Soccer games have been around for decades on various platforms; there is always a great player base who craves the thrill of finally getting to play on the big stage, and if you didn’t make it as a pro player, a great soccer game is the next best thing.
Xbox has several great titles for players to get their soccer fix and some not-so-good efforts that are best forgotten.
Today we’re going to take a closer look at the five best soccer games that you can buy on the Xbox Series X. If you’re a hardcore player or a casual soccer fan, we’ve got something for everyone.
If your hand-eye coordination sucks, then don’t worry, there is more than one way to play soccer, and if you see yourself more as a club manager than a player, you’re in for a treat.
5. Football Cup 2022
There are some genuinely outstanding soccer games that have been released over the years, but unfortunately, Football Cup 2022 isn’t one of them. With the dominance of FIFA, it’s understandable that it’s hard to take over the market, and while Football Cup 2022 tries, it’s just not there yet.
The overall layout is solid, but the in-game graphics leave a lot to be desired. On an amusing note, as the game hasn’t been licensed with any clubs or leagues, the name changes are pretty good. Altering one letter from a well-known player’s name, turning them into an entirely new entity, is great fun to try.
Sadly, this is about as fun as Football Cup gets, as the leagues that are available are bizarrely altered so that they don’t run in the format we all expect.
There are also mini challenges that you have to complete before every tournament, whether you want to or not. With a lot of tweaking and for a reasonable price, it’s worth keeping an eye on for now.
Pros
- It’s cheap to buy.
- The game could be a decent play for a reasonable price with serious work.
Cons
- Graphically awful.
- Tournament formats are baffling.
- The Player movement is horrifyingly bad.
- Without serious work, the game will fail.
4. FIFA 2022
A franchise that’s unlikely to be bettered when it comes to soccer games, FIFA 2022 is a must-have in your collection. The gameplay is as crisp as you’d expect, and the graphics are the best around.
As is often the case, the only thing that usually knocks FIFA off the top spot is the next release of the FIFA franchise.
If there are any minor criticisms to this superb soccer game, it’s that the career mode could have done with a little more padding out, but overall, FIFA 2022 remains one of the best soccer games ever created.
The goalkeeper AI is as alarming as ever, so working your socks off to win a game only to see your goalie evaporate into thin air can be crushing.
Pros
- Superb gameplay.
- Graphically stunning.
- Licensed properly.
- Seriously addictive with a long shelf life.
- Many modes of play to enjoy.
Cons
- Goalkeepers need work
- Opportunity missed with the career mode
- It can be a bit too easy unless playing real players
3. eFootball
After an inauspicious start, with a game full of bugs, eFootball has spent months rectifying its mistakes. What’s left is a decent attempt at a soccer simulation, and with further work to be done, we’re hopeful for the future of this once proud game.
The days of Pro Evolution Soccer battling it out with FIFA are long gone. Still, this latest incarnation, a free-to-play soccer game constantly under development, could finally see the
genre return to its feet. There’s still a long way to go, but the developers seem to be taking on the fan’s frustrations and making honest attempts to fix things.
Pros
- Free-to-play.
- Constantly being developed.
- Graphically sound.
- It has a real potential to deliver in the future.
- The gameplay has improved dramatically.
Cons
- The somewhat unintuitive menu system.
- More needs doing, and quickly.
- AI needs work, but the team of developers is working on it.
2. FIFA 2023
As always, the only thing that usually knocks a FIFA game off the top spot is the next incarnation of the game, and FIFA 2023 is no exception.
A beautifully crafted, graphically outstanding release of the world’s favorite first-person soccer game. As we stated earlier, FIFA 2022 missed a trick with the career mode, and thankfully FIFA 2023 has heard our cries.
Aesthetically, the game is a real improvement and far above any other soccer game available, and with a worldwide fanbase, there are always going to be opportunities for online fracas against real players.
The on-field gameplay has been tweaked enough to be an improvement but not enough that seasoned players can’t immediately jump in and dominate.
There are very few faults with FIFA 2023, which does them credit, as the competition for players, at least in the immediate future, is poor. Despite that, the FIFA team has yet again raised what was an already high bar and left us with one of the best soccer games ever made.
Pros
- Superb graphics and animations.
- Excellent gameplay.
- Longevity – you’ll keep coming back.
- Improved career mode, thankfully.
- Excellent soundtrack.
- Online multiplayer is phenomenal.
Cons
- Slightly slower gameplay (might not be a bad thing, patience and cunning are rewarded)
- Goalkeepers are still a little wayward
- Its lack of competition means there’s no reason to innovate.
1. Football Manager 2023
The most fantastic soccer management simulator ever created, Football Manager 2023 is the easiest way to lose months of your life micro-managing a soccer team that you’ll ever find.
FM23 has the most comprehensive player database ever created; it’s so good that even real professional soccer clubs have been known to license the database so that they can use the information to scout real players.
There’s nothing more satisfying than taking a youth player with a bit of talent and molding them into a global star or taking a lower league team through the leagues and into the Champions League final.
If it’s instant glory you need, taking on a big club can be incredibly rewarding, but beware; the club will demand success, start losing, and you’ll get the boot.
The tactics system is the best in the world, and you can spend hours tweaking your players to maximize their potential.
Once you know what tactics you prefer and what works, you can mold your squad over the seasons, buying the right players for the job. It’s incredibly rewarding, especially when your players do exactly what you want them to do.
It’s also incredibly frustrating at times; losing a player to an injury can feel like a family bereavement, especially if you have no suitable backup player.
The wins dry up, and you find yourself genuinely worrying about getting sacked. It’s the only game we’ve ever played where the worry is so real you daren’t press continue.
In Football Manager 2023, you can manage everything from the training regimes and tactics and transfer business right down to the under-18s team. Choose your backroom staff wisely, and they’ll help your players develop; overspend in the transfer market on a dodgy center-back, and your season could fall apart.
Fm23 is not only a superb game but also incredibly addictive; you’ll lose hours of your day scouring the Swedish lower leagues for a right-footed defensive midfielder and lose sleep worrying about your star striker losing his scoring touch. The best soccer game ever created, by a mile.
Pros
- Value for money – hundreds of hours of gameplay, and then you can start again.
- Incredibly realistic
- Huge player database from almost every nation on earth.
- Regular updates after real-world transfer windows.
- Huge fanbase.
- Immersive beyond belief.
Cons
- You’ll not sleep for days.
- It can be incredibly frustrating.
- Steeper learning curve than FIFA.
- You’ll dream about the formations, tactics, and set-piece takers.
Best soccer games on other platforms:
