It feels as though every new football title from EA focuses on two key aspects: gameplay and Ultimate Team. There’s other modes and mechanics in-between, but most players want to be able to enjoy the game that they’re playing. A lot of people spend countless hours in Ultimate Team, so making sure they mode appeals to diehards and casuals is always a tough line to walk. EA has made a lot of promises in their debut trailer for EA Sports FC 26, but does it actually feel any different to last years?
Before I started with EA Sports FC 26, I’d put in well over 200 hours into last year’s. As much as it was easy to get in a couple of matches every now and then, it wasn’t without its problems that became more and more noticeable the longer I spent with it. Some of its biggest issues against AI came with players seldom making runs into the box when your wingers are ready to cross the ball in; defenders being clunky and getting taken on far too easily; and reading keepers: knowing exactly where to shoot from and place your shot.
Then there was the absence of any real midfield play. Opposition could get through the middle of the park with ease. This meant you were either defending after a quick counter way into your half, or breaking past opponents on the attack with a simple through ball. EA Sports FC 26 has added two distinct styles of gameplay this year: Authentic and Competitive. While the latter is fundamentally the same as what players have been used to, Authentic is supposed to slow the game down, bringing it more in line with real-life football, and offer a single player alternative to what ultimately becomes “the meta” in Ultimate Team.
While this Authentic Mode works in some ways, it fails in others. You do have to play more tactically and rely on passing more cautiously to draw out players before making a break for goal. Every decision needs to be weighed up as marking is tighter. The entire game has been slowed down. Yes, this is authentic to a point, but when average defenders are able to close in on Diaby and Adeyemi, it’s beyond frustrating. By slowing the game down, EA is putting rocks in the pockets of fast players and it breaks that authenticity it is supposed to be embracing.
The Competitive Mode is catered more to the online portion of EA FC 26. Playing in Rush, Clubs, and Ultimate Team feels just as fast-paced as ever. That reliance on skill moves and fast-breaks is still there. As frustrating as it can be playing against someone who hammers the right stick at every turn, it’s still my go-to style of gameplay instead of Authentic. Dribbling feels more responsive and controlled, and passing feels more accurate than before.
Manager Career this year feels pretty similar to last year’s, however there are some little changes that can affect your squad. Other than players getting grumpy if you benched or dropped them for a game or two before telling you they want to leave, it was easy to keep your squad together. In EA Sports FC 26, random occurrences affect games. Some dodgy food might force you to drop two of your best players before a big game, or an injury might threaten the career of your defensive rock at the back.
There are some other small tweaks, but nothing really breaks the formula fans are already used to. The Manager Market is great in theory, but the full impact is going to be felt after spending a season or two playing. I love the idea, though. Being poached by a bigger club, or being sacked, as bad it would be at the time, adds to the realism managers face in real life. You can play Live Careers that see you joining a team where they are in the real world at that time, as well as manager challenges that let you try your hand at a number of different scenarios.
Player Career has added archetypes to building your footballer. These run through everything in the mode, such as how managers tailor your training. It feels there’s greater focus on upgrading your stats to give you greater dominance in your preferred role. There are also a few new origin stories in EA Sports FC 26, but the option to go custom is still available. The single player experience has been given some improvements, but the overall experience feels rather similar to last year’s title. Still, at least EA Canada are trying to make both careers feel a little different.
Ultimate Team in EA Sports FC 26 has been given a few new changes and features. Live Events let you play matches with different settings, and hopefully EA offers up interesting ideas as time passes. It still feels much like you need to shell out real money to get the most out of the mode, as earning in-game currency is still not particularly easy.
The Season Pass feels more of a grind than ever, and the new objectives (and yes, it’s still early days) require a mixture of doing everything every day and also trying some new things. Ultimately, though, the rewards rarely feel worth it. Worse yet, the volume of untradeable rewards feels more egregious than ever, and you’re stuck with so many cards useful only for SBCs, and little else aside. It’s an interesting idea to incentivise individual matches by adding challenges, but when one of them is “score 5 goals” in a mode that already has a problem with teammates passing the ball, well it’s not quote so ideal.
EA Sports FC 26 doesn’t feel like much of a departure than last year. I’d even go as far as to say I’m left a little disappointed by how gameplay doesn’t feel drastically different. There’s still frustrating battles with AI in defence, and the middle of the park still feels as exposed as ever. Manager Career has had some neat inclusions. Authentic gameplay makes matches slower, and while I did get frustrated with how the pace has been affected, defensive battles feel more tactical. As for Ultimate Team, it’s catered for those who have hours and hours hours to play, and money to burn.
