EA Sports FC 26 listens to fans and splits in two to please everyone (without major revolutions)

It feels like two games in one. Every year it's not easy to put your hand to the review of Ea Sports Fc, the former Fifa, firstly because those who wait every year for this game are deep connoisseurs of the subject and secondly because to convince fans to buy the most popular football simulation every year you have to work hard with incremental innovation. You can't change everything every year, or to put it more simply, you can't change a winning team. This year, however, they were brave and intelligent because they studied Ea Sports Fc players in depth and managed to put together two games in one, one designed for online and the other for those who prefer the single player mode. Realistic Mode is the faster 'Arcade' mode for the good ones who know all the tricks and combinations and then compete in multyplayer. Realistic Mode is much slower and more reasoned and the strategy to be adopted on the pitch will make the difference between a victory and a defeat. We will have to examine the opponent's strategies well and focus on the skills of each of our outfielders, even with the possibility of changing the game plan in real time at the touch of a button, so as to adapt to changes in the pace of the match.

The choice seems a bit 'Christian Democrat', wanting to please everyone, but actually well thought out because the difference is there and you can feel it. In the more simulative component, you don't run half the field at full speed with the ball attached to your foot. The team moved by the computer finally doesn't rub you the same way as in the past. They make fewer mistakes, especially when defending. Even the goalkeepers are more reliable.

The most relevant novelties will therefore be found by single-player fans in the Coach and Player Career modes, which have been further refined compared to past chapters. In particular, the Coaching Career is even more managerial, with the addition of complex choices and many unforeseen events to deal with off the pitch.

Competitive players will appreciate greater fluidity in movements, in combats, in dribbling with and without the ball. But above all, an improved command response. More difficult is to evaluate the old FUT now Ultimate Team, i.e. EA Sports FC's collectible and competitive mode in which players build and manage a virtual team using digital player cards, obtained through packages, challenges or the internal market. It will take time, we've been testing the game for just over a week, but the developers' intention seems to be to make this mode more accessible to those who don't have too much time or money to spend on packages.