Review: A Disappointing FC Experience

After spending significant time with this year’s FC release, I feel compelled to share my honest experience — not out of anger, but genuine disappointment. The game’s foundation feels unstable, and while the visuals and presentation continue to impress, the core gameplay systems seem to have regressed yet again.

Gameplay and Player Behavior

The on-pitch experience is deeply inconsistent. Players frequently react in ways that make little sense for a football simulation — losing balance from minimal contact, freezing mid-run, or ignoring obvious opportunities to intercept passes. Defensive positioning is a particular issue: center-backs often abandon their shape to chase runners, leaving massive gaps in the box. The offside system also feels unreliable, with players pressing up or dropping deep at the wrong moments.

Animations further exacerbate the issue. There’s an overreliance on long, canned sequences that interrupt flow and responsiveness. It often feels as though the player is fighting the game rather than controlling it.

Passing and Movement

Passing remains one of the weakest aspects of gameplay. Directional inputs are frequently misread — aiming right sends the ball upward, aiming left sends it downfield. Players sometimes jog half-heartedly toward the ball, allowing the opposition to win possession effortlessly.

The spacing between defense, midfield, and attack is unbalanced, making build-up play disjointed. The AI shows little anticipation or initiative, often retreating instead of contesting 50/50 balls.

Tactics and Game Balance

Tactics in FC are overly hard-coded, which results in predictable “meta” setups dominating the experience. Some formations or tactical combinations appear to artificially boost player responsiveness or speed, giving them an unfair advantage. This rigid design discourages creativity and undermines the idea of tactical freedom.

Pace, Physicality, and Realism

One of the most frustrating inconsistencies lies in player pace and physical interactions. Slower players routinely catch up to faster ones, and the physical system feels detached from real-world physics. There are countless moments where smaller players overpower taller, stronger opponents — both on the ground and in the air. This isn’t a gender issue; it’s simply a matter of realism and proper game balance.

Goalkeeping and Finishing

Goalkeepers and finishing mechanics feel inconsistent compared to previous entries. Some shots inexplicably miss from close range, while others go in despite poor technique. Goalkeepers oscillate between superhuman saves and glaring mistakes, further adding to the unpredictability.

Technical Issues and Servers

Unfortunately, online stability remains a long-standing issue. Server performance is inconsistent, often resulting in lag or input delay — both unacceptable in a competitive online title.

Defensive Controls and Player Switching

Defending is cumbersome. Pressing R1 (secondary press) often results in your player running alongside the attacker without making an actual challenge. Player switching can abruptly halt a defender’s momentum, leaving open spaces for the opponent to exploit. Tackling lacks precision and feedback, making defending feel like guesswork rather than skill.

Additional Observations

Marking logic is inconsistent, and misplaced passes almost always end up directly at the opponent’s feet instead of creating a realistic loose-ball scenario. Corners and set pieces feel unbalanced — short corners are almost always the safer option, as losing the ball from a long one often leaves your team completely exposed to counterattacks.

Overall Assessment

At its core, FC still looks and sounds like a modern football title, but beneath the presentation lies a frustrating, over-scripted, and unresponsive gameplay engine. The heavy reliance on animations and hard-coded systems continues to undermine player control.

At this point, incremental fixes won’t be enough. The series needs a complete gameplay overhaul — a new engine built from the ground up to prioritize responsiveness, realism, and player agency.

Despite its potential, this year’s FC feels more like a step backward than progress. The trailers promised innovation, but the final product feels rushed, inconsistent, and poorly balanced. The only system that seems to function as intended is the one that processes payments.

I don’t mind losing in a fair game — but losing to broken mechanics and erratic AI isn’t fair, it’s frustrating. Adding more offline modes, such as a League Play vs AI option in Ultimate Team, could provide a much-needed alternative for those tired of unstable online matches.

Until fundamental gameplay systems are reimagined, FC will continue to feel like a series trying to patch a broken foundation. Sadly, this iteration stands out as one of the weakest yet.