EA Sports FC 26 (formerly the FIFA series) was given out as a PS Plus freebie this month, and while I don't purchase soccer games anymore, I'll play them if I have the opportunity. I've played a few matches of this, and it's pretty good.

A lot of the negativity around modern sports games center on the Ultimate Team card collecting modes, and I don't really engage with those. The actual gameplay here is a nice improvement from the last game I played, which I think was 22. It's smooth and feels less frustrating. The ball moves in a more realistic way, and so far I've never felt cheated.

I mostly just play against my brother, with the occasional match against a random online, so I probably notice many of the negatives people that play for hundreds of hours do. It's a nice pickup for me.

Verdict: Timewaster

Part of the Game Library Project