EA Sports FC 27: The Review of Football According to Electronic Arts

EA Sports FC 27: Welcome Back to the Football Pitches!

Why are you here reading the EA Sports FC 27 review? I don't know precisely, but I can try to guess, regardless of the fact that we're talking about the king of football titles. Perhaps you're looking for redemption because the Italian national team didn't make it to the World Cup for the umpteenth time, or maybe you can't find peace because your favorite team put together the classic summer transfer market on a budget and you already know a season of suffering awaits you. But nothing prevents you from wanting to relive the exploits of your favorite champion or wanting to climb the world rankings to show everyone you're the best FC 27 gamer. Whatever the reason, you're in the right place. Lace up your boots and let's hit the field! As you know, EA Sports FC 27 will be released for practically every platform on the market, but I wanted to get my hands on the PlayStation 5 edition, which will offer exclusive tournaments dedicated to its users.

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As per tradition, FC 27 immediately impresses with its enormous gaming offering, and the menu is nothing short of rich, both in terms of settings and modes. All the modes we've come to know in past years return, including friendlies, training, leagues, Champions League, FUT, player or manager careers, and seasons, where gamers from all over the world compete to reach higher divisions in ten-game leagues. Enriching the offering is The Grounds, an open world where gamers from every corner of the globe can share their love for football, in a system that seeks to unite street football with stadium football through mini-games, social interaction, and self-expression. The game world is divided into three neighborhoods: the French Montclair, the Argentinian Zeiza, and the English Parkside, each seeking to emulate situations where football originates from the streets to give birth to champions and legends. You create your avatar, dress them with style, and start making a name for yourself in street soccer environments, participating in events ranging from 1-on-1 matches to mini-games that blend basketball with football, passing through many variations on the theme. Social interaction blends with gameplay, style with football passion, in a hub that becomes the new home for clubs, where gamers can organize their experience with friends and teammates. The potential of The Grounds is obvious: we could have a cornerstone for all users or an experiment that won't have the strength to attract a wide enough audience to make it truly alive and appealing. Today, with several gamers flocking to the servers, it's noticeable how some pitches are crowded and always ready for us to play, such as small-sided challenges, while others are almost deserted, as if the public has already clarified what they enjoy most and least. We are only at the beginning of The Grounds' adventure, and nothing prevents every mini-game from demonstrating its potential.

EA Sports FC 27: Modes for All Tastes

All other modes mirror the offering we've known for years and carry forward a system we're accustomed to. There's truly something for everyone, and we're facing yet another football feast capable of satisfying every type of gamer. Certainly, the main course, for many, will be FUT, which returns with the usual formula but emphasizes collecting, team customization, and increases the freedom of squad building. I have no doubt that, this year too, the obsession with opening virtual card packs and the race to fill one's album will be unleashed. The other big attraction will be "Seasons," where you start from the tenth division to play ten-game online leagues in search of enough points to move up a category, trying to reach the first division. As always, we can create our virtual footballer and embark on a career in the world of professionalism, but we can also satisfy our desire to become a manager, taking charge of a team and managing its tactics and finances. There are also various quick modes that complete an increasingly comprehensive offering.

EA Sports FC 27 is simply an all-encompassing title designed to be literally enormous. It contains several modes that, alone, could keep a player busy for months and months and intercept different types of gaming experiences. Whether you're looking for a casual match, want to compete against opponents from all over the world, or engage in a managerial system, FC 27 has what you need. I find it almost impossible to believe that a player can utilize the entire offering of this title, and credit must be given to the developers for putting in their utmost effort to allow every type of football enthusiast to have fun. Each mode offers new features, but these are limited innovations that don't change what we've learned over the years much.

