EA Sports FC 26

“The depth of customization - from controls and game tempo to tactical nuances and role assignments on the field - is genuinely impressive and engaging. The positional setups and other elements of football strategy have strong potential, but that potential simply isn't realized. Of course, some players might enjoy this kind of "football-flavored" experience, but it's definitely not what I - or many fans of the world's most popular sport - are looking for. If you plan to play only against AI opponents, or if the issues mentioned above don't bother you, feel free to add one or two points to the final score.”

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“Phenomenal on-the-pitch gameplay is marred by an awkward UI and lots of faff.”

“EA Sports FC 26 is a better game than FC 25 and can give you a good game of football, especially when Authentic mode in single player comes together properly. However, for that to happen you need to play on World Class difficulty, as anything below that exposes poor defending by the AI. There has been evolution here, but FC 26 is still only a step towards getting the balance right, and not the final stop.”

“In a franchise that doesn't change much year-to-year, EA Sports FC 26 takes that to the extreme. While it's by default the best football game on the market, and competing at the highest level of Ultimate Team remains enjoyable, we expected a more revolutionary entry. Promoted as the game that would fix years of issues that have plagued players, most of them remain. Cynical changes to Ultimate Team make the mode worse for free-to-play players, and the game's other modes are barely looked at.”

“EA Sports FC 26’s on-pitch gameplay is the best it's been in a long time, but its overly aggressive Season Pass is also EA at its most money-hungry yet.”

“EA Sports FC 26 is truly a game of two halves. The defending doesn't feel nearly as good as attacking, but that's a worthwhile trade off if it remains as fun as it is right now, once updates and balancing changes have been made.”

“EA FC 26 brings the best on-pitch action the series has produced in years, thanks to the genius decision to change the gameplay based on mode. There might not be too many new features to shout about, but it's the most fun I've had in a football game since FIFA 17.”

“EA Sports FC 26 suffers from a few growing pains with its shift to two distinct playstyles, but there are enough improvements throughout to consider it a positive step forward for the long-running series”

“Discover the thrilling gameplay, immersive presentation and extensive game modes that make EA SPORTS FC 26 a must-play for soccer fans.”

“For the majority, however, a new FC game all comes down to Ultimate Team – and this year it's going to prove more divisive than ever. Not, for once, because of its pack-opening mechanic, but those tweaks to gameplay speed, and fatigue, and any hope of smart, sound defensive play. The community has spoken, and EA has answered with all the pace and tricks and goals demanded of it. The move is, in one swoop, both understandable and deflating. Online, FC 26 is categorically not a game for the footballing purist – but how many of them are actually left?”

“EA's Switch 2 football debut is a night-and-day difference from its half-hearted Switch one, setting a great precedent for the future of the series. EA Sports FC 26 delivers a fully-featured version of the game, and while it only runs at 30fps and has a gated-off Ultimate Team mode which doesn't tap into the series' larger crossplay community, it still plays a fantastic game of football and offers more game modes than you'll ever know what to do with.”

“By truly dividing the gameplay between two very distinct presets, EA Sports FC 26 is trying to appeal to everybody. The more methodical Authentic toggle will attract offline Career mode tinkerers, who want to work hard for those scrappy 1-0 wins. Meanwhile, the snappier Competitive option is built for online sweats, who want to force their opponents into submission by burying them in goals. Both feel good in their own ways, and when paired with several new features and refinements, you get a flexible game of football that should please everyone – well, aside from those who simply can't jive with the franchise's over-reliance on monetisation.”

“Without the shadow of multiplayer balancing looming over things, you have gameplay that is likely to stay the same until FC 27 inevitably comes along. I've been having a blast with the current implementation, and was quick to uninstall FC 25 after a single match. If you like to play it slow, pass around, and fist-pump after tight wins, this is the football game for you.”

“EA SPORTS FC 26 marks a step forward from its predecessor. Balanced in gameplay dynamics and built around a fluid structure that's genuinely fun, it also brings several changes to the Ultimate Team and Career modes (both Player and Manager), consistently hitting the mark. The hope is that this holds true throughout the year-fingers crossed that any future patches won't bring the kind of disruptive changes we've seen in the past.”

“And while on-pitch gameplay feels sharper than ever, the surrounding modes remain too familiar to past iterations, weighed down further by aggressive monetization through FUT’s premium season pass. EA Sports FC 26 takes meaningful steps forward on the pitch, but it still needs bolder changes off it to truly move the series ahead.”