UFC® 5 (Xbox Series X|S)

Game description:

EA Sports UFC 5 is a mixed martial arts fighting video game developed by EA Vancouver and published by EA Sports. Serving as the sequel to EA Sports UFC 4 (2020), it was released on October 27, 2023 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Gameplay:

Like its predecessor, UFC 5 is a fighting game based on the mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). UFC 5 features a revamped damage system which allows the game to render blood and sweat realistically and show different combinations of facial damages during combat. Injuries will impact a fighter's performance. For instance, a bruised eye may result in impaired vision. If the player character is severely injured, the match will be temporarily paused or halted completely by a ring doctor. The grapple system in the game is also streamlined, allowing players to initiate submission attempts faster and more seamlessly when compared with UFC 4.

The game features a career mode, which sees the return of Coach Davis introduced in UFC 4. The goal of the player is to become the "G.O.A.T" (which stands for "greatest of all time"). The game also features an online career mode, in which player's own custom characters fight against other characters created by other player, and a fight contract mode which generate a match with AI-controlled fighers on a daily basis.

Game review:

EA Sports UFC 5 is the best MMA game yet. Its next-gen presentation and refreshed mechanics are a dramatic improvement over previous games in the series, allowing for a more seamless and exciting recreation of the sport. The new damage system makes adjusting your strategy mid-fight more involved with plenty of risk-versus-reward decisions, making both offline and online modes all the more enjoyable and replayable. Career Mode has been fine tuned with welcome lifestyle improvements and a deeper story with Coach Davis. UFC 4 may have been the best MMA game mostly due to lack of competition, but UFC 5 stands a class above it, earning that title on its own merits as both an amazing sports simulation game and fighting game alike.