What to Expect from EA Sports UFC 5
EA Sports UFC 5 is just around the corner and it will look almost entirely like a brand-new game compared to its four predecessors.
The new game features new mechanics, features, and tweaks that will lead the franchise into the next generation of players.
And with over 100 fighters to choose from, gamers can experiment with different fighting styles. More fighters will be added post-launch.
UFC 5 will only be available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X at launch, although it is possible that the game will make its way to PC in the future.
Releasing on October 27, 2023, we look at the innovative features and gameplay mechanics coming to UFC 5.
The Frostbite Game Engine
For the first time in franchise history, the immersive Frostbite engine powers EA Sports UFC 5.
Regarded as one of the top game engines, Frostbite has been a main catalyst behind some of the Madden NFL and FIFA games in recent years.
Players will notice an enhanced realism in what the fighters look like compared to their real-life counterparts.
EA Sports developer Nate McDonald said:
“Right away, I would say that from a visual standpoint, the realism of all of the lighting, visual effects, environments are outstanding.
“The level of detail… we’ve always prided ourselves a lot in how good the fighters and how good the characters look in UFC.
“Frostbite has allowed us to take it to a whole new level.
“The meta gameplay strategy that’s going to be a big part of the franchise moving forward now with the ‘real impact’ system.
“With Frostbite being able to deliver the authentic damage that we’re able to do now, and for us to be able to show that authentic damage to our players and create a certain gameplay meta out of that where… for example, you’ll know whether it’s visually or by the play-by-play colour commentary if you end up with a broken nose.
“If you have a broken nose, that’s going to have a direct impact on your ability to be successful in the game.
“It’s going to impact your stamina, and it’s going to create a new strategy for the player to decide ‘Do I need to find ways to better conserve my stamina that make it through the end of this fight? Or am I not going to be able to do that and go for broke and go for knocking out my opponent?’.
“Those are some really big, key areas moving forward for us.”
Frostbite takes the franchise into the future and delivers stunning visuals on next-gen consoles.
Owners of PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles have raved at some of the enhanced views and crisp gameplay as the technology has evolved.
Authentic Damage
Cuts, bruising and swelling accumulate based on the damage you inflict and take.
This includes over 64,000 possible combinations of facial damage that are rendered in more detail than ever before, affecting character attributes.
But try not to take too much damage because doctors will now have a say in whether or not a fight will continue inside the virtual Octagon.
In past UFC games, players could leave their opponents with a slew of injuries.
While this will continue with UFC 5, there will be a strategic element for new and veteran players to take into consideration.
EA Sports developer Raman Bassi spoke about the addition of doctor’s stoppages, explaining:
“Doctor stoppages are going to be very realistic. Essentially what the damage system allows us is you take an accumulation of strikes to a certain region of the face… it’s going to cause a cut or swelling, just like it would be in real life… elbows cut very often, so elbows in our game will have the same properties.
“The type of damage can lead to vision penalties, breathing penalties, and it can lead to a doctor’s stoppage.
“But, we also have cut-resistent attributes in the game that we’ve added this year.”
“A fighter like Nate Diaz would get cut really easily off of many strikes, but a fighter like Anderson Silva would have a high cut resistance because he doesn’t get cut often in his fights.
“Much like our damage system, there’s going to be no luck in doctor’s stoppages.
“It’s all based on the damage you accumulate in the fight, so you have the opportunity to change your gameplan.
“If you have a big cut over your eye, you know that your vision is compromised… your block is going to come up a bit slower, but you know that ‘Hey, I better go for a takedown now, because my vision’s compromised and I can’t see strikes [from a certain direction]’… one strike can change the momentum of the fight.”
The initial concern is how frequently doctors would step in. But it seems that a doctor stoppage would be a rare occurrence.
New Striking & Submissions
UFC 5 introduces all-new animations for ground and pound elbows, spinning attacks, and several other punches, kicks, knees and elbows.
In addition, new striking animations emulate heavy hitters, professional kickboxers and more.
The new game has also revamped the existing grappling system.
It will bring faster animations and mini-games have been removed.
The new submissions offer a smoother, more authentic ground game that is sure to be a grappler’s delight.
Competitive Modes
UFC 5 will continue to feed the cravings of hardcore gamers looking to rise up the competitive ladders.
Players will have the opportunity to use their created fighters in competitive play, enhancing the importance of developing your ‘create a fighter’ assets.
EA Sports developer Jazz Brousseau explained what competitive play will look like.
He said: “Ranked championships are making a return this year.
“Online career, we’ve really strived to make a part of the fan experience. So leading up to fight week and after, players will be able to engage in fight week challenges, earn rewards through those challenges such as for their created characters and player cards.
“But the big selling point for competitive play is the introduction of fighter evolution.”
“It’s a mechanic that we’ve taken from career mode and our fighter progression system where you engage with the system to spend your evolution points towards attributes, stats, perks, so that’ll be an area that players can compete creative fighter vs creative fighter.
“Ranked play, leaderboards, and the last thing to mention about the evolution system is there’s a prestige mechanic, so once you reach a level cap, you’ll be able to prestige and create your level cap, and allow your fighter to grow in new, different ways.”
The prestige mechanic makes it possible for those who max out their created fighters to continue to move ahead on multiple levels.
If a player decides to switch from a pure kickboxer to a more well-rounded mixed martial artist, they can edit the evolutions of their fighters.
‘Fight Week’
One new aspect of online play is ‘Fight Week’.
Gamers will be able to make predictions on real-life fights, such as pay-per-view and UFC Fight Night events.
If a gamer guesses a fight correctly, including the method of victory, they will earn evolution points and other benefits for their created fighters.
This new feature forces gamers to keep up to date with real-life fights and creates a direct link between reality and virtual odds.
Fight odds, including prop bets on the method of victory, will also be available in the ‘Fight Week’ hub for gamers to take into account.
The ‘Fight Week’ feature will likely be available at launch and can be utilised for some of the biggest fights remaining in 2023 and beyond.
The game releases on October 27, 2023, but gamers who preorder the Deluxe Edition can play it from October 24.
As a preorder bonus, players will be able to take Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson into the Octagon as well as Russian MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko.
UFC 5 looks to be the most realistic MMA simulation by EA Sports, boasting authentic damage and new fighting reactions.
It looks to take virtual fighting to the next level!