EA Sports FC 26 Review

Since the end of the FIFA video game series, the franchise of EA FC is carrying its legacy forwards after their separation from FIFA and each year, EA releases a new spark of excitement, debates and unavoidable questions towards their yearly release of the football game.

Every year, the game evolves bit by bit and players are much more concerned about this year’s EA FC 26 release which is supposed to deliver significant improvements across multiple areas of the game, including gameplay enhancements, realism and player progression. Through our long research we have finally concluded that the FC 26 carries much depth and meaning in the game modes unlike its predecessor but the question is “Is it worth it?”. This guide will walk you through every little improvement and addition in the game’s environment that can most likely impact your overall experience.

Gameplay Changes

Throughout these years, the most important aspect of the game has been its gameplay because if the gameplay experience itself is bad then who is going to pay attention to other details. And this year’s FC 26 proves to have improved a lot with:

• The new fluid-like experience with excellent responsiveness, sharper passing, smooth movements and massive upgrade to the playstyle.
• The former AI teammates that you used to play with, now have much more capability of making good plays during your possession.
• Passes are much more sharper with the natural essence in Through balls and quick one-twos. This opens the door to more opportunity creation with freer movement on the pitch.
• Goalkeepers have received a much needed overhaul and higher the rating means higher chances of making exceptional plays which will be much more noticeable. In my opinion, this upgrade is a 10/10 because goalkeepers have always been the weakest spot in the game.
• Defending also received some upgrades and you can frankly say that it has equipped an iron armour now. The units are now smarter with their tactics as they are able to sense danger and can act quickly upon sensing it. Although, standing tackles do need some improvement in terms of accuracy and viability which demands for more precision.

Moreover, there are two gameplay styles you will come across in the FC 26 and both of them feature almost every upgrade we have talked about since now.

Competitive Gameplay

Mode - Online

Competitive Gameplay mode is made to provide a smoother, faster and more responsive gameplay for online players. The competitive gameplay keeps the competitiveness alive, by focusing solely on skills to be the deciding factor in a match.

Authentic Gameplay

Mode - Offline

Authentic Gameplay mode is the default mode for offline players which focuses on realism with true physics, true to life experience and realistic animations that are played during some epic moments for a short time.

Improvements in Ultimate Team

Ultimate Team still remains the most popular game mode in the FC series and the FC 26 continues to keep its authenticity of collecting cards, division rivals, making your own squad and competing against other players, but also made some new adjustments to resolve the franchise’s long awaited complaints from the community. These adjustments involve the return of tournaments which will give players a way of earning more rewards like UT coins.

Moreover, the division rivals rewards seem to be a replica of the national treasure with lots of player packs and UT coins up to 20,000. For the players, who buy FC 26 coins, this is an offer that will fill your pockets by two times. The best platform to make the top-up is LDShop, it lets players top up for less and it is a great way to save money.

​Moreover, the grinding required in Squad battles, Rivals and FUT Champions have been reduced significantly and the menu loadings are also made faster for players to experience a more smoother progression graph.

 

Clubs - Archetype and Progression system

You will experience a feeling of non familiarity with the clubs as it receives a brand new archetype system and a revamp on the progression system. Below are the changes you will come across in FC 26 Clubs:

• Archetype System - The biggest introduction is the Archetype system that will replace the previous tradition to keep fixed positions and players will now have to select an archetype according to their playstyle. Additionally, even if you feel that the archetype is not suitable for you then you can change it with the other archetypes. For example: On a 6 '5'’ build, the target archetype will allow you to play as a Striker, AMF or even the wings and not just limit the capability to just a Striker.
• Revamp on Progression System - The progression system had a revamp with the introduction of the Archetype system that made it more engaging and interactive for the player to achieve development through their gameplay performance.
• Monetary Equilibrium - The good thing about Clubs is that unlike Ultimate Team, FC coins are solely used to buy cosmetics and do not affect your match outcome which makes the game more fair as skills and grinding remains the only deciding factors.​

Career Mode

I personally love to play the Career mode over other modes because of how the progression happens. This year, one big update has been made where the manager version of Career Mode is stealing all the spotlight from the player Career Mode. Some players remark that after playing this new version of career mode, they want to be a manager and not a player in their next life. Additionally, deeper simulation is the other major feature which allows leagues outside of your own to progress more realistically.

Performance of the Game

In terms of performance, the FC 26 runs beautifully. I may not be able to comment for the lower specs players but being from a high-end system, the game is easily capable of surpassing over 100 frames even at 4k resolution and max settings. Till now, there has not been any technical issue including crashes or bugs. The FC 26 also introduces a High Contrast Mode that allows players to adjust kit colors, saturation and visibility.

Final Verdict – Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Different Gameplay Options	Player Career Mode remains stagnant
Huge Gameplay Improvements	The Game does not feel well balanced
More Authentic Than Ever
Visual and soundtrack improvement

​Conclusion

In conclusion, the FC 26 seems like a major improvement from its previous successor with all the new feature additions and revamps. Personally, I liked this new update but I leave the decision to you.