Review: Football Manager 2024

Sports Interactive return with their annual instalment of football fanatics’ favourite game, Football Manager 2024. Its promise of big changes has been well and truly delivered. From the on-pitch graphics improvements to all of the changes in set pieces, transfers and player relationships, Sport Interactive has hit the mark once again.

The movements and actions of the players on the pitch actually resemble the actions of a real-life player

This is the first instalment of Football Manager that I have purchased since FM 2021, despite my love of the game. This was mainly due to the nature of the game being the victim of its own downfall. I fell in love with my save in 2021 and didn’t see enough change in the following two editions of FM for me to quit Villareal and move on. This changed, however, with the promise of a graphics redesign this year and an overhaul of the transfer market and set piece design.

The promises are more than delivered, as for the first time ever on a Football Manager game, the movements and actions of the players on the pitch actually resemble the actions of a real-life player. There is obviously still a lot to be desired for the realism on display, but it is good enough to visualise as real players on the pitch in my head and that’s enough for me!

The transfer market has improved massively in its realism this year

The off-the-pitch changes though are what really sell this new edition. The set piece design system is finally easy to understand and allows individual freedom for free kicks and corners. It takes a bit of getting used to but once you get it right, you can end up adding 20-25 goals a season from dead ball situations alone. I would say that the set pieces seem a little too overpowered, with far more goals scored from these situations in game than in real life.

The transfer market has improved massively in its realism this year, which provides an extra challenge in improving your squad year by year. From experience, it seems much harder to make unrealistic big-name signings for smaller clubs and it certainly takes a little longer than before to entirely rebuild a squad outside of the top division. However, this didn’t stop me from signing a 35-year-old Alexis Sanchez to Swansea City.

Rating

9/10

Overall, Sports Interactive have worked their magic once again. With 80 hours of gameplay already under my belt, I can’t wait to guide my Swansea side to glory.