Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X (Reviewed) |S
Genre: Sports
Publisher: EA Sports
EA SPORTS FC 25 is the second outing of their new football game, which is ready for release at the start of the football season. Following its multi-year success in the FIFA games, EA now has its EA Sports FC 25 as its flagship title in the football realm. The biggest football game in the world is back and is the latest installation of the familiar game with updates like new gaming modes, a 5v5, improved tactical upgrades coined as FC IQ, and updates to ultimate team, clubs and career modes. It’s mainly an update on EA SPORTS FC 24 instead of a massive redesign; it’s familiar.
There is a new 5v5 game called Rush mode, emphasising a more arcade game similar to five-a-side football played worldwide. This isn’t football’s super immersive simulation side but a more multiplayer-friendly game to play with others.
Improved tactical upgrades coined as FC IQ – player roles, team tactics, and smart tactics. Player roles allow players to have enhanced roles in their team based on real-life data; this means players who are the best in a particular position(s) will excel even more in the game, giving an enhanced player in their role.
Team tactics allow you to mirror real-life tactics and have tactics based on whether you are in possession. The in-game hud view of the pitch allows for visualisation of tactics updates and team gameplay. In the pause or team management, there are many options to tweak everything from formation to individual players’ tactics to build your custom team tactics.
Smart tactics are in-game dynamic feedback given to players to give players extra information to make changes in the game. Players will be prompted and informed of this in the game.
The career mode includes:
- Women’s football.
- The inclusion of Rush mode.
- The inclusion of Icons.
- Live events in the real world of football.
EA boasts the most extensive set of squads and players of any football team, with numerous leagues included, and all your favourite and most hated teams will be there to play with or against. The gameplay is a football simulation game that does try to stick to the reality of football for the most part; there are some glitches in the AI when lobbed-through passes come in, or goalkeepers do crazy things and let goals in; this aside, though, it’s a tight simulation that gives the feel you are playing/watching a real game in real-time. Including more visual aids in tactics enriches the game and immerses the player in the world. You can control your custom player or your favourite and go as in-depth as you want with tactics and formations.
The controls are essentially the same as FC 24; pass, cross, shot, and through ball are the primary ball mechanics. I found lob shots and finesse a bit trickier in this game; they didn’t feel as responsive as in the previous games. You can also control secondary players and have them support you in the play. The set pieces had more ball control options, swerve and placement, and tweaks to the previous game. It plays like a fantastic football simulation apart from the odd quirk or glitch in the game, but that seems to be part of all football games.
The ultimate team is still there, along with the player career, manager career, seasons, clubs, Rush mode, and much more, which eludes me. FC 25 has many game modes that support offline / online and crossplay features. It’s in-depth. There are so many modes that it’s hard to know where and where to begin. The basic kick-off modes allow you to get into and play the game. If you want to train and get used to the controls and all the possible things that you can do in the game. The game supports local 2-4 players. There is online play, too.
The online experience is fantastic, quick, and doesn’t suffer from lag, from my experience. The only real downside of online play is that people quit and over-celebrate their goals by taking a journey through as much of the pitch as possible to annoy you. The odd person will take a goal lead and try to pass around the back to bore you to death, which is rage-inducing; I haven’t found the right tactics to counter this. The season mode, where you are promoted or demoted on your form, is addictive and my go-to mode; it’s tons of fun, and the skill levels vary, so you will get quite the mix when playing, which is a good thing as you progress through the leagues and reacher the upper echelons the skill level is much more improved.
The menu system is vast and easy to get lost in sometimes; this could be improved. In general, there are so many game modes and menus that it can be challenging to figure out what is going on, and navigating things can be an issue. However, for a game this complex with so many features, it’s hard to come up with a stripped-down, intuitive navigation and design system.
EA Sports FC 25 is a heavily stacked football simulation with more than enough game modes to satisfy the appetite of football fans. At times, in the Ultimate Team mode, I felt there were too many menus and things to do, but the Ultimate Team is highly immersive, and the ability to play Rush Mode online makes it even more vast. The gameplay is solid and intuitive, the online modes are quick and finding players is easy and fast with so many people playing this game. The game overall is perfect, and if your friends are playing too, it will make the whole EA Sports FC 25 more enjoyable. Is it the best football game ever? Probably not. Is it the current best football? It’s a HARD YES.
No other game comes close to EA Sports FC 25, so if you are a football fan, it’s a must-own and will have you putting plenty of hours into the game.
Overall: 7.5/10
Enjoys more than the odd game, long time gamer, somewhat a technologist and everything else in between.
Also enjoys a good solid game of FIFA online. Currently PS4, XBOX 360 and STEAM.
