EA Sports FC 26 Review: For the Players

There's a consistency that annual sports video games require to remain familiar and formulaic. It's less “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” and more “it's broke, but f*** it”. It's understandable, too. Radical change doesn't come on a per year basis. But there are two ways to go about making a new sports title every year: One is the NBA 2K approach, that refines the series' authentic and sweaty on-court action with each iteration; the other is the EA Sports FC way, that repackages pretty much the same game and slaps a different player's face on the box with each release.

Surprisingly, after two games that did little to move the needle and years of celebrating tap-ins, Electronic Arts has shot from outside the box with EA Sports FC 26. The latest entry in the seasonal football flavour franchise, which released on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo platforms on September 26, has taken feedback from players — the “we hear you” Hail Mary move that companies pull out when customers have had enough — to deliver a double header of on-pitch experiences. Surprise, surprise! FC 26's biggest and boldest bet is its gameplay. For the first time, a new EA Sports FC title has attempted to marry authentic football simulation with audacious arcade extravagance. And the result is undeniably a step in the right direction.

To be honest, it's less a marriage and more an amiable co-habitation. EA Sports FC 26 splits its football at the halfway line with two new gameplay presets: the slower, more deliberate “Authentic” gameplay meant for the offline Career mode, and the frenetic, more explosive “Competitive” style designed for online modes like Ultimate Team. You can't please everyone, but EA has certainly tried. Gameplay fundamentals, too, have been overhauled across the two gameplay presets. Dribbling and movement feel more responsive and realistic; player physicality feels weighty and impactful; and defending is more robust and empowered. There are a few neat new things on the table, but it's the improved basics that make FC 26 perhaps the best release in the series in recent years.

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Career mode connoisseurs like me have been clamouring for an overhaul, only to get the same dish reheated out of the fridge every year. In FC 26, the interface surrounding the career mode experience is largely the same again and retains the tweaks introduced by EA Sports FC 24 and FC 25. Transfers and scouting systems are practically unchanged, including the uncanny valley transfer cutscenes. And player roles, introduced last year in FC 25, still power the tactical foundations of the game. But manager mode's true transformation comes on the pitch. The “Authentic” gameplay preset tunes offline gameplay to the purists' liking.

Football matches don't play out like Hunger Games with 22 people on drugs. They are not only slower, but also feel like they mimic the rhythms of an actual football match more closely than before. There are times when teams are sedate, passing the ball around, finding their footing in the match, before you decide to change gears and go in for a Hollywood pass or take on a few defenders. Improved physical presence of players means that shielding the ball is a viable tactic to hold up play and look for runners to put through on goal. It's viable, yes, but not always reliable, as player runs aren't very intuitive if you leave the AI to do the work.

"Authentic" gameplay preset slows things down on the pitch for more grounded experience
Photo Credit: EA/ Screenshot - Manas Mitul

So much of my experience with "Authentic" gameplay in manager mode was tied to space on the pitch, just like it is in actual football matches. I started my career with Leicester City in the Championship, where a lack of world class players makes games feel even more lumbering and deliberate. I couldn't look for the KDB pass or try a blistering Vinicius run on the wing, and I had to depend on patient build-up instead to either find space between defenders or create it. Improved animations lend further realism to these player actions, and I rarely saw a video-gamey movement on the pitch on the “Authentic” preset. There are times when you can spot the data-driven coding glitch and poke its head out from behind the veil, but those moments are rarer now than previous EA Sports FC games.

The authenticity seeps into the defensive third of the pitch, too. Off the ball, jockeying to stay close to the player you're marking feels more grounded and dynamic. It's harder for an attacker to dance about and turn you around if you hold your fort. EA says it has incorporated player feedback to improve AI positioning, and it shows, but it also struggles to find consistency and balance. AI-controlled players rush back to their natural position when you lose the ball, but unless you manually execute second-man press, players falling back can leave dangerously open spaces on the pitch in transition. Around your own goal though, you can effectively defend as a unit a little more reliably and marshal your backline through your big centre-back to impose yourself on the opposition striker, both in the air and on the ground.

Improved player physicality makes defending feel more robust
Photo Credit: EA

Beyond the pitch, EA Sports FC 26 introduces a few bells and whistles to make manager mode feel closer to a season of football we see on TV. The most notable of these is the Manager Market, that brings an ever-churning managerial merry-go-round to the mode. Other teams in your league aren't static, and their results could lead to their managers being fired or poached. When a new manager takes charge, the team's tactical vision changes, mimicking the dynamism of a football season (looking at you Nottingham Forest and West Ham United). When a vacancy opens at a club, the player manager can apply for the job, too. If your results have been good and your tactics match the club's vision, you might soon be signing a new contract.

