Football Manager 2021 Critic Reviews

Football Manager 2021 may not revolutionise the series, but instead it adds countless quality-of-life improvements – including ones to the match engine – that make it the best Football Manager game to date.

Football Manager 2021 is a winner and a real worthwhile upgrade not only for those who played the previous game but also those who might have lapsed in recent years. This is the most realistic version yet, with deeper player interaction and more varied communications with your team and key staff making you feel even more like a real manager.

Football Manager 2021 is by far the closest representation to the beautiful game you can find. With an improved matchday engine, improved AI and even more datapoints than ever before, all represented in a more digestible method, making it more accessible than ever before. However, there's still no doubt that the series is still going to have a high barrier to entry, and it has some irritating issues, such as repetition in the press conferences and other interaction aspects. Issues aside, this is yet another improvement and superior entry to the series.

Football Manager 2020 is another confirmation of Sports Interactive’s ability in crafting a great title every year. No revolution is to be expected, but many smaller improvements bring the game ever closer to technical perfection. FM 2021 is clean and optimized, probably also thanks to the fact that the game will also release on Xbox One and Series X|S.

Football Manager 2021 is a deep, detailed football management sim that rewards you for paying attention to your team. From the board of directors to your under-18 team, if you are willing to put in the time to achieve success, every win reaps tons of satisfaction.

It still has its quirks, but this year's Football Manager is the best one yet.

Despite a lack of big ticket new features Football Manager 2021 delivers its best ever matchday experience and the series’ most realistic on-pitch simulation of football.

With Football Manager 2021, Sports Interactive have once again delivered a game that countless fans will happily be pouring hundreds of hours of their lives into.

Football Manager 2021 is a very good management game. It offers more options than before, takes up more time than ever, delivers such an accurate take on the real-world sport that it is sometimes unnerving. It also makes it a little harder to create truly alternate worlds, like one where Wrexhman wins the Premier League. For those who want something that moves faster and is more focused on just tactics, the Touch version of the game is a better choice. I love the depth that the series has been adding and I don’t mind playing at the most 3 or 4 seasons in one run. But for those who want 20 year-long attempts at greatness, with plenty of regens and takeovers, delegation and quick matches are the right way to go. Football Manager 2021 is a game best enjoyed a few virtual matches a night, preferably with some real-world football in the background, wondering whether you can get Fulham out of that bind (maybe, in a season or three) or if you can be the one to lead 1. FC Koln to greatness (it might take a decade).

Football Manager 2021 is a continual improvement over its predecessor. While not doing anything that radically shifts the dial, this latest addition further improves the user experience and gives even more ways to set up and run a successful football team. With a 3D match engine that is really starting to do a great job at bringing the action to life, and further touches of realism to player and media interactions, there's enough innovation here for fans to jump onboard. Social life be warned, FM21 is a fantastic time sink and once stuck inside, it's hard to get out.

Football Manager 2021 combines the best elements of previous games and undergoes a dramatic improvement that cuts deeper than the superficial. It’s heavy, detailed, and been given a new texture by a more personal take on management.

There are very few new features in this year's Football Manager but the game's match engine is the star of the show. The graphical upgrade is slight but numerous improvements in AI and animation make the beautiful game more beautiful than ever before.

This is the most ambitious, realistic and deep entry in the series, with tweaks that make our actions more meaningful that ever.

FM 2021 offers no groundbreaking innovations, but this year it is better than ever where it really matters: on the pitch.

With a newfound litheness on the pitch and deep data analysis, FM21 gives you an easy excuse to relapse.

The pandemic didn't stop the folks at Sports Interactive: even this year, their product is the undisputed king in the genre it created. A deep and rewarding medicine for all the weeks spent indoors.

Football Manager 2021 is still the undisputed king of the soccer management sim. It's sheer content and the new features added this year make this opus a must-have for every soccer fan.

Football Manager 2021 fully retains the soul of this franchise with a history of more than 20 years, which only develops gradually in some details. It is not suitable for all players, and even many players who love football will be dismissed. Only those who really want to become hardcore football fans are willing to patiently study and fall in love with this game.

Football Manager 2021 is the best episode ever of the series on the pitch, where the experience is nearly perfect in terms of simulation, while off the pitch the game has really a clumsy and obnoxious user interface. Overall, the experience is great and the football world feels tense, realistic and dynamic as never before, but there's still more room to improve the game in terms of narration, flow and emotional storytelling.

The novelties of the annual edition, as expected, are not substantial, yet they contribute to the growth and improvement of a complete and extremely dedicated formula not only to realism and simulation, but also to involvement.