EA Sports FC 27 review: tighter defending and smarter runs, but it's still mostly the same game with the serial numbers filed off

[HHH_Gold]

EA Sports FC 27, released on September 24, 2026, lands as a solid but largely incremental update on last year's game, earning a 7.25 out of 10 from Game Informer's review. The headline gameplay changes centre on defending, with reduced CPU assistance in competitive mode forcing players to rely more on genuine manual defending skill, alongside new teammate running patterns designed to keep strikers onside, more precise through ball aiming, and improved player control during corner kicks.

On the features side, the game introduces The Grounds, a new instanced open world mode built around avatar customisation, Rush matches and small sided competitions, alongside Gallery, a themed card collection system in Ultimate Team that rewards squad building with re-gradable card sets. Career Mode also gets a refined negotiation system built around tension meters and a new Dynamic OVR system that tracks a player's form and morale over time, while overall player progression has been tweaked to give users more starting coins and tradeable items.

The review praised how the new defensive mechanics genuinely reward player skill and specifically enjoyed triggering the new curved attacking runs, with Ultimate Team's Gallery mechanics remaining the game's primary draw. On the downside, player switching glitches persist during hectic defensive sequences, CPU teammates still occasionally make poor decisions, The Grounds mode was criticised for lacking compelling gameplay and feeling disconnected from the main Player Career experience, and the Career Mode improvements were described as more granular than genuinely impactful. The overall verdict summed the game up as a familiar experience that doesn't change too much from its predecessor.

EA Sports FC 27 Review - The Grounds is Shaky, But the Tactics System Shows Promisewww.ign.com

[Craig71]

The Grounds sounding disconnected from the main Player Career mode is a fairly damning criticism for what was presumably meant to be a headline new feature, an open world mode nobody feels connected to the rest of the game is not exactly a great use of development resources.

[ClusterCanopy]

Dynamic OVR tracking form and morale sounds like a genuinely interesting Career Mode addition on paper, disappointing to hear the reviewer found the overall Career Mode changes more granular than impactful despite that.

[Megan34]

Reduced CPU assistance in competitive mode defending is honestly the change that could matter most for the game's long term competitive scene, forcing genuine manual skill rather than leaning on AI assistance tends to separate good players from great ones a lot more clearly.

[Natalie78]

Persistent player switching glitches during hectic sequences carrying over yet again is frustrating to see mentioned, that specific complaint has followed this franchise across multiple entries now without ever being fully resolved.

[Rose86]

A 7.25 score paired with the phrase familiar experience that doesn't change too much from its predecessor is about as clear a signal as you can get that this is an iterative, safe release rather than anything genuinely transformative.

[Voyager43]

Gallery in Ultimate Team sounding like the actual highlight again says a lot about where EA's real priorities and monetisation focus continue to sit within this franchise year after year