EA Sports is back with its fifth installment into the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) series and MKAU was recently invited to an exclusive virtual preview event for the new game, and needless to say, UFC fans are in for an absolute treat.

UFC 5 has been completely rebuilt to take full advantage of the new Frostbite System, with the developers focusing on making the game as realistic as possible when it comes down to the moves, character models, and basic movement from the characters to create the most authentic MMA experience. The developers described UFC 5 as an unedited MMA experience, and with the power of the Frostbite engine, we can finally get UFC 5 in 60 FPS like never before.

The first thing people always ask when it comes to sports titles is, “Who is getting to be on the title on release?” and UFC 5 has not disappointed. The standard edition will feature Valentina “Bullet” Shezchenko and Australia’s own Alex “The Great” Volenski, and if you are looking into the Deluxe Edition, it will be faced by none other than Israel “The Last Style Bender” Adesanya, and these are some terrific picks from the development team.

The main thing in this title is Mixed Martial Arts, and from the footage, we were lucky enough to see, the developers have gone above and beyond to make this the most real MMA experience to date. The Frostbite engine has unlocked so much more potential for the developers, with highly detailed characters, next-gen lighting, and shading, and improved rendering quality for the cutscenes when your fighter is making their way to the octagon. The developers talked a lot about how the fighting system had been updated, with the new engine being able to make all the hits look more realistic, and the grappling when you take it to the canvas. They have removed the mini-games built into submissions, which, as a long-time player of the series, I could not be more keen to not have to do them.

That is not the only thing that has been adjusted or added – octagon-side doctors have now been added, and they will call a stop to the match if you don’t seem fit enough to continue. This plays in well with the damage system which has been updated to include more cuts, bruising, and swelling, so you could imagine being the end of the round and the doctor notices you have two black eyes and can’t see they will call the match and you will lose via TKO “Technical Knockout.”

The damage system has been updated to have eight regions of cuts, swelling, and bruising, and each character will handle injuries differently. Some examples of damage affecting the gameplay could be having a broken nose, which would slow down the stamina recovery, or impaired vision, which would stop you from seeing and responding to a left hook to the side of your head.

Career mode is making a comeback and it’s more realistic than ever with a new onboarding experience, better training camps, and Coach Davis making a comeback. Valentina Shevchenko is the first ever UFC Champion to be a voice actor in the UFC game series and she will introduce you to the UFC Performance Institute. The opponents have been overhauled in career mode too. With the updated AI technology, the opponents might be more difficult during a championship fight, or a little easier feeling if you’re just doing an exhibition fight. The training camps have also been updated so they are not so repetitive which will keep you immersed in becoming the G.O.A.T in the UFC.

The mode UFC fans have been requesting has finally been added to UFC 5, with CAF vs. CAF (Create-A-Fighter), so you can use your custom-created fighters in online fights and have an absolute blast in doing that. There is one feature that I’m not sure how it will play out called Fight Picks, which is like betting on real-life fights but you don’t win or lose anything from picking them.

Now, the news we have all been waiting for is that if you Pre-Order UFC 5, you will receive Fedor Emeianenko, Muhammad Ali, and Iron Mike Tyson, with Bruce Lee also making a comeback. You will also receive some alter egos of his to use in your bouts. If you Pre-Order UFC 5 “Deluxe Edition,” you will receive 3 Days of Early Access, with the game set for release on the 27th of October, 2023, but unfortunately, only the current generation consoles will be able to play this, so you may need to consider updating if you haven’t already.

Written by: MKAU Gaming