played EA SPORTS FC 27 for more than 10 hours
I’ve now played EA SPORTS FC 27 for more than 10 hours across several modes, and I wanted to share my feedback after actually experiencing the gameplay myself.
Regarding my previous concerns about the reduced AI defending: in FUT, I actually like it. It’s fun, and defending requires much more focus and manual control. The improvements to the defenders you manually control also feel good.
However, in The Grounds League Matches and 11v11, I haven’t seen the impact I was worried about. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised. AI defenders can still make tackles and challenge for the ball. It’s definitely not a situation where they simply never defend.
That said, I have noticed some positioning issues with AI defenders:
- RB/LB sometimes just stand still and watch the opposing winger run past them during a counterattack, even when the CB is positioned much deeper. This can leave the attacker clearly onside.
- CBs sometimes step forward from the defensive line by about one step, even when their role is set to Defender rather than Stopper. This can create unnecessary gaps and allow opposing attackers to get behind the defensive line too easily.
That being said, the reason I’m enjoying the game so far may also be because attacking players may not have reached a very high skill level yet. I hope EA doesn’t increase player power too quickly.
I also really enjoy the passing in this game. Passing feels more difficult than before, but at the same time, it feels more realistic, and I’m having a lot of fun with it.
I hope EA continues in this direction and doesn’t rush to make changes to the gameplay. Please give this gameplay style some time before making major adjustments.
Finally, for The Grounds mode, I would really like EA to add a solo practice area where players can practice Skill Moves and shooting, similar to the Practice Arena, but directly inside The Grounds mode itself. It would be very useful to be able to practice without having to leave the mode.