EA Sports FC 27, Two Souls in Two Gameplays

At this point, we need to talk about the gameplay of EA Sports FC 27 and its new features. Once again, the developers have decided to focus on specific improvements rather than a revolution. Let's start with the goalkeepers who, year after year, gain more and more confidence. During my tests, I didn't notice any blunders or particular problems, with a marked predisposition to send powerful shots to the corner, rather than parrying them back into play and risking putting opponents back in the game. As announced by the development team, manual defending is more functional than in the past, especially when you manage to anticipate opponent passes. As for off-the-ball movements of attackers, the announced new features seemed very marginal to me, with behaviors that didn't satisfy me: especially when I tried to develop play on the wing, my central forwards sought movements inwards, nullifying my intentions to cross. The same behavior on headers seemed very similar to FC 26. These are just some examples that can be made regarding all the improvements implemented by the developers, but it must be clear that we are still talking about limited innovations that do not revolutionize any game element, but merely refine the gameplay.

A separate discussion for corner kick management, where EA has decided to allow more time between selecting the kick and the movements of attackers and defenders in the area. Now we can better manage the possibility of evading markers with a quick movement or fighting to assert our physical prowess. Here too, there isn't a true revolution, but the system receives an important evolution that, over the months, will surely develop tactics that will make corners truly dangerous. One thing is certain: if you take the time to study and learn the fully manual controls, you could be very dangerous opponents, but also at risk of making gross errors.

Throughout all this, the two types of gameplay, realistic and competitive, continue to coexist. The former is only usable offline, while the latter continues to be the basis for all online modes. Like last year, the realistic mode allows for more thoughtful play with a more natural pace and a more satisfying specific weight of the ball and players. The competitive mode is more immediate and reactive, where the ability to think loses importance in favor of the ability to act quickly. Already in previous years, playing online, the winner was almost always the one with greater mastery of tricks, and today the feeling is even more pronounced. The most talented footballers have gained an additional bonus in managing the ball in unbalanced situations, making them even more devastating than an average athlete. I would have preferred a downsizing of top players, but for this year, we must resign ourselves to the fact that, in online challenges, the strongest clubs will always make the difference, much to the chagrin of more talented gamers who, perhaps, would like to try using teams that are not top-tier.

EA Sports FC 27: Is it True Innovation?

As for game satisfaction, realistic gameplay far surpasses competitive gameplay, and I find it limiting that it can only be used offline and that a way hasn't been found to create "split" online modes for those who prefer one or the other way of playing. Perhaps the problem is precisely wanting to maintain this dualism, when everything could have been shifted to realism, but this doesn't detract from the fact that you'll have plenty to sink your teeth into, whether you love one game system or the other.

Technically, the production is always very polished, and while here too we can't speak of a revolution, there's a noticeable improvement in animations, which are increasingly fluid and realistic. Needless to say, EA Sports pays enormous attention to every element of its "favorite child," and we're talking about a premium production that leaves nothing to chance, including the excellent commentary and the entire audio sector, but it seems to be almost crushed by the scope of the project. Is EA Sports FC 27 literally enormous and embraces the world of football 360 degrees, to the point of being too big for the time a single gamer can dedicate to it during a sports season? A flaw? Absolutely not, because such a quantity of content must be absolutely rewarded and is capable of entertaining anyone who appreciates the game of football.

Certainly, innovations continue to follow the lines of what we already know, and the development team continues to choose a safe and conservative path, not to mention the dualism of the two available gameplays, but this doesn't detract from the fact that EA Sports FC 27 is full of interesting elements. A good title that struggles to take a stance on how to evolve, but continues to offer an online system that, in all my tests, never gave problems except very occasionally. Are you a FUT lover? Do you adore dedicating yourself to Seasons? Perhaps you prefer a career as a player or manager? Maybe you're more for a quick match with friends, or recreating some famous past game or the clash that will animate the future of your favorite team? Not to mention that The Grounds brings a new idea of a virtual space dedicated to street soccer. So, EA Sports FC 27 is all this and more. The perfect football game? Not yet. The most complete football game on the market? Absolutely yes, and whatever type of gamer you are, you will always find fresh grass for the studs of your boots, on the pitches of EA Sports FC 27.