FIFA 18's story mode has become the franchise’s best feature

When FIFA 17 came out last year, its standout feature was something called "The Journey." For the first time in the franchise's 24-year history, EA Sports added a story mode where you can pretend to live the life of a professional soccer (er, football) player. The plot centered around a fictional character named Alex Hunter, a British teenager who's trying to make a name for himself in the English Premier League. Your goal, naturally, is to guide him in his quest to do exactly that. Thanks to its success on FIFA 17, the adventure continues with FIFA 18's "The Journey: Hunter Returns."

In the latest edition of the title, which arrives on September 29th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, EA is bringing back the Alex Hunter narrative with branching storylines, celebrity cameos and player customization. FIFA 18 will also be on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and the Switch, although "The Journey" isn't available in those formats. For Nintendo's new console, EA had to build a custom engine to power the game, and one of the trade-offs was leaving Hunter's story behind. It's a shame, sure, but at least it shows that EA is willing to give the Switch a chance -- a departure from how it handled the Wii U.