EA Sports FC 26 Review – Strong Potential

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EA Sports FC 26 is very much what you’d expect from a yearly sports title – an improvement over the previous version. And to be fair, it’s a solid one, especially considering how many issues there were with EA FC 25. EA clearly listened to player feedback and worked to fix some long-standing problems. The game tries to offer something for everyone, and while it doesn’t quite hit the mark perfectly, EA FC 26 is definitely a move in the right direction.

The biggest update is the introduction of two unique ways to play. While the game has always felt a little different whether you’re playing online or offline, that difference is now much more noticeable. Two new presets, ‘Competitive’ and ‘Authentic’, significantly change how the game feels and responds. You can select either one when playing offline, but online modes like Ultimate Team will always use the ‘Competitive’ preset, even when playing against the computer.

Competitive mode focuses on rewarding player skill. Games are fast-paced with quick passing, emphasizing dribbling, fancy moves, and high scores. While it’s built for attacking play, defending has been made much better. Now, successful tackles reliably win the ball back, instead of just sending it right back to the opponent – which fixes a common problem from older versions of the game.

Look, don’t get me wrong, you’ll definitely feel overwhelmed sometimes. The biggest issue I’ve found online is that the midfield just disappears when you’re defending. There’s so much space to play through, everything happens so quickly, and the responsiveness is amazing – which means opponents can ping a couple of passes and suddenly be right at your penalty area. That’s where almost all the tackles happen. I’ve tried to shore things up by playing two defensive midfielders and telling them to stay back, but it doesn’t really help. Players without the ball just don’t move enough. Because so much of the game happens near both goals, one mistake, one good run, and the attackers are in on goal. It leads to crazy, high-scoring games – I’m talking 5-4, 6-2, even 8-7 as regular results!

While goalkeepers are slightly better at avoiding dangerous rebounds, preventing goals or limiting the opponent to under two is still surprisingly difficult. Good defense requires skill, as you can’t depend on the game’s AI to do all the work, and even then, you’re usually at a disadvantage. More competition in the midfield would reduce risky tackles and create fewer scoring opportunities for both sides. Currently, playing the game is fun when you have possession, but can feel overwhelming when you don’t. It’s definitely better than last year’s version, which was often frustrating, but there are still areas for improvement.

The Authentic preset offers a more realistic football experience, and it’s available even when you’re playing offline. It slows down the game, making each play more deliberate and focusing on strategy, strong defense, and careful build-up. Environmental factors like wind and a wet field also play a role, affecting how the ball moves. While Authentic provides a more thoughtful style of play, the computer opponent can be inconsistent – sometimes too easy, other times unfairly dominant in possession. You’ll probably need to adjust the game’s settings to find a difficulty level that feels just right.

It’s disappointing the Authentic preset isn’t available online, but the single-player Manager Career is much improved this year. A new feature called Manager Live offers unique scenarios to test your skills. For example, you can try saving a team from relegation after a hefty points penalty, or win a league and cup double with Real Madrid while featuring Jude Bellingham prominently. There are also challenges focused on topping the league at Christmas or generating a specific amount of money through player transfers. This offers a fresh way to play, especially if you enjoy long-term career modes and like a good challenge.

Unexpected Events add some realism and challenge to your career mode by introducing random situations. These events break up the routine of managing your team, forcing you to react to things like player injuries from training accidents or off-field issues like homesickness. You might even experience a change in club ownership, which could affect your transfer budget and goals. While Football Manager fans are used to this kind of unpredictability, it’s new to EA FC and keeps things interesting by ensuring you always have to adjust your plans.

EA SPORTS FC 24 Ultimate Team has been updated with some new features and improvements to existing ones. Notably, Rivals has been revamped with relegation returning, meaning you won’t stay in a division where you consistently lose. We’ve also made it easier to progress in Rivals by adding bonus objectives that reward you with coins and points towards weekly rewards. For example, in one match, I earned 2,000 coins just for including a Team of the Week player, and then earned even more points by scoring two goals in a row, completing two objectives.

It feels important to address this because rewards are becoming scarcer, and many of the ones you earn can’t be traded with others. EA seems to be trying to slow down how quickly players get better by changing the reward system. They’ve replaced the old season pass in Ultimate Team with a single pass that lets you earn progress in Career Mode, Ultimate Team, and Clubs, and then use those points for rewards across all three modes. Personally, I don’t like this change. When I’m playing Ultimate Team, I’m focused on improving my team with new packs and players, and I don’t care about unlocking a legend like Seydou Doumbia for use in Career Mode.

To make matters worse, the standard season pass has been significantly reduced in content to introduce a premium version that costs real money. This feels particularly unfair in a full-price game, especially since previous games in the series offered a free season pass. While it’s good that EA is trying to balance the game’s progression, it’s unclear if this will work, as players who spend money can still get ahead by unlocking more rewards through the premium season pass and buying additional items in the store.

One long-standing problem continues to persist because it remains profitable. Thankfully, issues like poor tackling, inaccurate passing, and a repetitive career mode have been improved. However, the competitive settings still slightly favor attackers, and EA Sports FC 26 falls short of truly satisfying all football fans in its attempt to please everyone. Despite these flaws, both on and off the field, this is the strongest installment in the series for quite some time. While it may not be a champion this year, it’s definitely heading in the right direction.

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2025-10-21 01:41