I often find myself in a bind or at least worrying when reviewing continuous titles in a series. Two years ago I reviewed Football Manager 2017. Last year I reviewed Football Manager 2018. Of course, this year brings us Football Manager 2019. The worry is simple: will I ever find myself getting bored of what is ostensibly the same game, year in, year out?

Probably not. At least if the game is done right. I’ve been managing digital football clubs for close to twenty years now. I’ve been playing Football Manager since it was first released in 2004, before that I was playing Championship manager. It’s a series I’ve sunk over 3000 hours into. You know what, I still find it just as engrossing, if not more so, than any AAA, huge budget, open-world timewaster. Why? Passion, and progression.