FIFA 23’s big new gameplay feature is a power shot.
The power shot, which is available across generations (so, for example, PS4 and PS5), is a new skill-based, risk versus reward shooting mechanic.
EA wanted to introduce more skill to shooting, the company said during a recent presentation attended by Eurogamer, so in FIFA 23, if you carve out enough space for yourself and aim precisely, you can score impressive-looking goals that have more power and accuracy, but with the risk of a longer animation.
Here’s how it works: hold both bumpers (L1 and R1 on PlayStation or LB and RB on Xbox) and press shoot and your player will wind up a longer animation for a powerful shot. While this is going on, you manually direct the shot. This means the shot direction is unassisted.
“For me, when you actually score these goals it feels so rewarding because you earned it,” Kantcho Doskov, design director on FIFA gameplay, said.
“You aimed well, you carved out this space. They feel fantastic.”
It’s worth noting the new power shot takes the input command of the low driven shot seen in previous FIFA games. Low driven shots are still in FIFA 23, but are now governed by the amount of power you put behind any shot, rather than a dedicated input command.
“If you power up between 20-30 percent on your power bar, those will be low and fast,” Doskov explained.
“So you can still get low driven shots. Even with headers – if you power up slightly, you’ll get a downward, powerful header. So they’re still there.
“But, when you do hold those two modifiers, you’re going to get the power shot – and the aim is manual. Meaning, if you aim at the corner flag, that’s where the shot will go.
“But because the animations are long, you have time. So when you press shoot, you power up, and you have a good second to aim exactly where you want to aim and then get the shot off. So it works really well.”