EA Sports FC 27 introduces smart iterations and steady developments, offering a decent forward step for the franchise while navigating the perennial cynicism that often surrounds annual sports titles.
The Grounds Social Hub
A notable addition this year is "The Grounds," an online social hub where players can customize an avatar and interact. While the gameplay within The Grounds, primarily revolving around "Rush" football matches, echoes the spirit of Volta and FIFA Street, its aesthetic is a significant focus. Three distinct hub areas are available, inspired by the UK, Paris, and Argentina, featuring clean streets populated by NPCs and luminous white-domed kiosks. This design bears a resemblance to PlayStation Home, a virtual social space where users could explore, customize avatars, and participate in mini-games, also carrying a similar sense of potential impermanence.
The gameplay within The Grounds includes five-a-side Rush, as well as one-on-one, two-on-two, and three-on-three modes. While queuing is generally quick, occasional lag can disrupt matches. Additional diversions like Balloon Ball, Bocce Ball, and Bucket Ball offer lighter fare. For more traditional gameplay, Clubhouse Matches feature full eleven-a-side games, though standard online exhibitions remain a faster option.
On-Pitch Enhancements
The core on-pitch action in FC 27 has been refined with a slower, more deliberate pace. Players can choose between "Competitive Gameplay," which prioritizes speed and responsiveness, or "Authentic Gameplay," offering a more measured experience. Opting for Authentic Gameplay results in matches with a weightier feel, an increased emphasis on manual defending with less AI assistance, and a more challenging execution of through balls, with lobbed variants currently favored online. Matches play out with greater intensity in midfield, and scoring a goal remains a thrilling experience.
Set pieces have also been adjusted, with corner kicks now requiring more strategic planning, including mid-kick camera zooms for run adjustments and ball shielding. The "Avoidance" mechanic allows players to become more agile in crowded areas, adding a tactical layer. Crossing has been made looser, necessitating more precise aiming and a better understanding of pace and space.
Attacking Spatial Awareness is intended to improve AI teammates' run intelligence, directing them into more advantageous positions rather than crowded areas. This feature's effectiveness was found to be inconsistent, with players sometimes making runs away from the intended play.
Modes and Ultimate Team
The game's presentation includes cinematic elements, such as satellite flyovers leading into matches, though their execution can feel overly dramatic. Similar to the Call of Duty series, FC 27 is a product of a large publisher with a yearly release schedule, where secondary modes have increasingly overshadowed the core experience, much like Warzone for Call of Duty and Ultimate Team for EA Sports FC.
Ultimate Team remains a central, albeit controversial, mode. While technically not classified as gambling by the UK Gambling Commission due to the lack of real-world cash-out mechanisms for virtual items, its loot box mechanics have earned the game a PEGI 16+ rating. The mode largely retains its existing structure of purchasing card packs, assembling squads, and competing online. New additions include the "Gallery," where collected cards can be cataloged for cosmetic rewards, and streamlined Squad Building Challenges (SBCs). These SBCs now allow for faster progress by focusing on rarity and ratings rather than chemistry and overall team rating, offering quicker gratification.
Career Mode Improvements
For players preferring Career modes, FC 27 introduces "Dynamic OVR," where player ratings fluctuate throughout the season based on performance, playtime, and team dynamics. This adds a more organic feel to squad management. Transfer negotiations have been made more involved, requiring checks with clubs, price negotiations, and direct player discussions within a dedicated menu system that includes a tension meter to indicate the likelihood of deals breaking down. Players can now opt for installment payments, and the system incorporates signing and agent fees, allowing for complex financial negotiations.
Random events, such as humorous player injuries, add unexpected moments to the managerial experience. While The Grounds may be a superficial addition and Ultimate Team continues its established path, FC 27 delivers meaningful improvements to on-pitch gameplay. Given its market dominance, EA could have offered less, but this year's iteration provides a solid on-pitch experience, albeit wrapped in the typical cynicism, smart mechanics, controversy, and moments of joy characteristic of modern football.
A copy of EA Sports FC 27 was provided for this review by EA Sports.