hill, and Marc Diakese.
Perhaps all the challenges and contracts will be associated with those three fighters.
Ultimate Team Could Have Been Amazing in EA UFC 5
EA chose not to bring back Ultimate Team to this franchise–at least for now. With the Alter Egos and appropriately segmented features, the collector mode could have fit nicely in this overall package.
As long as they focused on the fighters and not their movesets, it would be great to chase high-rated versions of current and former UFC fighters.
A Boxing-Only Mode Would Have Been Amazing in EA UFC 5
The stand-up combat in EA UFC 5 is tighter than in EA UFC 4. One of the biggest reasons for this is the boxing.
The game can feel like a boxing slugfest if you and your opponent keep most of the strikes with your hands. I had a match controlling Muhammad Ali (a pre-order bonus) against Mike Tyson (another pre-order bonus), and my opponent only threw punches the entire fight.
It felt like a boxing match and was one of my most fun overall fights. Considering EA UFC hasn’t been an annual title, and the next full release probably won’t come until 2025 at the earliest, it would be interesting to see if an all-boxing mode is released in a future update.
Overall, EA UFC 5 is a more challenging and visually appealing upgrade from EA UFC 4 with a more organized set of modes.
A digital copy of EA UFC 5 was provided to me by EA.
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