Taking the direct player control (like PES and FIFA) out of the player’s hands and leaving it to your tactical acumen creates a simultaneously rewarding and agonizing feeling for when things go good or bad, and this year’s game improves that further by simplifying the tactical creation process and adding new ways to measure improvement. It all feels so good on screen, from when your team plays perfect one-touch football like prime Barcelona or grinds out a tough result away from home as if you were Jose Mourinho himself, backed up by the amazing feeling that you made that happen. The main aim since the dawn of time for sports games has been to deliver the greatest possible representation of their sports – and FM21 may be closer to that goal than any football (or soccer, yes, I know where this website is based) game that has come before. Perhaps that is Football Manager 2021’s greatest triumph. Obviously, the graphics were a clear disconnect – this is no FIFA or PES after all – but it was how the game emulated the real-life sport so well that truly surprised me. It was then I realized something very important – I’d forgotten that I was watching a simulation.

I should be devastated, but the match I just sat through had me on the edge of my seat like no other Football Manager game before it. Over the course of 120 minutes, there is a flurry of chances for both teams before culminating in a 1-0 defeat. I set up the team I think has a good chance of winning, and then the praying begins.

I’ve looked at the opposition report – we’ve beaten them once already this season, but as every fan knows, form goes out of the window in a cup final. It’s the eve of an important cup final for my team. Where To Buy: Steam, Epic Games Store, Official Site Available On: PC, Xbox One/Series X/S, Stadia

Football manager 2021 simulation