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EA Sports FC 25 review – have we reached peak football sim?

Nice console games September 27, 2024 Gaming

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EA’s
approach
to
its
annual
football
simulator
is
not
unlike

Apple’s
approach
to
iPhones.
Time
and
again,
the
developer
has
gotten
away
with
making
minor
upgrades
to
a
flagship
product
that
it
knows
will
fly
off
the
shelves,
regardless
of
the
extent
to
which
those
upgrades
improve
the
product
itself.
Sure,


EA
Sports
FC
24
marked
a
radical
departure
for
the
series
in
naming
terms,
but
it
was
essentially


FIFA
23
with
slightly
better
graphics
and
a
new
logo.
That’s
not
necessarily
a
criticism,
just
the
truth.

The
same
is,
to
an
extent,
true
of

EA
Sports
FC
25,
however
this
year,
it
feels
like
we’ve
reached
a
point
where
the
overall
experience
is
so
good
that
it’s
hard
to
chastise
EA
for
making
small
improvements
to
an
already
excellent
foundation.
To
continue
the
Apple
analogy,
the

iPhone
16
Pro
Max
isn’t
an
earth-shattering
upgrade
over
the

iPhone
15
Pro
Max,
but
it’s
still
the

best
iPhone
ever
made.
In
the
same
way,

EA
Sports
FC
25
is,
without
question,
the
best
football
game
ever
made.
The
tweaks
have
added
up.

While
reviewing
EA’s
newest

FC
entry,
I
found
myself
asking,
“What
more
could
I
want
from
a
football
game?”.
Yes,
many
elements
are
bafflingly
similar
to

FC
24
–
not
even
the
color
scheme
has
changed;
the
main
menu
had
me
questioning
whether
I’d
booted
up
the
correct
title
–
but
the
customarily
small
tweaks
made
to
graphics
and
gameplay
add
up
to
a
near-perfect
footballing
experience.

 Get
your
Pep
on

Let’s
get
the
“what’s
new?”
question
out
of
the
way
early
doors.
The
major
additions
to
this
year’s

FC
title
are
two-fold:
FC
IQ
and
Rush.
The
former
is
the
umbrella
term
for
what
EA
is
describing
as
the
“most
significant
change
to
tactics
in
over
a
decade”,
while
the
latter
is
a
new
5v5
mode
that
can
be
played
in
Ultimate
Team,
Career,
Clubs,
and
Kick-Off.

FC
IQ
is
for
the
football
purists.
In
a
nutshell,
you’re
now
given
the
freedom
to
break
away
from
traditional
formations
and
implement
match
strategies
that
more
closely
align
with
those
of
real-world
managers.
You’ve
seen
Ancelotti’s
Real
Madrid
fluidly
shift
between
4-3-3
and
4-5-1
formations
on
TV,
and
now
you
can
recreate
such
transitions
–
and
come
up
with
new
ones
–
for
your
virtual
team
in

FC
25.

Much
of
this
strategizing
is
done
in
pre-match
menus,
which
newcomers
or
tactics-averse
players
might
find
jarring,
but
FC
IQ
also
introduces
an
in-game
tactical
suggestions
tool
that
feels
a
lot
more
accessible.
A
press
of
the
down
button
in-play
will
now
bring
up
a
list
of
recommended
tactical
changes
(Tiki
Taka,
Park
The
Bus,
etc.)
that
the

FC
25
overlords
deem
to
be
the
best
course
of
action
for
the
current
match
situation.
Selecting
one
of
these
tactics
will
temporarily
expand
the
mini-map
for
an
at-a-glance
look
at
how
that
tactic
has
influenced
player
positions,
and
the
commentators
will
respond
to
these
changes,
too
 (“rather
than
hurt
the
opposition
further,
they’re
now
just
trying
to
keep
the
ball
and
frustrate
them”),
which
makes
them
feel
real
and
consequential.

The
other
big
feature
of
FC
IQ
is
an
all-new
Player
Roles
system.
As
with
formations,
you’re
now
able
to
grant
individual
players
the
freedom
to
operate
outside
of
their
traditional
positions
in
hybrid
roles.
Inverted
fullbacks,
deep-lying
midfielders,
and
attacking
wingbacks
are
now
very
much
part
of
the

FC
experience
–
even
in
Ultimate
Team
–
and
while
many
players
will
no
doubt
ignore
this
new
mechanic
entirely,
it’s
nice
to
be
given
yet
another
string
to
your
tactical
bow.

A
quick
word
on
Rush,
which
is
this
year’s
completely-unnecessary-but-totally-harmless
(and
occasionally
fun)
new
mode.
It’s
essentially
a
5-a-side
off-shoot
for
Ultimate
Team,
Career,
Clubs,
and
Kick-Off,
with
smaller
pitches
and
a
basketball-style
energy.
I
imagine
it’s
what
the
game
of
football
would
become
if
American
sports
executives
were
in
charge
of
FIFA
(check
out
the
luminescent
Nike-sponsored
stadium),
and
while
I
don’t
expect
many
players
will
return
to
it
again
and
again,
it’s
certainly
a
fun
diversion
for
a
few
hours.
Let’s
call
it
a
happy
medium
between
normal
matches
and
Volta.

The
(really)
beautiful
game 

My
mother
used
to
regularly
mistake
old
FIFA
gameplay
for
real-world
football
matches
(“Who’s
playing?”
she
would
say),
but
I’d
forgive
her
for
making
the
same
mistake
with

FC
25.
Truly,
these
are
the
best
sports
game
graphics
ever,
and
although
I
can’t
put
my
finger
on
what,
exactly,
is
different
this
year,

FC
25
looks
noticeably
prettier
than

FC
24.

