Last year’s EA Sports FC 26 was a marked step in the right direction for the series, following the “Crystanbul” dramatic collapse of EA Sports FC 25. I wholeheartedly agreed with Ross’ views on 2025’s entry, so it was with some cautious optimism I prepared for EA Sports FC 27. My posture and setup were still defensive; I wasn’t going all Klopp Geingenpress on it, but with my two CDMs firmly placed, I was ready.
Typically, I’d start my reviews relatively neutral, keeping the door open for whether the game is good, bad or anywhere in between. Not on this occasion. EA Sports FC 27 has been such a disappointing own goal for the series; it might just kill my enthusiasm for the series going forward, too. To know why it’s led me to a more downtrodden perspective than Antony’s Manchester United career, we’re going to have to start with what’s new.
Glory Hunter
The biggest innovation EA Sports FC 27 introduces this year is The Grounds. A social hub ideally placed to recreate hanging out with your friends to play headers & volleys (man, those forfeits still hurt), it features a wealth of Volta-inspired mini-games, challenges and famous faces to rub shoulders with. Alex Hunter, Kylian Mbappe, Paulo Dybala and Chloe Kelly, no less. While their digital renditions look the part, the act of interacting with them is, frankly, dreadful.
Every spoken word in The Grounds sounds like it was a phoned-in recording of an already phoned-in recording. I’ve never heard a handful of people sound collectively less interested in something, perhaps ever. Man City’s penalty for their 115 charges should be having to listen to this before every match for the next 10 seasons. Aside from that, the mini-games are underwhelming, either being direct versions of previous Volta modes, or a more interesting Rush game that’s Pro Clubs re-packaged.
You can mill around the real-life-inspired Grounds, kicking a football at random targets, customising your avatar, or queuing up to play with others. Yes, you have to queue up, and it’s as fun as it doesn’t sound. While the levelling system gives some sense of progression alongside challenges to complete, it feels altogether grindy, artificial and superfluous. I had some fun in the kickabout modes, but nothing that I believe will hold many players’ attention spans for very long. Unlike that voice acting.
Corner Taken Quickly…!
Alright, so let’s be courteous and say The Grounds is a swing and a miss on a new concept that may improve over time. I can forgive a decent concept that hasn’t had the best execution. But what about the gameplay enhancements we hear about every year; surely they’ve been iterated on following last year’s move towards a better overall football simulation? Sadly, not for my tastes. I want to emphasise that this may be very subjective, given different players want different things from their EA Sports FC titles.
However, I actively detest the new cornering system. The concept of giving players more control and manual direction for them makes sense in theory, but in practice, it’s akin to knocking it straight to the first defender with a resounding plop. I was unable to switch players once the animation for a corner began, basically allowing the opposition a free header every time, which I witnessed the AI and fellow players alike abusing the heck out of.
The moment-to-moment flow of matches feels expectedly similar to the previous two entries, but something was just very off for me. Through balls still feel like they barely work, except in the instances they shouldn’t. Players inexplicably kick the ball right to the one opposition player despite having acres to aim for, even seemingly overriding the inputs I was putting in. I still appreciate the authentic vs competitive variants, and teams, formations and tactics continue to have a noticeable impact on how your opponents feel to play, which is great.
Mourin-no
My favourite part of FIFA and EA Sports FC titles is very much their front-foot, direct approach, and that hasn’t changed. However, compared to last year, I just wasn’t having any fun getting to grips with these mechanics. There wasn’t even the stereotypical “FIFA rage”, it was just exhaustion. A bit like watching Atletico vs Arsenal in the Champions League, there’s plenty of fire, but not a whole lot of flair or fun to be found. Last year was by no means PSG vs Bayern, but it had something.
At least the career mode continues to receive meaningful and genuine effort. The overhauled transfer system is a delight, streamlining the cumbersome interfaces and cutscene-heavy versions of the past. Nabbing Nico Williams straight from his release clause was a joy, as was somehow picking up Nuno Mendes, Jurrien Timber and Alex Scott in the same window. With the new transfer instalments option, I could even evade running afoul of 115 charges… Sorry, it’s topical.
As such, I took some solace that my preferred game mode is getting some much-needed TLC. I don’t personally mess with Ultimate Team since retiring from that mode in 2018 (and I was never too into it anyway), but the other offline and online modes round out the usual expansive suite you can expect. On that front, EA Sports FC 27 retains its title as the most comprehensive football simulation experience.
Madrid Has Never Looked More Real
It almost feels unfair that EA Sports FC 27 probably won’t get its props for its unbelievable presentation values. Mid-match animations are serenely rendered, meaning I can watch Olise glide across the pitch, see Mendes terrorise the left-hand side, and see Wirtz fail to deliver the simplest of passes in gorgeous fashion. Turns, pivots, shots, passes, and sprinting look the best they probably ever have, giving the game a production value that few others in the sports genre could match.
Crowds continue to have their troublesome close-ups, where you’ll notice the cardboard cutout-esque nature of the fans. I do like that mascots are more heavily promoted; however, nothing beats hearing the Can-Can song and seeing Bayern’s mascot living it large after you’ve scored a belter. The English commentary still has about as much emotion and drama as a Roberto Martinez team has a sturdy defence, but what’s new there?
EA Sports FC 27’s curated list of tracks is the best in a long time, in my opinion, so that’s also a relative win. The Grounds suffers the most visually and in terms of audio. At one point, all music and background noise cut out entirely for me, while wandering the HUB led me to many an uninspired alley. It’s not bad, it’s just not very good either, a bit like Liverpool’s defence this season.
Not The (George) Best, Nor The (Florian) Wirtz
In all, EA Sports FC 27 felt like the equivalent of an in-form, legendary striker lining up the perfect penalty, leathering it for the top corner, only to see it cannon back off the crossbar and smack them square in the face. Or, when Leicester had a penalty to win their championship play-off, only to miss it and have Watford score immediately after (DEENEY!).
There’s a well-rounded squad here, thanks to the wealth of modes, options for play and more content than you could shake a football boot at. Unfortunately, I found it to be thoroughly undermined by the frustrating and exhausting gameplay changes and inclusions. My overriding thought was that I just could have gone back to last year’s FC, and likely would have had a better time. I’m not going to suggest my word is law here, though, and while my personal experience was lacklustre, I do think the overall package is decent here.
I do wish they’d do away with the season passes and the ridiculous amounts of monetisation, though. It’s hard to get through even a couple of menus without something popping up to pester you. In the end, EA Sports FC 27 is an okay football game with lots of football to play, if you’re accepting of mediocrity. I wonder if this is how Manchester United fans feel most seasons (sorry Ross!).
EA Sports FC 27 is available now on PlayStation 5 (review platform), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC.
Developer: EA Vancouver
Publisher: EA Sports
Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.
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