EA Sports FC 25 review – everything you expect and nothing more

The people who regularly play EA FC are by far the most loyal to the brand than any other community I've ever seen. These people will constantly remind you of the game's biggest problems, blaming corporate greed, server lag, and developer ignorance. However, there is no doubt that they were the first to press the pre-order button on the game as soon as it became available. Don't worry, I won't judge because I'm one of those people. EA FC 25 Right here, it delivers exactly what fans have come to expect from the annual sporting event.

EA isn't reinventing the beautiful game this year, nor are fans asking them to. The most obvious difference with EA FC 25 is the overall speed of the game. Gameplay in all modes in FC 25 has been slowed down to create a closer representation of football, and while I prefer the slower pace as it promotes tactical play, I know this will most likely not continue. In previous years, EA has patched the game based on community feedback shortly after its launch to make the gameplay more consistent with the previous year's version.

On the pitch, the game's quick tactics have been upgraded, giving you a wider range of options when in possession of the ball. The system hasn't received an overhaul in many years, so it's nice to finally see some improvements. I found navigating the menus cumbersome at first, but quickly figured out where the most important options were hidden. Being able to substitute players without pausing the game is extremely helpful, especially when you are building momentum as you want to avoid giving your opponent any time to recover. Depending on the game state, you'll receive prompts through the Smart Tactics feature suggesting how to set up your team. Sadly this is of no use as obviously if you are down 3-0 you might want to try and score a goal.

All the top football players and teams are available to you, each with a unique set of playing styles and statistics you need to be able to formulate the perfect strategic plan. The new player character system lets you decide how each player in your team operates. This was technically possible in older games, and players using the correct character would perform better than players shoehorned into the same character. For example, you would have an easier time playing from the back with someone like Jordan Pickford than with David Raya in a sweeper goalkeeper role.

This system is great because it should incentivize people to build their own teams rather than relying on what the top players are using, but it's practically impossible to stop anyone from copying meta teams. With the addition of custom tactic codes, it's now easier than ever to take advantage of popular tactic settings. There's a fine line between winning and losing, so I understand why no one would hesitate to use anything they think will give them an advantage. Unfortunately, this system offers a wealth of possibilities, but you're likely to run into similar teams with extremely fast players.

While there are some minor improvements to the Club and Manager game modes, it's clear that only a small portion of the gaming community is interested in these things, and it's easy to see why. EA has dug itself into an Ultimate Team-type hole that it can't seem to get out of. Whatever it looks like to introduce, it's clear that it won't appeal to a wider audience unless new content is incorporated into the main mode. There are objectives in careers and clubs that unlock ultimate team items on the season pass, but it's not enough to motivate hardcore players to default to their favorite game mode.

Ultimate Team has grown over the past few years, with the addition of female players in FC 24 and new ways to unlock idols and heroes through team-building challenges. These cards used to be unobtainable to most free-to-play players, and now you can get your hands on legendary players like Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira without spending any cash on card packs.

There are two huge changes coming to Ultimate Team this year: the cancellation of contracts and the duplicate storage system. In the past, Ultimate Team had a lot of filler designed purely to waste time, but slowly, annoyances like player fitness and position cards have been removed, and now it's time to say goodbye to contracts. The final nail in the coffin will be EA's inevitable elimination of the card's damage, but that will likely happen in the next few years. Duplicate storage is something people have been asking for for a long time, and now you don't have to toss your dupes in the trash, just fish them out using the dreaded quick sale recovery mechanism.

It's not surprising to see why everyone gravitates toward this mode, because there's always something new to do or something you can do. Whether playing offline-focused modes like Squad Battles, ranked games against divisional opponents, or in and out of Rush, you'll be constantly rewarded with gold coins and packs to improve your squad. Even when you're away from the game, you can use the web app to stay connected to complete all your FC chores. It's an extremely addictive cycle, and EA made sure not to make too many tweaks to jeopardize its award-winning pigs.

The most significant new game mode in FC 25 is Rush, which reduces 11v11 matches to 5v5. It's not to be confused with EA's street football mode Volta, which has been ignored by the community since its launch in 2020. Unlike the Volta, the Rush has one key element that will ensure you give it a try. It's incorporated into every core mode, more specifically Ultimate Team.