I
think
it’s
the
players’
faces.
Sweat
and
hair
look
more
life-like
than
ever
before,
and
players
now
visibly
grimace,
curse,
and
just
generally
have
more
personality.
Sure,
that’s
been
the
case
every
year,
but

FC
25
takes
things
to
another
level.
Marquee
players,
in
particular,
look
stunningly
real;
go
and
play
a
few
matches
with
Haaland,
Bellingham,
and
Mbappe,
and
you’ll
see
what
I
mean.

Gameplay,
too,
feels
fast
and
responsive,
and
you
won’t
get
any
of
that
‘new

FIFA
sluggishness’
that
seemed
to
plague
so
many
previous
entries
in
the
series.
Seriously,
I’m
not
sure
where
EA
goes
next
when
it
comes
to
gameplay
and
graphics.

Refreshing
the
classics 

In
my


EA
Sports
FC
25
preview,
I
talked
a
lot
about
how

FC
25
could
be
the
dream
game
for
Career
mode
lovers,
and
although
I
was
already
pretty
happy
with
the
way
Career
mode
played
in

FC
24,
EA
has
made
yet
more
welcome
tweaks
to
my
favorite
aspect
of
the
series.

Before
you
even
dive
into
a
new
Career
save,
you’re
now
given
more
options
to
customize
the
way
you
like
to
play.
For
instance,
if,
like
me,
you’re
not
fussed
about
conducting
regular
team
training,
you
can
now
toggle
an
option
to
have
the
game
automatically
deal
with
training
sessions
for
you
(if
you’re
really
lazy,
you
can
even
set
player
Energy
and
Sharpness
levels
to
remain
at
100%
for
the
entirety
of
the
season).
You
can
give
yourself
a
transfer
embargo,
too,
and
determine
both
the
level
of
wind
and
weather
effects
and
their
respective
influence
on
ball
mechanics
(trust
me:
set
both
to
‘high’).

Once
you’re
past
the
set-up
screen,
you’ll
notice
that
the
Career
interface
has
been
massively
streamlined.
The
main
screen
now
comprises
a
Task
List
and
an
interactive
social
media
feed
where
you
can
see
how
fans
react
to
club
announcements,
as
well
as
those
made
by
popular
transfer
accounts
like
The
Athletic
and,
of
course,
Fabrizio
Romano.
This
new
widget
adds
another
level
of
authenticity
to
proceedings,
and
the
Task
List,
while
perhaps
simplifying
things
a
little
too
much,
does
at
least
mean
that
you
don’t
have
to
keep
dipping
into
your
inbox
to
remove
notifications.
As
before,
information
relating
to
your
squad,
transfers,
and
calendar
can
be
found
on
different
tabs.

Other
Career
upgrades
include
playable
youth
tournaments
–
where
you
can
develop
young
players
in
5v5
Rush
matches
–
and
Live
Start
Points,
which
let
you
dive
into
real-world
club
situations
as
they
happen
throughout
the
season.
There’s
no
option
to
sim
or
part-play
these
youth
tournament
matches,
but
I
suppose
that’s
the
point:
it
forces
you
to
actually
familiarize
yourself
with
nondescript
youngsters.
It’s
a
great
feeling,
too,
when
you
end
up
bringing
one
of
these
youngsters
onto
the
pitch
in
a
proper
first-team
match.
Live
Start
Points
are
a
great
idea,
but
I
haven’t
had
a
chance
to
try
these
out
yet
as
the
season
has
only
just
begun.

Ultimate
Team,
for
its
sins,
finally
felt
like
less
of
a
pay-to-win
experience
in

FC
24
–
or
at
least,
it
was
easier
to
compete
with
points-buying
players
through
SBCs
alone
–
and
that
trend
continues
in

FC
25.
The
new
Duplicate
SBC
Storage
mechanic,
which
lets
you
store
untradeable
duplicates
for
use
at
a
later
date,
is
a
game-changer
for
SBC
fans
(you
no
longer
need
to
needlessly
quick
sell
potential
assets),
and
the
mind-boggling
number
of
card
types
means
that
highly-rated
gold
players
are
relatively
easy
to
buy,
even
at
the
start
of
the
game.

 Accessibility

EA
Sports
FC
25
offers
a
comprehensive
suite
of
accessibility
options,
including
settings
for
color
blindness,
subtitles,
button
remapping,
and
increasing
the
size
of
the
player
indicator.
These
can
all
be
found
in
a
dedicated
Accessibility
Settings
tab.
The
game
has
six
difficulty
levels
–
Beginner,
Amateur,
Semi-Pro,
Professional,
World
Class,
Legendary,
and
Ultimate
–
and
features
support
for
21
languages. 

 Should
I
play
EA
Sports
FC
25?

 Play
it
if…

 Don’t
play
it
if…

 How
I
tested
EA
Sports
FC
25

I
played

EA
Sports
FC
25
for
10
days
ahead
of
its
official
release.
During
that
time,
I
had
access
to
all
modes
and
features
and
was
able
to
compete
against
real-world
players
as
part
of
EA’s
Early
Access
promotion.
I
played
on
PS5,
using
a
standard

DualSense
controller,
on
a

Samsung
QN95A
Neo
QLED

4K
TV,
with
audio
coming
via
a
five-speaker
Bose
Lifestyle
550
Home
Entertainment
System.
I’ve
played
every

FIFA
/

EA
Sports
FC
game
since

FIFA
13,
and
also
reviewed


FIFA
22,


FIFA
23,
and


EA
Sports
FC
24
for
TechRadar
Gaming.

First
reviewed
September
2024.