FC 26 Gameplay Deep Dive – What I Think + Your Opinions?

Hello everyone,

I’ve just watched the FC 26 Deep Dive Gameplay video along with reading the official Patch Notes (article) that EA released for this deep dive, and I’d like to quickly share my thoughts.

First of all, the video was nice and well-made, with some good details—but not as deep or satisfying as the article itself. Honestly, I enjoyed the article more because it was packed with detailed information that the video didn’t fully cover.

After watching the video, I became very curious about the dribbling system. It looks different—at first I wasn’t sure if it was just a new button mechanic like FC 25—but it also seemed extremely sharp and responsive, just like the old Left Stick Dribbling we used to love. And that’s exactly what we’ve been waiting for: precise control that makes the game enjoyable and brings back the skill gap in timing and prediction.

However, I did feel a bit disappointed. The video focused mostly on ground passes and ground through balls. There was barely any showcase of lofted passes, high crosses, or long lobbed through balls behind the defense, whether short or long range. We only saw one low cross and another cross from outside the box—no real emphasis on variety in passing styles.

Also, there don’t seem to be any new types of passes added to the gameplay. For example, imagine you have the ball but you're not facing the opponent’s goal, and a teammate is trying to make a run forward—why not add a difficult pass type for situations like this? Where even under pressure, you can still find a way to play a clever pass forward?

There was no mention of flair passes, whether they’ve been improved in accuracy, power, or received new animations. That was a bit frustrating for me, because as a player, I enjoy passing variety—I don’t want the game to be all about basic ground passes. I want to see how we can use creative lofted passes to break pressure or fool defenders with a well-timed lob, etc.

Now when I read the article, it felt like a goldmine of information. It even had extra videos and details that weren’t in the main Deep Dive video. I spent around 40 minutes reading and analyzing everything, and it honestly impressed me. I still feel like I need to re-read it again because there’s just so much in it.

One of the best parts: it confirmed that Left Stick Dribbling is truly back, which means the game might be more fun than ever. This kind of dribbling is precise and responsive, and it really shows the difference between skilled and average players. It rewards good timing and smart reads—both for attackers and defenders.

Also there's something I didn’t really like, but I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad thing.

It's the so-called Simplified Skill Moves.

It allows anyone to perform certain skill moves with just a single flick of the right stick.

To me, it feels like it’s designed for less skilled players — those who can’t learn or master skill moves can now do advanced moves with just one simple input.

I don’t think that’s fair, because players should learn the mechanics instead of having everything simplified like this. 

I don’t know if I’ll end up liking this feature or not, but I have a strong feeling that it’s a bad one.

Anyway, let’s see what happens in the future.

There’s more I could say, but I’ll keep it short.

One last thing that stood out: the PlayStyles system. EA added some new PlayStyles, removed some old ones, and revamped others. But right now, Clubs players are limited in how many PlayStyles they can use compared to Ultimate Team players. In FUT, you get cards with 5 PlayStyle+, but in Clubs, most players are stuck with just 2, or maybe 3 if they join a club. That feels unfair and should be looked into.

Also, it’s becoming clear that EA themselves are struggling with the PlayStyle system. They seem unsure whether a player’s in-game attributes are even useful without a PlayStyle to support them. And to be honest, that’s true. In the past two years, attributes and skill points haven’t been enough—PlayStyles have become essential.

So to me, this is a clear sign that the PlayStyle system either needs to be completely removed or replaced with something better. EA might not be able to escape it this year—but next year, they need to move on from it. If they don’t, it’ll start holding back gameplay, systems, and overall progression.