Each year we receive the latest iterations of our beloved annualized sports franchises — EA Madden, EA NHL, NBA 2K, EA Sports FC, MLB The Show, and countless others. Kudos to EA F1 25 for choosing to go with DLC for the 2026 season instead of a full new release, but I’ll speak more on that in a later post.
I want to focus on this year’s EA Sports FC 27 and how I can truly feel the difference in the gameplay — and I spent many hours playing last year’s EA Sports FC 26. When I first booted up EA Sports FC 27 it looked very much the same as last year. It always feels like last year’s game with a few small changes. I noticed some minor updates in the menus and a new online mode, The Grounds, which has mostly been a dead zone for me.
The Grounds is EA’s new “social way to play” EA Sports FC 27. Players can create their avatar and explore this open area featuring different gameplay modes. The problem for me was getting into any of those gameplay modes. Whenever I tried jumping in, nothing would happen. I’d see the “Looking for Players” notification as my avatar stood still waiting. That’s fine though, I never cared much for playing sports titles online with strangers.
THE REAL CHANGES
It wasn’t until I got into my new Manager Career — as I do each year — with Chelsea FC, that I started to notice some big changes. First, the menus and layout not only look different, but there’s some new features all over the Manager Career mode. There were plenty of quick tutorials to help out with the new features. There’s definitely more managerial (or admin) work to be done — I pawn most of those tasks off to my virtual staff.
Once I got out on the pitch I really felt an overhaul in gameplay. I played a full season with Chelsea (and won the EPL) in EA Sports FC 26. I also played a couple of “The World’s Game” tourneys (or bootleg World Cups). So, I put my time into last year’s game.
What I noticed in EA Sports FC 27 is that the players are more responsive in many ways. They feel heavier and more realistic. Previous games let me steal the ball simply by running into players, or pressing the steal button with terrible timing. This year, I have to time it better. I have to actually steal the ball.
After years of attempting to master the art of slide tackling, I actually get it now. First off, players slide much further now which is great. Second, I’m making fewer mistakes with my tackles. I received so many yellow cards in the past. Now, I mostly receive a yellow card when I’m frustrated about losing — and going too hard on the tackles.
The biggest change for me comes in the physics and weight of players during corner kicks. These features are always present, but they have the biggest effect on corners. I can now “box out” defenders. It feels closer to posting up in the paint in an NBA 2K game. I used to run through or past opposing players, now I run into them instead.
Corners used to be random and chaotic for me, but now they are fun. There’s a whole new strategy. First, I place the ball with my kick power. Next, I push the defender away with my receiving player and try to open up some space. Once the ball is coming in I quickly run over to that spot and try to head it in. I now have a reason to cross the ball into the box, instead of calling for a second player for a quick pass on the sideline.
I’m pretty sure in just a few games, I’ve already doubled my corner kick goals from last year’s game.
DIFFICULTY LEVELS
In the past, I’ve always stuck to the simpler side of the EA Sports FC (and EA FIFA) difficulty levels. These past couple of years I’ve been searching for the right difficulty for me. I want more of a challenge. At times I’m a Professional, but other times I can be more of a Semi-Pro — it all depends on the match.
In Madden, I’ve always been an All-Pro player, and that’s hard enough for me. I don’t mess with All-Madden any more. Madden only has the four difficulty levels — Rookie, Pro, All-Pro, All-Madden. EA Sports FC games have about seven difficulty levels, and Semi-Pro and Professional are still in the middle.
Is playing at a higher difficulty what’s making the game feel better? I don’t think so, because I also feel it at Semi-Pro. The main difference between the two difficulties (Semi-Pro and Professional) is how much pressure the other team puts on you. In Professional mode they defend hard!
For now, I can handle the slightly ok-to-bad teams on Professional mode, while playing Semi-Pro versus the top teams in the EPL (English Premiere League). I hope to become a full-time Professional EA Sports FC player this year — maybe a Legend one day.
In Professional mode, I can only get away with a couple of mistakes. Whether I go for a stupid slide tackle, make a terrible pass, or miss an easy stop. Playing on Semi-Pro is a different story. I can make so many mistakes and still redeem myself and walk away with a win. In Professional mode, most mistakes lead to goals — by the other team.
I’m very happy with this new iteration of EA Sports FC 27. It’s nice to finally feel a real change year-to-year in an annualized sports game. Most of the time it’s just small tweaks and light graphical enhancements. I’m sure there could be even more new features, but since we usually receive little-to-none, this feels like a big improvement.
I can easily see myself spending many hours in this year’s EA Sports FC 27. Mostly in my manager career mode with Chelsea FC — did I mention I am also the French Women’s team manager? I don’t see myself messing around with The Grounds much more this year though — or any other game modes really.
I will however get some games in as the AFC Richmond Lady Greyhounds…
*myVGBC was given a review code for this year’s EA Sports FC 27.
