If you search ‘gaming rage compilation’ on YouTube, which is an extremely popular video format by the way, you won’t find a single video that doesn’t feature a clip from EA Sports FC (formerly known as FIFA) games. Such is the emotional connection of gamers with these titles that any issues with the gameplay often result in over-the-top behaviour. While these issues were common with most of the previous entries in this gaming series, last year, gamers responded more strongly than ever. Due to the lack of gameplay responsiveness, delays in user inputs, meaningless tackles that resulted in the ball being returned to the attacking team, and a radically fast power curve in Ultimate Team, most gamers didn’t even bother to complete the annual game cycle.
To EA’s credit, they responded in a way that most people thought was quite uncharacteristic of the company. Instead of showcasing ‘new animations’ or cut scenes that are hardly witnessed in the actual game, the reveal trailer for FC 26 focused primarily on the gameplay changes that the community suggested. Did it manage to deliver on the promises, or was this another marketing gimmick? Read my detailed review below to find out.
Disclaimer: The review copy of the game’s PS5 version was provided to us by Electronic Arts. The game is also available on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and Amazon Luna.
Table of Contents
Gameplay: a tale of two halves
The biggest decision that EA took this year was to have to separate gameplay types – Authentic and Competitive. Earlier, EA had to juggle between authenticity and fun gameplay to keep the player base happy, this time, it has kept gameplay mechanics separate for different game modes. While Ultimate Team comes with competitive gameplay, you can choose to have either competitive or authentic gameplay in the rest of the game modes.
This opens up the opportunity for EA to separately tackle the gameplay issues that competitive players have, without impacting the gameplay experience of those who prefer authentic football simulation. As the gameplay used to lean heavily towards one side or the other in past years, this is a big win.
Here’s what I think about these gameplay types:
Competitive gameplay
Part of the reason why I waited for some time before I wrote this review is that I wanted to see how the initial gameplay holds up when millions of gamers jump into the game. Previously, the gameplay used to feel smooth and responsive at first, but as soon as the larger player base jumped onto the servers, the game started feeling heavy and unresponsive. This time around, things seem to be a bit different.
I have tried almost every single competitive mode on FC 26, and to my surprise, the gameplay has been.. surprise.. surprise… consistent. While players from other games might find this odd, this hasn’t been the case with any previous FC/FIFA game in the last decade or more. Whether you talk about passing, tackling, or even shooting, the inconsistency that frustrated players in the past few years seems to have been fixed to a large extent. One issue that will frustrate some players is that, due to fast gameplay, you will have high-scoring matches. In almost all matches that I played, both teams combined managed to score around 8-9 goals each game.
Authentic gameplay
For the hardcore football fans who want a more realistic football simulation, the authentic gameplay is a treat. The deliberate slow pace gives a unique perspective on the game and manages to produce some moments that can simply not happen in the Ultimate Team. Unlike the competitive gameplay, the pace of the game is closer to real-world football, the scorelines are closer to real-world matches, and even the ball movement is more realistic. The ball feels heavier, its movement feels realistic, and you have to get accustomed to it to play better.
Everything from ground passes to impressive goalkeeper saving capabilities, this gameplay type will impress those fans who want an authentic football experience.
Ultimate Team
This is perhaps the most divisive game mode ever created in any game. On one hand, fans love the process of creating their own team; on the other, it is the most pay-to-win game mode in the entire industry. To improve things from last year, EA promised that it would slow the power curve this time around. However, with the Ultimate Edition of the game, it gave out special editions of Icons to every single player who spent extra to buy the game. This means that those who ordered the standard edition of the game would be at a disadvantage from the start. This, on top of the fact that Ultimate Edition already gave early game access to the players (around a week) and access to the premium season 1 pass (with better rewards).
Wait, I’m not done yet. EA released 100k packs (in-game currency) on day 1 of the game’s release, which means those who spend enough can get good players right away. This is perhaps the most blatant U-turn as far as the slowing down of the power curve strategy is concerned. To make matters worse, it is genuinely hard for those with the standard edition of the game to get good players as tradeable rewards are hard to get through almost any game mode inside Ultimate Team. If anything, the new strategy from EA has made the rich richer and the poor poorer.
While it is hard to look beyond all this, if you do, there are some positive changes too. Instead of just FUT Champions, this game mode now also features a ‘Challengers’ tournament for those placed in Division 6 or lower. This gives even new or low-skilled players a chance to get better rewards. As FUT Champions can be a sweat-fest where overly competitive players can ruin your experience by exploiting different glitches, this can be a relaxing experience (albeit with notably inferior rewards).
The new addition in this game mode is the ‘Ultimate Gauntlet’ mode. In this mode, you have to use an entirely different team in each round and win the tournament to get rewards. Such a mode would make sense later in the game when people have multiple squads at their disposal. Currently, most players are struggling to put together one main squad, and this mode makes little to no sense.
The rest of the game modes within Ultimate Team – Squad Battles, Rush, Division Rivals, FUT Champions – are more or less the same.
Player and Manager Career Modes
In Player Career, archetypes inspired by some of the great football players have been added. With 13 unique classes, this game mode aims to bring more customisation to your created players. You can earn Archetype XP, upgrade attributes, and unlock new Archetype Perks to give your player a distinct feel on the pitch. However, apart from this, there is not much new in this particular mode in comparison with last year.
Manager Career has received more of an overhaul this time around. With new Manager Live Challenges throughout the season, you get to take on a variety of real-world scenarios and alternative storylines. For the first time, the team tactics change over time with the movement in the Manager Market. This means that the dynamics of every new season present fresh challenges. With these new changes, the game mode feels surprisingly refreshing.
Verdict
The biggest achievement for FC 26 is that it gets the fundamental gameplay mechanics right. It is the first game in the series in years that focuses more on gameplay and less on themed content in Ultimate Team. Whether you want an authentic gameplay experience or fast-paced competitive matches, you get to choose with this game. Having said this, the deliberate attempt to push players to purchase the higher-priced Ultimate Edition of the game and spend more in the game with the Season 1 premium pass and the Day 1 store packs lets down a good game. EA had the opportunity for a victory lap, but it seems like money got in the way. As far as visuals are concerned, the game looks as good as it can, considering the limitations brought forward by the sport featuring 22 players on the field and the distant placement of the camera.
Overall, most of the casual and even competitive players would like FC 26 much more than any other game in the series in the past 5-7 years.
Editor’s rating: 8.0 / 10
Pros:
- Consistent and solid gameplay
- Plethora of game modes
- Top-notch graphics
Cons:
- Pay-to-win progression in Ultimate Team
More
- Developer: EA Romania, EA Vancouver
- Publisher: Electronic Arts
- Platform: PS5