Manager mode in FC 26 also throws up unexpected events that could disrupt your plans. A player may get homesick, or actually sick after a night out, and become unavailable for an important fixture. Or your club may get a new ownership, resetting the expectations from the season. These are small, but fun additions that add a bit of flavour to a mode that has largely remained the same for years. I'd have liked to see bigger updates to the transfer hub and deeper features for season objectives. And on the pitch, an authentic implementation of VAR is still missing. But the gameplay overhaul acts as a shot in the arm for the manager mode that has long been neglected in favour of updates for the money-spinning Ultimate Team mode.

The new manager market adds realism to the career mode
Photo Credit: EA/ Screenshot - Manas Mitul

Online, things stray far from the authenticity in focus in the career mode. EA gathered feedback to slow things down in the manager mode; in Ultimate Team, better known as FUT, community feedback informs the faster and arcade-y “Competitive” gameplay preset. This is the more familiar, frantic, formerly FIFA experience that I've known through the years, rebalanced and tuned for fairer matches and outcomes online — at least that's what EA claims. The rules (and physics) are different here. In FUT (and other online modes), player power is supreme. Matches are breathless and breakneck, and defenders are little more than set dressing.

A quick forward can easily run circles around your centre-back and even though AI player positioning and behaviour has seen improvement, it's near-impossible to prevent attackers from controlling the tempo of the match. FUT matches tend to be high scoring despite overhauled goalkeeper intelligence across FC 26. In 11v11 Rivals games, where you play online against similarly placed opponents to climb divisions, it's frustrating to see an attacker drag you out of position time and time again and leave you vulnerable. At least it's easier now to build a decent enough team to compete and you don't need to grind indefinitely to buy better players. Completing squad building challenges, live events, and objectives also grant you with player packs generously. And you can be ready to dip into the online trading market after a few hours of playing Ultimate Team.

Want a better keeper in FUT? Gamble in the transfer market.
Photo Credit: EA/ Screenshot - Manas Mitul

But as with previous games, all of it tastes and smells of gambling. EA has been walking an ethical tightrope with its FUT mode that nudges players to spend real money on in-game currency to enter the big leagues with big names. At some point, that tightrope must go slack, but for now the mode has been the company's cash cow. Sure, not spending real-life money feels like less of a handicap now, but the larger approach to in-game spending and pay-to-win adjacent features is unlikely to change with EA's recent leveraged buyout by a consortium of investment firms that include Saudi's PIF and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners — two companies renowned for their righteous ethics.

On the other hand, the pace of the “Competitive” gameplay preset is better suited to the 5v5 Rush mode in FUT, where I found myself spending most of my online playing hours. Introduced in FC 25, the mode lends itself to arcade style attacking football where the defensive handicap of the “Competitive” style isn't as big a problem as it is in full-pitch matches. A lot of the Rush experience depended on the teammates you were paired with in FC 25, which often led to frustrating matchups when one of the teammates quit or disconnected early when losing. To counter such quitters, FC 26 penalises repeat offenders by delaying their matchmaking. Consequently, Rush matches can be down-to-the-wire affairs where your teammates are incentivised to keep pushing.

There are some new features in FUT, too. There are more live events and tournaments; better rewards for Rivals matches; and the Evolutions feature, that allows you to upgrade your Panini-style player cards, now works for goalkeepers, too. Matchmaking has improved, as well, and the input delay seen in online matches in older FC games seems to have been addressed. Ultimate Team now feels more complete than ever and somehow more addictive than ever, too. But I'll be sticking with the more authentic manager mode, where attacking and defending mechanics seem to be evenly matched.

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The 5v5 Rush mode remains the best way to enjoy Ultimate Team
Photo Credit: EA/ Screenshot - Manas Mitul

After the underwhelming sales of FC 25, EA has clearly gone back to the drawing board and brought along the community to identify areas of improvement. The reveal trailer for EA Sports FC 26 confirms as much. EA really wants its players to know that it's listening. It's a different matter, however, that which voices are heard more. Online players and influencers have informed the new “Competitive” gameplay style and FC 26's online modes are better for it. And feedback from purists has revitalised the manager mode with the “Authentic” preset to some extent.

But it's a missed opportunity to not attempt to bring that authenticity to the game's online modes, too. FC 26 still considers competitive online play as the favourite child and the manager mode its adoptive sibling. This isn't a radical departure from its predecessors. But FC 26 at least attempts to acknowledge the community of long-time players who sink seasons into the manager mode. That's a good first step. And it opens the door to further feedback and improvements to aspects that have gone unaddressed for years. There are certainly two ways to play these football games. And by recognising that fact, EA Sports FC 26 becomes a football game for the players — even if it is a little bit more for one kind of player.