Football Manager 2024 review: It just can't get any better!

Football Manager 2024 is an important milestone for the series, which completes two decades in circulation. It's amazing to think how far the series has evolved with time, from the earlier days when it used to be a mere text-based simulator. With advancements in technology, there's lot more to experience today, and it has never felt as lifelike as this.

Football Manager 2024, in many ways, will feel like a massive update over last year's product. Of course, this could disappoint you to an extent, since there's no radical overhaul in any department. That said, there's still lot more to explore as the latest release isn't a mere seasonal update that brings the latest squads. In fact, there are some key improvements that have been implemented by the developers.

However, are the upgrades significant enough to buy the full game, or is it better to skip a purchase this time around?

Football Manager 2024's improvements may hide in plain sight, but their importance is visible

Football Manager 2024 essentially uses the same engine that has been used in the last few releases. Sports Interactive has already expressed that the series will be getting an overhaul next year, so my expectations weren't sky high. It's worth remembering that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Football Manager 2023, which was a superb product all things considered. Not only did it provide a realistic simulation experience, but it also made some vital improvements to the gameplay.

That said, every game has certain shortcomings no matter how good it is. Football Manager 2024's improvements are smaller in scale when compared to last year, but their importance doesn't scale down by any means.

Gameplay

The entire Football Manager series has always been a sandbox where you create your storylines. Once again, you select a club of your choice, and there's a massive set of options available on your hands. From the European elites to the sixth division of the English pyramid, every choice has its own set of challenges.

Once again, leagues in Football Manager 2024 are a mix of licensed and non-licensed units, although all teams have official squads. In terms of league licenses, I didn't witness any major changes, and anyway, you will have the ability to mod your save file. Modding will be critical if you want to increase the immersive feel you get from every moment.

Football Manager 2024 allows you to hire a set piece coach (Image via Sports Interactive)

At the outset, things look and feel the same, but the match engine has witnessed certain tweaks. The way your team presses, for example, appears to be different this time around. The importance of pace seems to have gone up, as footballers will use the additional speed to close down on their opponents. Last year, one of my primary concerns was the wingers not cutting back as much as I wanted. This time, it's pretty different, and even without any specialized instructions, your wide attackers will try to feed the ball to your forwards.

While Gegenpressing hasn't gone down in terms of effectiveness, Tiki-taka feels a lot more viable this time around. This seems to appear as a result of the improved passing in the match engine compared to last year. It's worth noting that gameplay will keep changing with future patches; at least that was the case last year.

Improvements

Earlier I spoke about improvements, and one of the biggest inclusions is the ability of playing your older saves. Yes, you can choose to import your Football Manager 2023 save and continue with the journey under the new system.

Tactics work in the same fashion as last year (Image via Sports Interactive)

While tactics largely work in the same fashion in Football Manager 2024, you can plan your setpieces better this time around. Not only can you hire a setpiece coach to fine-tune your tactics, but you will also enjoy far greater control than what was available last year.

One of my biggest frustrations in Football Manager 2023 was selling players. It was incredibly difficult, and some never fetched anywhere close to their market value. Another notable issue was the inability to get offers for a footballer that you simply want to dump and save his wages.

With the introduction of an intermediary, you can get rid of footballers who are surplus to requirements. While the offers they bring aren't amazing, they still provide you with an option to reduce the load on your wage bill. Moreover, you can also directly approach an agent to get their clients sold. If one of your footballers already has interest in the market, the agent will declare the possible bid they can attract.

Selling players is one of the most important tasks throughout the Football Manager series, and it's no different in this year's release. Personally, the work Sports Interactive has done in this regard is highly praise-worthy. I also noticed how the offers made by the AI for your players are far more realistic, although you can still get some shocking bids occasionally.

You can talk to agents to get rid of a player (Image via Sports Interactive)

Presentation

You'll be highly disappointed in terms of presentation if you were expecting significant changes. In large part, Football Manager 2024 feels like a reskin of last year's launch. Yes, some of the animations have changed, and the passing on certain parts of the pitch feels much more natural.

I am willing to give Sports Interactive a leeway in this matter because it's a personal thing. I liked the overall esthetics of Football Manager 2023, so this feels like an extension of one of the best entries to the series in many ways.

That said, I will undoubtedly be expecting significant changes in the match engine next year. The available hardware has shifted massively from what it was, and there's no excuse why Sports Interactive shouldn't look to upgrade as well.

In conclusion

Football Manager 2024 is an upgrade over last year in many aspects, and it's an upgrade that is well-worth your money. The graphics and presentation might have remained the same, but the match engine seems far more responsive this time around. Passing, in particular, appears to have been given a significant facelift to offer more tactical flexibility for players.

The department of transfers is the one that seems to have received the maximum attention. The introduction of intermediaries and the empowerment of player agents are welcome additions. It makes the task of selling your assets a lot smoother and more realistic as well.

Despite the near-zero changes made to the graphical side of things, Football Manager 2024 is worth your time. The gameplay simulation offered by the match engine is simply phenomenal, and it's possibly the best that you can get. Sports Interactive has made sure that its launch to mark the series' 20 years will remain in players' memory for a long time.