EA Sports activities FC 26 Evaluate

Each European league value caring about is within the single digits for matches, which suggests it is that point of the 12 months: a totally-not-FIFA recreation is out, and we now have that dialog about whether or not to get this now or later.

This has been the case for me for the reason that Final Crew malaise took over my favourite sports activities recreation. Again and again, a FIFA recreation would come out and look considerably promising, solely to be undone by gameplay modifications aimed solely at little sweaty gamblers whose publicity to actual soccer is watching Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo spotlight reels on YouTube.

Final 12 months adopted that woeful pattern. FC 25 began out as probably the greatest entries to the collection in years, however the gameplay was slowly eroded by UT changes that led to midfielders not monitoring again, and headers bordering on ineffective, till the final patches. I nonetheless loved the sport, do not get me unsuitable, however I’d have by no means given it an 8/10 ranking if I would recognized what was in retailer.

Someday in July, amid a sweltering heatwave that made half the nation burn and made me continuously sick, the type individuals at EA Sports activities instructed me that beginning with FC 26, the profession mode gameplay can be utterly unbiased from the web one.

That information refreshed me greater than air-con ever might, and for the primary time in over a decade, I used to be counting the times till I might get my hand on the sport. That is uncharted territory for the franchise, and I haven’t got a crystal ball to see how the sport shall be six months from now, however with out Final Crew to break all the things, we’d lastly be out of the woods.

The Match Day Programme

I’ve consumed sufficient FIFA/FC advertising materials to final a lifetime, to the purpose that I am desensitized to it. Yearly guarantees some form of ‘all-new expertise’, and yearly the result’s too acquainted to matter.

This 12 months, the massive speech was about an ‘overhauled gameplay expertise’, with a Berlin Wall erected between Genuine and Aggressive modes to maintain everyone completely happy. There was additionally some noise about critical updates to profession mode.

Itching to get a take a look at what this Genuine mode was all about, I jumped into a brief exhibition match between Actual Madrid and Liverpool. Disgusting, I do know, however I wished to get a really feel for the gameplay with the big-name guys earlier than attempting a wet away day at Monza.

To my shock, the electoral marketing campaign matched the truth after which some. With the Kick-Off match set to Genuine mode, the sport had a sluggish however regular circulation for probably the most half, punctuated by moments of explosiveness. It felt like soccer, which is one thing that had been sorely lacking within the franchise.

Dare to Defend

Probably the most noticeable change within the recreation is the automated monitoring again, particularly for midfielders. Tchouaméni adjusted his place based mostly on the remainder of his teammates, and would rush to fulfill attackers as they approached.

The sensible implication is that there is no longer an enormous gap in entrance of the defensive position, so you possibly can’t park a ten in there and spam lobbed passes. Extra competent defending additionally means the scorelines are not ridiculous, so you will be seeing much more tense 1-0 matches.

In trade for fewer lobbed passes, FC 26 introduced again headers. My first purpose scored and conceded within the recreation got here that manner. Mine was a deep cross from Carvajal to Mbappé, whereas Liverpool discovered the online with Konaté after a nook. Headers aren’t overpowered by any stretch, however they’re again to being a viable choice.

I used to be additionally stunned by how far more pure the tackling feels. EA Sports activities has been tinkering with the specifics of defending because it launched Tactical Defending in FIFA 12.

Standing tackles in FC 26 really comply with physics and customary sense fairly than letting defenders teleport the ball away from attackers. In consequence, shielding turns into much more efficient, and the sport turns into extra bodily general. Woe be unto wimpy wingers.

A Actual Job

The litmus check of a great FC recreation is how the sport holds up throughout a profession mode season. For my first journey, I picked Fiorentina, coming off a Sixth-place end in 2024-2025 and with a critically imbalanced squad. In addition they have the sickest-looking package in all of Serie A, which counts for one thing.

On the floor, profession mode seems pretty much like final 12 months’s version, however the satan is within the particulars. You possibly can select as much as 5 different leagues to simulate in full, which is a game-changer for those who’re like me and wish to preserve your individual Chelsea Mortgage Military. Loanees develop higher in simulated leagues in the event that they’re getting recreation time, and this allows you to really monitor their stats as an alternative of simply hoping they arrive again higher when going overseas.

I performed my season Sudden Occasions set to On, however by no means got here throughout any impromptu retirements, monetary drama, and the like. The supervisor market is a drama that performs out slowly, with subsequent to no firings early within the season, even for groups having a nightmare begin. The truth that coaches now herald their very own imaginative and prescient to new groups nonetheless makes it an ideal addition to maintain lengthy profession saves recent.

