Game looks incredible but the gameplay still feels a bit off. It has big potential and I want to love it more so here’s feedback for the team with a tl;dr at the bottom.
Cons:
- The ball seems fast, and not enough time to react on some shots (I played on “Medium” difficulty). If I’m defending in a rally, unless I use directional preparation the same time my opponent hits a shot, I’m not getting it in time.
- A “perfect” charged shot is almost the same speed as a fully charged (red bar) shot but the audio is more intense.
- Reaction time of any groundstoke button. Sometimes I press a Top Spin shot but my character doesn’t react until the ball is much closer. This is confusing because there’s times I press and hold a shot button but my character doesn’t do anything. I’d almost expect if I’m moving towards the general direction of where the ball is going and I’m holding the button, to auto-move to the ball in a smooth and full animation. Right now there’s a gap between seeing the ball over the net and positioning for the shot.
- The left to right movement looks clunky and inconsistent. Player is so fast but changing direction is so slow.
- The directional preparation for a shot is hit or miss. Maybe my age is showing and this is a skill issue but I sometimes panic mash LT/RT because of a fast approaching ball. Sometimes I’m already anticipating going one way, the shot is the opposite direction and the LT/RT get mixed up. Or I’m already in motion and can’t tell, as the ball is approaching, if it will be left or right side. Not sure what the solution is - either make the balls slower or the normal (non-prepared) moving from left to right better. Or buff the “Assisted Run” option.
- The smoothness of the animations - as I mentioned the reaction time of the shots going from one state to another
- I’m hoping as soon as I press the button my character to start setting up for the shot. Either stationary (start preparing the swing) or as I’m moving the analog stick. Give me some indicator (the power meter) as soon as I press the button and start animation. The way it is right now - a ball is coming, I press the shot, no animation, then animation comes with power meter, hit ball, bad animation recovery back to baseline.
- Nit picky but the court is too empty. There’s a lot of space around the court that’s just empty space. I think you plan to add lines people and maybe ball kids so it will feel less void.
- Add a “Settings” option from within Career mode so I don’t have to leave to Main Menu to change Graphics. The only settings in Career Mode are related to the points system, game lengths, etc.
- Serving - can’t ace my opponent on “Medium” difficulty (serving 190+ km/h). Also serving seems basic for a shot thats so important in tennis. Would love to have an aim marker for serving.
Pros:
- Player models are incredible. The faces, bodies, signature serves look great.
- Game runs very well. I have a 3060 Ti and my resolution is set to 2560x1440 with 60 FPS cap. Looks so so good.
- Career Mode preview in latest patch (only 1 season) looks great. Love the planner and excited to see how it works with the experience points and multiple years. The management aspect looks great too (charity, nutritionist, etc). Small note - would be cool to play as your own created player too (not just pros).
- Menu is smooth, easy to navigate, and the settings options are rich.
- Score box in the bottom left is legit. I love the occasional stats that appear (Aces, Break Points Won, etc) just like on Tennis TV.
- Serve placement and groundstrokes placement visuals in the match menu are a great touch.
- The CPU rally logic seems fine. I get drop shotted when I’m too far behind baseline which feels like real tennis. But none of the opponents I’ve played with have really rushed the net. I’d expect at least 1-2 times during a match even if the CPU is a baseliner. One note is I played several matches against different opponents who had seemingly the same strategy/logic. Felt like I’m playing the same person. Some diversity in shots / gameplay would be cool (i.e. a serve and volleyer).
- Audio detail is nice, umpire comms are good. I like the cointoss moment and the cutscenes between shots.
- Community files are great addition with a lot of potential.
- Latest patch made rallies a lot better but theres still more to be desired. I’m optimistic with at least 2 more moderate patches we can be smooth hitting without awkward animations or too late animations.
tl;dr I love the direction of this game. The gameplay improvements are noticeable but I wish to make the animations a bit smoother, shot preparation a bit earlier (or balls slowed down). I understand adjusting to the controls and feels of everything so I’ll keep trying to give it a shot.