I think that since EA split from FIFA, the series has been doing a lot of work to implement ideas that wouldn’t have worked with its former partner. In the years since, there’s been a noticeable trend try things I don’t think we would’ve seen otherwise.
In some years, there’s been more changes while others feel minimal. Over the last 30 years, I’ve seen the series rise and fall like biggest clubs in the world, and now with EA being owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, I’m torn on whether this year is whether we’ll start seeing interference. For now, the important thing is that the football itself is great again this year.
I’ve seen some of the content this year ahead of this week’s launch, including the open-world feature called The Grounds, plus under-the-hood changes to how FC 27 plays, changes to Ultimate Team, and more.
EA has reduced the influence of AI-controlled defending in Competitive gameplay, particularly by removing much of the automatic tackling that could previously rescue out-of-position players. Defending is consequently more dependent on positioning, anticipation, and actually taking control of the player who needs to make the challenge. EA has described this as part of a broader effort to reduce automation and reward player decision-making.
In previous years, plenty of situations let an AI-controlled defender seemingly do the work for you. If you fail to track a run or switch to the wrong defender, the attacking player is more likely to exploit the space you leave behind.
This can feel awkward at first, especially for players who have spent years building habits around the older defensive system. It can also create frustrating situations when the AI does something that seems unintuitive. But when everything clicks, defending feels considerably more deliberate. Winning the ball feels like something you earned rather than something the game quietly handled for you.
The changes aren’t limited to defending. Attacking players now make smarter movements, including improved spatial awareness, curved runs, and manually triggered overlapping and underlapping runs. These additions create more opportunities to manipulate defensive lines rather than simply passing the ball around until an opening appears.
You have plenty of ways to move across the pitch, and it’s nice that the gameplay can finally pivot alongside your choices rather than lag behind.
Mechanically Sound
The Ground
A new social hub for EA Sports FC 27, The Grounds is meant to imitate some of the game’s biggest moments. Not everything happens on an official pitch, no. Big moments unfold locally in neighbourhoods, in communities, and between friends.
It makes sense, given how many stars got their start in local fields, and EA Sports is tapping into that this year with an open hub that offers more ways to experience football. Expanding on the Club experience, this year you’ll explore casual yet fast-paced soccer across three distinct districts, each inspired by football’s heritage. As you grow, you’ll encounter some of the biggest names like Kylian Mbappé, Chloe Kelly, Paulo Dybala and Alex Hunter.
Create a character, explore one of the worlds, play football, and progress to the top. You can choose your Archetype, whether it’s based on a defender, midfielder, or attacker, and then who your character is based on. The Magician combines “remarkable control, dribbling, and vision,” with the profile based on Ronaldinho and includes the Technical Signature Playstyle. You can also choose the Finisher, inspired by Alex Morgan, which possesses “killer instinct in front of the goal” and includes the Low Driven S Signature Playstyle.
From there, you can assign attribute points across several categories, including Ball Control, Scoring, Passing, Defending, Pace, Physical, and Other, with each category offering its own sub-categories that require points. Pace, for example, includes acceleration and sprinting, while Physical covers strength and jumping.
After spending the last few days playing through The Grounds, I’m not convinced it’s where it needs to be. I like the idea, but it still feels unrealized compared to other sports titles doing something similar. If you want to import your player’s career, you can’t even do that because it’s separate. And unless you plan to invest a lot of time in it, I don’t see how a casual player can find the time.
Ultimate Team
Fan favourite mode Ultimate Team returns with some changes this year, like FUT Gallery, which I know I’m a fan of now.
The FUT Gallery is meant to give your players another purpose, since the ones you draw are either thrown into your squad or turned into fodder. Now your players have a purpose, and you can use cards to curate themed sets and increase your grade.
FUT Gallery is a living gallery that lets you showcase your squad and completed sets. You can choose it from the menu, where you can create various sets and assign 11 players. Any cards you assign must be ones you’ve owned at some point, so even after getting rid of some of your cards, you can still enjoy them in some capacity, like building a set of players.
Players now have a score determined by their overall rating (OVR) and rarity. Once a set is complete, you can have it graded. In the example shown, the cards were graded a D and given a score of 6,830, with tags indicating the player is the first owner, that they’re part of the same league, that all cards are golden, etc.
Overall, I’m pleased with this year’s FC 27. However, just like in previous years, there’s a focus on FC points and microtransactions. They permeate several modes, where you pick up an assortment of boosts. I’m not against microtransactions, but I don’t like how they’re implemented, especially when you’re short on time and a carrot dangles in front of you.
Verdict
EA Sports FC 27 is a great annual update that tries some new things, but not all of them work. While The Grounds shows potential, I don’t see how a casual player can find the time to dive in since it requires a lot of grinding. Casual players will find plenty to enjoy, but a few modes still require a major time investment that’s hard to find. Thankfully, the gameplay feels great, so if you’re only looking to get a couple matches in a day, this year’s a great place to dive in.
[The publisher provided a copy of the game for review purposes.]
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
