"Volta" in Portuguese means "return"; in this case, a return to the roots of football: the street. This is what EA Sports wants to offer FIFA 20 players with its new game mode, which was unveiled in more detail in a Pitch Notes article on Thursday 8th August.
Here is everything you need to know about VOLTA before the final release of the game on September 27th.
Not just a "renamed FIFA Street"
It's been a while since EA have ventured into street football. The fourth rendition of the FIFA Street series was the last time they did.
However, VOLTA isn't just a relabelled FIFA Street 4. This is a completely different animal, that piggybacks on the engine used in the main FIFA 20 game.
It can (if you are boring) technically be played like the main game. But why would you want to do that when there is a vast lineup of skill moves on offer and some incredible street settings to play in.
VOLTA Kick Off
The Kick Off mode in VOLTA allows you to play as any of the hundreds of licensed teams in the FIFA 20 base game in a variety of different modes.
The formations of the teams will be randomly determined so it's up to you to pick the most flamboyant and street-wise players on your team and set them up how you want (and remember, there are no substitutions in VOLTA, so pick wisely!).
In Kick Off you can also access game modes such as "Survival" and "First To X Goals", similar to those found in FIFA 20's House Rules.
VOLTA Story
With The Journey being wrapped up in FIFA 19, VOLTA will introduce an all new story mode that takes your own personal avatar on the long road to street football stardom.
Play against street football legends from around the VOLTA world with the ultimate goal of being invited to the VOLTA World Championships in Buenos Aires.
The story mode will also act as a tutorial for new players and will teach you the basics of recruiting and building a team while taking you to all the new environments and give you a taste of some the game modes VOLTA has to offer.
VOLTA Tour
VOLTA Tour is a mode that had the potential to be something really great, but falls rather short of what it could be.
On paper, the premise sounds exciting and is similar to the way the first, original FIFA Street game was set out: Start with a low levelled team, visit every in-game location and compete against other teams for a chance to recruit a member of your opposition to steadily build your squad into world-beaters.
Fans were also drawn in by the fact the teams they would come up against would be "community generated squads" (in other words, teams that VOLTA players across the globe have created).
However, the real let-down is that these teams can not be played against online and, despite being made by other VOLTA players, are all controlled by the computer.
Along the way, though, you visit all 17 of the game's street stadiums:
- Warehouse
- Parking
- Tokyo
- Amsterdam
- Rio de Janeiro
- New York
- Buenos Aires
- London
- Paris
- Lagos
- Cape Town
- Berlin
- Miami
- Los Angeles
- Barcelona
- Mexico City
- Rome
To keep things fresh, there's a variety of game modes throughout your Tour that you'll be playing at the different locations:
- 3 v 3 Rush (no GK)
- 4 v 4
- 4 v 4 Rush (no GK)
- 5 v 5
- Futsal rules
You'll also be given opportunities to recruit "Street Legends" through bonus challenges, but it is unclear whether theses will be retired players, much like Icons in the base game, or just very skilful, high-rated players (such as a Neymar or a Messi).
VOLTA League
Finally, we arrive at VOLTA League, the only fully-online mode in VOLTA.
This mode will work like Online Seasons on FIFA Ultimate Team, where you'll be matched with a random opponent from across the world for a Player vs Player match.
It was not clarified whether you'll be able to use your own avatar or custom teams, but it will likely just include the licensed teams already in the game.
Unfortunately, with this being the only online mode, there will be no form of street Pro Clubs, which has left many in the community disappointed, or any form of VOLTA-based Ultimate Team or Draft modes.
VOLTA in FIFA 20 is a much anticipated return to street football and it appears to have a lot of the right ingridients to make for a fun mode. It's oozing with content, albeit a lot of that content fails excite as much as it would have with some more online capabilities.
Hopefully VOLTA is here to stay and will return in FIFA 21 with those features added. In the meantime, get ready for a street football adventure that will still have you playing for hours and that will act as a much needed break from the often brutal realm of FIFA Ultimate Team.
Written by Bob "Marshall Gunner" Oberon. Translated from French by Millenium.
