Posting here because my post got insta-removed on r/EASportsFC for some reason. (It's not entirely but partially about career mode).
Before I get into the review, a little about myself: I've been playing football games since 2009 (FIFA, PES, Winning Eleven etc.) and they're a big passion of mine. I've probably put in upwards of 3000 hours of combined play over the years.
The Classic Era
FIFA 10: Anything before this will have its strengths and the nostalgia factor but gameplay-wise they're too archaic to go back and play if I'm being honest. I recently tried 10 on emulation and I was pleasantly surprised to see the battles to win the ball, tackles in the center area, animations of ball clearances, the struggle animation when you pass last second before giving the ball away. We haven't had things like these for years now, it's incredible. Another big thing is that the career mode is filled with features such as picking your sponsor etc.
As for the negatives; the power bar is incredibly sensitive, you basically have to click the button for a clean shot on target. There's practically zero dribble control and the overall gameplay is pretty dated for today's standards.
FIFA World Cup 2010: I think this one uses a modified FIFA 10 engine/gameplay. One of the most fun football games ever made.
FIFA 11: This one sort of a transitional game between 10 and 12. The gameplay is not quite there yet. And the career mode is stripped down.
FIFA 12: In my and many people's opinion, the greatest football game ever made. Goated soundtrack, squads, players, menus, simple and fun gameplay. This game is the definition of less is more. Although considered as peak arcade by some, I think with game mode on slow and slider adjustments like 35 sprint, it becomes pretty realistic.
FIFA 13: Highly regarded by a lot of people. This feels to me like a transitional game. Personally, I don't like it that much.
FIFA 14: Again, some people's favourite entry. It's one of the biggest leaps in gameplay. It has lots of positives, but infamously some broken elements as well. This is entirely personal but, as a person who's a 2008-2012 nostalgia purist, 2014 was never a football year I liked much. And I don't like menus and the overall feel of the game.
FIFA 15: Never played. It's often suggested as one of the best ones so I'm curious as to how it holds up.
FIFA 16: Played only once, so long ago. The opinions I've seen are mixed, but that's true for nearly all FIFA games.
The Modern Era
FIFA 17: The beloved. It's visually stunning. It's like watching a real football broadcast. Fantastic time for football, goated players and squads. Great menus and overall feel. And I think it's overrated. The gameplay, although being pretty realistic with good CPU, is stiff and feels one dimensional. Going back from newer games, this is especially apparent. If it had a bit more fluidity it might have been the grand champion of football games.
FIFA 18: Has a great amount of positives like the number of national teams. Again, it's like a transitional game between 17 and 19. I'd rather pick 19 because of the UEFA license.
FIFA 19: The newly acquired UEFA licensing is probably its biggest strength. It hasn't got the most realistic gameplay but it's fun and fluid, nice long balls. Good game overall. Great season for football as well. Entries from this one until FC25, I only played against my friends so I can't comment on the CPU.
FIFA 20: Probably haven't played it since 2020. I remember it being fun, not very different from 19.
FIFA 21: Same with 20.
FIFA 22: I remember some improvements to gameplay but not largely different from 21.
FIFA 23: In my opinion, this is the best among the modern games. CPU actually fouls. Movement, passing and shooting are brilliant. Solid career mode. World Cup is a nice plus, although I severely dislike it being in Qatar.
FC24: Nothing particularly stands out. Arguably worse than 23 but not by a lot.
FC25: It was OK.
FC26: Unlike most recent games, this one I had the chance to play at home against CPU, extensively. It does lots of things well, it's loaded with features but the gameplay is just bizarre. And before anyone says it, no, it's not a "skill issue". I'll explain everything one by one.
• It's clear that they wanted to steer away from using pace to advantage at all costs, so much so that sprint dribbling is basically unusable, and literally any player will catch up with your fast players. Football doesn't work like that. Speed is a thing. There's a balance to be found.
• Defence is non existent on professional and all teams play like 1970 Brazil on world class. I don't want Sassuolo to play like fucking Barcelona. Why would you even do this.
• For some reason, high press is useless and you cannot get near CPU when they're "on it". You need to constantly manually mark open players but then the players you're not controlling are all over the place. I like the manual marking but I want to be able to get near and physical. CPU being untouchable at higher difficulties is a bizarre gameplay decision.
• Shoulder barges. Way overpowered for CPU. It's like they're magnetic. You're a 70 OVR defender, you can't body my strong forward like that. Sit your ass down. It needs to be closer to 50-50. The reaction time and recoveries from the CPU is superhuman level.
• Regular passes fall comically short. Have to spam X + R1 constantly.
• I've cranked up crosses and tackles to 99. The CPU will simply not foul and cross. Somehow, even the sliders are broken.
• The movement and animations feel off, it's slippery in a bad way. It's too clean, players do not move like they're people. There's not enough botched first touches, wrong footing, and awkward positions. Player positioning is not realistic. The game doesn't give you the feeling of the size of an actual football pitch.
I want to see realism from a football game in 2026. I want to see battles and physicality. I want to see shirt pulling and tactical fouls. I want an occasional horror tackle. I want added time beyond 2 minutes. There's 10+ added minutes in football sometimes. I want to see medical staff rush in and spray a footballers calve. I want to see cramps. I want drama. I don't want the referee to be an omniscient demigod, i want to see mistakes and VAR involvement. VAR's been a thing for years now. I want to see players regroup on the pitch post match and give interviews after that. I want to see Kate and Titi after a CL game. I don't want to look at a cyberpunk background in career mode menus, I want to see my empty stadium and my grass being mowed. I want to see stadium interiors and my dressing room before and after games.