Games have long attempted a fuzzy simulacrum of life as a football manager – overpaying on transfers, tinkering with formations, occasionally entering into feuds with the press. But when it comes to the lived experience of players, efforts have been less successful. That’s the aim of Fifa 17: to bring the individual story to the fore. That’s the core of The Journey, EA Sports’ annual mega-franchise’s shiniest new feature, you experience the fledgling career of a single player: London-born Alex Hunter.
A spin on similar efforts in the NBA 2K and MLB franchises, The Journey lets you play as Hunter through the start of his pro career – from tryouts to the bench, then working your way up to a Premier League debut and beyond. It’s slickly produced, thick with cutscenes; you can choose different conversation options to influence Hunter’s personality, with a fiery temper likely to spark fans and sponsorships and a cool, team-player mentality more likely to curry favour with the manager.