Hands-on Review: EA Sports FC 26

Last week saw the release of the latest instalment of EA Sports' annual football title - FC 26 - and it seems an improved formula may have been found thanks to the combined input of the franchise's fans and streamers.

EA Sports' marketing campaign leaned heavily on the fact that the company had been listening to the community and made some much-needed changes including improvements to dribbling responsivity, smarter AI positioning, and sharper, more explosive player movement.

On top of these much-needed tweaks, EA Sports has effectively created two separate gameplay presets: Competitive and Authentic. The former is very much tailored to competitive online gameplay – it's fast-paced, frantic and filled with goals. The latter, as its name might suggest, feels much more like the real-life game and is designed to satisfy offline players. It's a much slower affair, making the player rely more on tactics and passing around the opponent to get the desired result.

Early player feedback suggests that FC 26 is certainly an improvement on previous titles, though there's still some complaints within the community. 

The popular but polarising Ultimate Team game mode is back again this year, but many players have expressed frustrations surrounding the decision to continue with the implementation of Season Pass – a form of microtransaction that was introduced in the during the last few months of FC 25's lifespan that promises players additional rewards as they complete objectives and earn XP. 

There have been some welcomed additions to Ultimate Team too, including a refresh to the Rivals and Champs game modes, as well as the introduction of some new tournaments like Ultimate Gauntlet, which require you to complete three separate knockout games without using the same player more than once – putting more importance than ever on owning a multitude of players to ensure you have a handful of strong squads.

EA Sports has also included a highly-requested feature this year – penalising sore losers (aka rage quitters) who leave the game after conceding a late penalty or getting a player sent off. This now results in their opponent receiving the win. Result. 

In terms of gameplay, Ultimate Team has improved drastically. Despite its fast pace, controlling your players feels a lot more fluid and there is an increased sense of realism when it comes to defending. EA Sports has also reduced the likelihood of favourable ricochets resulting in a goal. All these changes mean a much more enjoyable experience for the player. There's no doubt that we'll see gameplay patches to combat overpowered mechanics and tweak gameplay over the next 12 months, but for now the game is in a much better spot than last year.

Away from Ultimate Team, the Career mode really does benefit from the Authentic gameplay preset. Football traditionalists will no doubt revel in the improved gameplay while completing the new Manager Live Challenges – a feature which allows you to complete objectives based on real-world scenarios. 

To add to the mode's realism, opposing teams now adopt completely new tactics when a new manager takes over, and unexpected events will sometimes occur to guarantee that no two seasons are ever the same. 

FC 26 is by far the biggest leap EA Sports has made in terms of gameplay enhancement over the last 10 years, and it could well be the turning point for many fans who were becoming increasingly frustrated with previous 'cut and paste' instalments. 

It would be refreshing to see less of an obsession with a pay-to-play business model. Ultimate Team has always been a game mode centred around microtransactions, but the inclusion of a paid Season Pass will leave a sour taste in the mouths of many players. Not to mention it keeps some features from other game modes behind a paywall. 

September is a month you look forward to if you love football and gaming – the football season is back in full flow, and you've got a new football game to enjoy. There's no doubt that FC 26 is the best football game in recent years and it's great to see EA Sports moving in the right direction by listening to its fans and implementing some noteworthy improvements to boost the overall experience. 

FC 26 is available on all major consoles and PC now.