FIFA 18 on Switch earns exclusive mode, loses cutscenes

FIFA 18 for Nintendo Switch has been surprising so far in terms of both gameplay and content, as it plays smoothly at 1080p60/720p60, keeping its trademark style, and it only misses out on a couple of things (the main one being Alex Hunter's The Journey narrative mode) despite not being based on the Frostbite engine, but on a new tech specifically built for the new console. This means it'll include fully-featured online modes, FUT, Icons and also complete Career Mode, even if it'll miss the new dramatic cutscenes powered by Frostbite, which were detailed at Gamescom.

"Those are powered by Frostbite, so everything you see that contains scenes of people negotiating or interacting, those are all powered by Frostbite", explains producer Andrei Lazarescu in the Gamereactor interview below. "There are several things in gameplay too, like the new animation system, again that is specific to Frostbite".

However, in terms of content and how you play, "you'll get the fully-fledged Career Mode in here, but you will not get the Frostbite scenes. But that's it, it's still an incredible Career Mode".

Besides, the Switch version is getting something else, taking advantage of its features: "So for example we have an exclusive mode in the game, called Local Seasons, where you have a console, I have a console, and even without an Internet connection, we're able to play each other on the go and we're able to do that 2v2 as well".

But even if impressions are good so far, Lazarescu wanted to get rid once and for all of that "testing the grounds" feeling that many users got from third-party publishing on Nintendo platforms before.

"One thing I definitely want to mention is that we're looking at this as being a foundational year on the Switch, as being a first year", he casually mentioned. When asked if this was then a first solid version instead of a test for EA to check users reaction, he went on saying "the teams both in Vancouver and Bucharest are really proud of what they actually accomplished. This is the best FIFA we've done for Nintendo, and not only that: the best portable FIFA we've ever done. Yes, we're looking to actually build from this experience more. It's a proper FIFA, authentic FIFA, it's not in any way a test or anything".

So there you have a hint for potential FIFA 19 on the Switch as well. For more on the tech side of things, controls and other details, watch the full interview down below. Are you convinced by FIFA on the Switch?