Arcade.
In 2019, apart from reviews of football video games, Akhil Arora’s coverage made room for what Apple was building with its game subscription service.
Apple Arcade
“Apple’s hunt for diversification is great news for game developers like [Andrew] Schimmel and [Chirag] Chopra who are trying to make premium games in a free-to-play world. [… Arcade] developers don’t have to worry about the game’s recurrent micro-earning potential. Or even what it should cost in the first place.”
FIFA 20
“With improvements [elsewhere]—slower gameplay, tougher defending, revised free-kicks, and more-equipped AI—11v11 is where it’s at, we think. Volta would have certainly kept the FIFA 20 team busy what with the new assets and all that, but since the game doesn’t need the same thought and strategy as its big brother, it’s in service of a product that’s ultimately less than the sum of its parts.”
eFootball PES 2020
“In PES 2020, defenders still charge like homing missiles, aren’t interested in tracking forward runs, and tend to get caught on the ball themselves. It’s almost as if the developers are content with the current state of affairs. That said, there are attempts elsewhere—though the results are decidedly mixed.”