Football Manager 2017 Demo

Although football matches are just 90 minutes displays of speed, skill and sometimes luck, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes, especially when it comes to the managers. Hence, they must make sure that every player is in shape and in the right position to give it his best. On top of that, there are all sorts of other problems to tackle in the meantime, few of which are ever considered by the public.

Football Manager 2017 is the latest iteration in the popular soccer management series, and it comes with a few improvements over the previous episode, although they are not exactly groundbreaking. In essence, this is more of a touchup than an actual sequel that pushes the limits of the game, which is a bit of a bummer, even if it would take a lot of effort to completely change such a complex product.

The feature list includes items like FaceGen technology and the reality of social media pressure, none of which are particularly important to the actual gameplay. Granted, there are a couple of new things when it comes to mechanics and the way you interact with players, but this still appears to be a fully-priced patch. Moreover, many fans seem disappointed in the actual simulation engine.

As always the volume of data included in the game has gotten bigger, which is one of the few things that truly changes from one version to the next. You now have even more clubs and players at your disposal, not to mention the fact that each roster has been updated to reflect the latest transfer season. Thus, there’s certainly no way you can get bored in this regard, especially since every team is different in one way or another.

The graphics are nothing out of the ordinary in this episode either, although they are almost irrelevant in a management simulator. However, the match simulation has been improved a little bit as well, which makes it easier to watch the confrontations unfold. Naturally, the user interface is pretty intuitive as well, although newcomers might need a decent accommodation period before everything starts to make sense.

All things considered, Football Manager 2017 is certainly realistic and complex, not to mention engaging over long periods of time. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have what it takes to be worth an upgrade, because the list of improvements and additions is a tad too short for a full priced game.