On that be aware, the scouting in FC 26 lastly does away with the necessity for consulting web sites to test participant potentials. Your scouts now offer you an estimate of a participant’s potential in the identical manner Youth Scouts do. The accuracy relies on their high quality, however it’s refreshing to have a transparent indicator in-game eventually.

Embrace the Tactician

I had a rocky preseason with the usual Fiorentina 3-5-2, so I figured to vogue the staff into a large 4-4-1-1 as an alternative. Crew techniques in FC 26 are pretty much like these of FC 25, a basically higher method to construct your staff than the older drag-and-drop technique.

I will say it louder for these within the again: your primary formation shapes how your staff performs with out the ball. That is how soccer works. Nonetheless, the sport helps you to visualise in each mounted and animated graphics the positioning of your staff with the ball, so that you perceive the participant roles higher.

The sport would not do a lot to cease you from doing one thing silly, which I discovered as I attempted to position a Goal Man up high with a Shadow Striker CAM behind him. They caught to the identical areas, received in one another’s manner, and made attacking a depressing affair till I modified issues up.

My Fiorentina clicked after I moved my striker to the Poacher function, which is much much less concerned within the build-up however makes extra incisive runs. This opened up room for the attacking midfielder to function extra freely, alternating between anchoring the assault on the ultimate third and pushing as much as functionally make it a 4-4-2 when the remainder of the midfield superior.

Now, FC 26 is not and can by no means be an alternative choice to Soccer Supervisor for those who crave extra depth, however I am pleased with it borrowing some tips from there whereas really being enjoyable to play.

A Seasonal Re-Run

Precisely 19 years have handed since my first FIFA expertise with the 2006 World Cup recreation. FC 26’s presentation is an insane improve on that, however it seems and sounds functionally the identical as final 12 months’s recreation. A few of the participant faces received new scans, however for probably the most half, you are rolling with the identical previous, in line with FIFA traditions.

They have been even sort sufficient to maintain some dangerous design choices from FC 25, like having white textual content in negotiations and interviews, even when these are overlaid on a white background.

The licensing scenario has additionally stagnated from final 12 months, which was a reasonably disappointing entry. Certain, it is nice to have Argentina again, however all of the thrilling prospects there do not come near the large hole left by not having Liga MX and Brasileirão as soon as extra.

I get that these licenses are costly and are a royal ache within the rear to get, however EA Sports activities just isn’t a frugal little indie dev. There is not any good excuse for not leveraging a few of that monetary muscle to safe a league as necessary as Brazil’s high tier, which has been the supply of Europe’s greatest gamers for many years.

There’s additionally a scarcity of depth among the many licensed leagues. Apart from England and Germany, the massive UEFA leagues solely go all the way down to the second tier, with all the things else caught with a single one. Should you’re the kind to chase trophies, you won’t discover it, however the lack of relegation menace cheapens the entire expertise.

The VAR Examine

After studying all that, you are again to that preliminary query: ought to I purchase FC 26 now, or later? Should you like taking part in profession mode and need a recreation that appears like actual soccer, for the primary time shortly, this can be a ‘get it now’ version. The separation between Genuine and Aggressive gameplay would have been sufficient to sway me, particularly with how lifelike Genuine is in comparison with the UT-oriented pinball.

Past that, there’s sufficient meat within the profession to justify the acquisition, with the brand new problem mode being a giant one for those who’re the kind to strive various things. As for me, I am sticking with my traditional 6-8 season runs earlier than beginning over, and the sport offers me all the things I would like for that.

Should you’re a kind of Final Crew individuals, this is similar recreation as final 12 months. Relying on how a lot you wish to spend on packs, the $69.99 price ticket won’t be a giant deal, however you would be hard-pressed to name {that a} good funding.

The gameplay and profession groups carry this title on their backs, with little or no enchancment to audiovisual presentation and licensing. Should you’re a PC participant, you will get round this by modding the residing soul out of the sport till it has all the things you want. For the remainder of us, properly, possibly subsequent 12 months.

The yearly nature of EA Sports activities FC sometimes will get in the best way of promoting new copies due to simply how related the variations are. FC 26 bucks that pattern by giving the single-player facet of issues the find it irresistible had been badly longing for years. With out the shadow of multiplayer balancing looming over issues, you’ve gameplay that’s prone to keep the identical till FC 27 inevitably comes alongside. I have been having a blast with the present implementation, and was fast to uninstall FC 25 after a single match. Should you wish to play it sluggish, go round, and fist-pump after tight wins, that is the soccer recreation for you.