Just like a real futsal game, Rush has all the advantages and disadvantages of playing random football in the streets. From the player selection menu you can get an idea of ​​the type of people you want to play with. There is no set team structure or formation in Rush, leaving it up to each player to decide which role they should play. Of course, everyone wants to be the hero, so in most matches you'll find yourself paired with three attackers. If you choose Sprint in Ultimate Team, you can choose from any player on your team and an AI goalkeeper will be chosen at random. Only the captain can control the goalkeeper, similar to how professional clubs operate.

Without having to talk to each other, four good players should be able to coordinate well and play decent football. If you happen to have a weak link on your team, they can single-handedly cause enough disruption to hinder your chances of winning. Mistakes in Rush are magnified due to team size, so passing the ball to your opponent from the kick-off will almost certainly cost you. While you can't receive a red card in Rush, you may be slapped with a blue card, placing you in the Sin Box for a minute.

Rush is undoubtedly the best in FC 25 due to its fast-paced gameplay and emphasis on teamwork. It's clear to see the potential in Rush, and although it's harder to enjoy the mode as a solo player now, I fully expect the community to continue to improve it over time. There are some obvious changes that will improve the experience for everyone, like forcing player roles to ensure your team has defenders. If you have a good match, it would be nice if you could choose to stay with your team, like Overwatch does. When it comes to Overwatch, you can't go wrong with the evaluation system, as there's currently no way to outperform your teammates. I also understand why Rush doesn't have a voting kick feature, but there's no way to deal with idlers who want to score easy points to complete their goals.

It's nice to have a different game mode than the normal Division Rivals and Champs, especially when you find yourself stuck in a ranking you don't belong to. In FC 25, the ranking system uses your best result from the previous season, FC 24, to determine your status. As most die-hard FC players know, there's a big difference between ranked play at the beginning of the game's life and the end of it. Competing can feel like a nightmare at first when everyone is trying to earn packs, but that eases up once the season ends.

So, assuming you successfully enter Division 2 in FC 24, the game will automatically assign you to Division 6 in FC 25. Being placed in Division 6 by the system may not sound like a death sentence, but EA has disabled level decay in order to fight the Smurfs. With no way to escape, you'll be forced to play against above-average opponents for the rest of the season. Unless you make a concerted effort to improve, you'll find it difficult to break through your current division.

Earning weekly rewards is also more difficult, requiring a total of 15 wins to get the best reward, instead of the usual 7 in previous years. As if failing isn't bad enough, the points earned for achieving weekly goals total 0 points, and you'll be rewarded with a meager amount of FUT Champions Points. There's no point in giving those points to a struggling player if they can't handle the standard Divisions Rivals mode.

As a relatively casual player, I preferred the old system because it didn't take that long to rack up seven wins in a week. Realistically, it's hard enough to win multiple times, so I can't see many people going for the best rewards unless they have a week off. While I have no problem facing strong opponents, there are definitely some people who would like the option of starting over.

Speaking of changes no one asked for, EA revamped the replay system, now called "Highlighter," added a photo mode and a video editor. Photo mode has a variety of photo lenses and effects; this is pretty impressive compared to what I've seen in some AAA games. Highlighter also gives you access to the match's timeline, allowing you to split up clips using different cameras, filters, and effects. After getting the hang of the clunky controls, it's clear that Highlighter is a surprisingly deep video editor, which makes its brokenness all the more disappointing.

As far as I know, it's not possible to view any highlights from the first half using the timeline. Yes, you can watch them using the regular replay viewer, but you won't be able to access any of these clips while making the movie. You also need to be careful not to score too many goals, as the replay system may forget it ever happened and skip the moment entirely. The worst thing was that I spent half an hour creating a highlight only to have the game crash and lose all progress. Highlighter doesn't store any of your replays, so your only chance to create a movie is right after the game ends. It's puzzling why this feature was released in this state; it's currently unfit for use and unreliable to boot.

Now that the tournament is no longer a hindrance to EA, it can dominate the football gaming landscape with relative ease. If I were being cynical, I'd say Rush isn't exactly innovative because this is just small-team football. Additionally, the changes being made to Ultimate Team aren't unique, as players have been asking for them for years. That being said, this is what the community has come to expect from EA, and as long as they keep buying, EA will continue to do so.