8.0

Review: EA Sports FC 26

EA Sports faces the same challenge every year: Delivering a new edition that feels familiar enough, but also brings enough innovation to convince millions of players worldwide. After the mixed reactions to FC 25 the pressure was high. The community felt that too many adjustments were being made, which lost balance. FC 26 must therefore do two things: Retrieve player confidence and prove that the series is still the model of digital football experience.

One of the strong points of the series has always been the impressive license collection, but here FC 26 drops a bit. The lack of several national teams means that you cannot even recreate a traditional World Cup. The absence of the Italian Series A is also a painful shortcoming. This makes the game feel less complete and misses the realism that EA generally has high priority.

At the same time, it is interesting that the imperfections of the real football world now play a role in the game. For example, competitions and clubs are subject to unexpected twists and that is reflected in the careerèremode. So the basis is there, but the lack of significant licences undermines authenticity.

The carrièremodus is traditionally one of the most popular parts and EA has fortunately made some strong additions this year. With Live Challenges you can immediately step into a running season and try to change the fate of a club. Whether it's Arsenal trying to save his title against Manchester City, or a demo candidate trying to get you to safety, this kind of scenario’s provide extra variation and realism.

In addition, a more dynamic manager carousel can be surprising and unrealistic. The idea that Thomas Frank suddenly leads Barcelona and Arne Slot ends up at Celtic may not be credible, but it does give the mode an unpredictable charm. Along with new weather and realism settings that affect the playing style and pace of games, carri feels likeè• a more rich and vibrant than in previous editions.

On the field FC 26 is a game of extremes. Attacking it feels like a relief: fitting is fast, responsive and deadly effective. Building attacks with smooth combinations and incision passes gives you a wonderful feeling, especially when you round with a low shot in the corner. It feels like modern total football and this is without doubt one of the best attack systems the series has ever had.

Defense, on the other hand, is less strong. Because the AI takes less work off its hands, the responsibility lies more with the player. That sounds fair, but in practice it often means that you are overrun by smooth attacks and that games end in goal-festivals. For those who love spectacle that is not a problem, but realistic tactical duels are rarer.

In addition, EA continues to struggle with old problems. Counter attacks from corners still feel almost guaranteed as a counter goal, especially in Pro Clubs. And although skill moves work wonderfully and provide spectacular moments, the balance remains fragile. Updates can change this balance considerably, which means that the gameplay that feels so good now may look very different in a few months.

Pro Clubs has been treated stepmotherly for years, but in FC 26 the mode finally gets a big innovation. Instead of freely dividing your position and statistics, you now choose an archetype based on a known player. My choice, “Magician” Based on Ronaldinho, gave me a technical attacker with a lot of flair and acceleration. As you play you earn points with which to build this archetype and eventually choose a specialization, for example Thierry Henry or Ronaldinho himself.

This system feels restrictive because you can't just switch positions and choices seem permanent. At the same time it gives a sense of progression that the mode needed badly. You really work towards a player who feels unique, and the link with real legends gives extra motivation. A less strict variant of this system would be ideal, but it is clearly a step forward.

Ultimate Team remains largely the same. It's still fun to build dream worlds with players from the men's and women's football worlds, but the heavy emphasis on micro-tradings takes away the experience. New tournaments and challenges should provide more variety later after release, but for now UT feels familiar, maybe té trusted.

Visually, FC makes 26 small steps. Big names like Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala are beautifully modeled, but beyond that the improvements are limited. Hair physics and animations are still volatile. Also the menu’s are a thorn in the eye: unclear and sometimes unnecessarily complex.

Fortunately, the game scores high on atmosphere. The soundtrack is again an eclectic mix of genres and cultures, which fits perfectly to the international look of the series. Together with lively stadiums and improved audio from audience and broadcasters, this contributes to the overall experience.