The glamorous football world we watch in the stadium or on TV is only one part of the fascination of the sport. The great thing about football is that it can be played almost anytime and anywhere and by anyone. As not only veterans of digital football still rave on about FIFA 98 and its indoor mode, the popular street offshoots of the impudently successful franchise have been sorely missed by many players. Hardly any Electronic Arts press conference in the last years went by without at least one journalist asking for a new edition of the well-known street football edition. The developers now attempt to kill two birds with one stone.

What is Volta World about?

Its latest mode is called Volta World and introduces a breath of fresh air in the otherwise more or less service-oriented everyday business. But that doesn't mean that FIFA 20 is completely resting on its laurels. Its gameplay and Ultimate Team are also receiving some exciting new features. Dribblings have been revised, and the value of a player in this category is more meaningful than ever. Before a shot, you now have a better chance at targeting a ball, allowing for better-targeted shots. Besides, the computer's AI players have been reworked, improving their team play. Furthermore, the ball no longer rolls over the lawn as if pulled by a string but is more strongly influenced by the ground. It, therefore, bounces more realistically and receives more spin from specific actions.

What speaks for FIFA 20, is the new and surprisingly extensive Volta mode, which Electronic Arts have been working on for over two years. It includes every gameplay element of the big football matches, while also adding more skill moves. Volta isn't quite as crazy as earlier FIFA Street episodes, but still plays noticeably different and independently. It includes two formats, Futsal and street football, with two central modes, called Story and Volta World. The first one is a kind of replacement for The Journey and is meant to keep you busy for about six hours. You can create a protagonist and experience the ascent to a celebrated street kicker, including various conflicts with teammates and competitors.

Write your own story

In Volta World, you and your crew compete in tournaments and events all over the world. If you win, you can recruit a member of the opposing team to join your squad. In the end, you'll gradually put together a powerful team that is sure to make the life of your opponents harder. As style also plays an important role, you can dress your players individually. You can either buy new clothes with Volta Coins or by completing particular challenges. Electronic Arts plan to release a fresh supply of outfits every month. Furthermore, you will be able to play friendly matches within FUT, which do not influence your rankings. In King of the Hill, random zones appear on the court. The longer you manage to stay in one of these zones with a player controlling the ball, the more goals you get.

All in all, Volta football looks to be a worthy replacement for The Journey. The developers, luckily, didn't develop the long-desired mode half-heartedly but included a fully-fledged second game. The Volta mode is a lot of fun right from the start, and the revised AI is quite apparent on the pitch. Other gameplay details are, however, less noticeable. Most importantly, FIFA 20 has a good flow, a good tempo, and just feels right.