When I visited EA in July to check out what EA Sports FC 25 had to offer, I was promised plenty of updates and improved elements. While the familiarity that has defined the series is still there, there’s no doubt that this year’s installment includes some much-needed and welcome additions.
The two concepts that EA has spent the most time on this year, Rush and FC IQ, are two good examples of meaningful and positive innovation. Both are additions that improve the game, but they are held back by bugs and very slow menus that really make it feel like a rehashed FIFA title. But hey, let’s start with what I think is the best thing about the entire game: Rush.
EA analyzed the numbers and realized that Volta was no longer profitable and instead wanted a social gaming experience. This led to the birth of Rush, a five-a-side mode (where the goalkeeper is controlled by the computer) on a smaller field but with the same gameplay mechanics as regular games. Many feared that this was Volta 2.0, but thankfully that is not the case, because instead of making it a separate game mode, it has been integrated into all game modes, be it Ultimate Team, Career Mode or Clubs.
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It’s clearly more fun to play with friends, which is what it’s designed for, but you can also drop in with strangers if you want to play online; however, you can expect a lot of frustration, with many players hogging the ball, refusing to pass, or dropping back in defense. However, since Rush doesn’t have any fixed positions, if you want to play as a winger, you’re not locked into staying on the defensive flanks and patiently waiting for the opposition to come at you. You can run wherever you want, making for a very undulating experience, with the action taking place all over the pitch.
Matches last seven minutes, with breaks every time the ball is out of play. To make it look a little different from regular 11v11 matches, there are also other little quirks in the rules, such as the ball rolling from the side at the start of the match instead of throw-ins and it’s a sprint, a rush, to get to the ball first. Essentially think Rocket League but with a rolling ball. Yes, there are still offsides, but now it occurs in the final third of the pitch instead of the halfway line, and the penalties are more like those in the American MLS, where the player with the ball runs from the halfway line. Also, if you make a really bad tackle, you don’t get a red card, you get a blue one, which makes you sit on the sidelines for a minute and think about your sins. Rush is without a doubt the best thing EA has added to EA Sports FC and FIFA, respectively, in years. It’s the most fun part of this year’s game and I imagine it will be one of the most played modes overall. However, since it doesn’t have a ranking element, it’s very important for EA to keep it fresh so people don’t get tired of it.
The other big news is FC IQ, a system that controls how players behave when they don’t have the ball. Now every player has a role, which for a central midfielder could be box-to-box or playmaker, for example. Different roles lead to different player movement patterns, so a full-back in an attacking role will often run forward, thus providing more support in attacking plays but leaving open spaces in defense. For experienced players, the difference will be noticeable compared to previous performance, however I think those who don’t play every year won’t notice it as much. In some ways it’s both a great and a barely noticeable addition, depending on how much you focus on that particular thing.
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There are three levels of how good a player is at each role. They may have a basic role, meaning they can play that role, but they’re not very good at it. On top of that, all players have a Role+, which is the role they’re comfortable in and perform better in, and finally there’s also Roll++ and that’s exclusive to the best players. For example, Jude Bellingham has a Playmaker++ as an attacking midfielder, with the plus sign providing more mobility and skill in that role. All of this is in addition to the Playstyles added last year, with the difference that Playstyles dictate how the player behaves with the ball, while Roles do the same without the ball.
Both Rush and Roles are included in all game modes. In the long-forgotten Career Mode, Rush is used in youth activities, where every three months you can play a youth tournament in this five-on-five mode that allows you to both test your talents and improve your ability depending on how well you do in the three-game tournament. This is the first time you can play in the youth academy, and it’s thanks to calls from EA “Skull technology”these teenagers no longer look like thirty-somethings with beards and wrinkles, but like real teenagers. They also grow taller and put on a little weight until they are 16, and their final adult appearance is when they are called up to the senior national team. Oh, and the scouting system has also been expanded, so it is now possible to scout in 160 different countries.
Big news in Career Mode is that it is now possible to play and manage women’s football. There are five different leagues available as well as the Champions League and managing a women’s team is a completely different experience as the economic framework is completely different. The money available for transfers is a lot slightly, but at the same time the salaries are structured differently than in men’s football. It is possible to switch between men’s and women’s football in the same career, so if you want to try and get Jonas Eidevall from coaching the Arsenal women’s team to the men’s team, you can.
You can also play as one of the few legendary players in Career Mode, starting with David Beckham at your local club if you fancy it. Unfortunately, this isn’t as interesting as it sounds. What sounds very interesting hasn’t been put into practice yet, as it’s a scenario configuration like the F1 Manager games, where you can try your luck in a collection of specific scenarios based on the real results of the season. Maybe a team has sacked their manager, leaving you in charge of trying to save the season or avoid relegation. Another possibility is that someone has scored three goals in the same game and it’s your job to repeat that impressive feat. Unfortunately, this feature isn’t available yet.
In Ultimate Team, most things stay the same. There’s also integration with Rush, where you can pick one of your players and pair him with four others. To keep things fresh, player requirements change regularly. For example, sometimes you’re only allowed to use players with a maximum of 79 total attributes, and sometimes players aren’t allowed to have speed above a certain score. This is where I’ll spend most of this year’s game, with no pressure to win games, having fun, playing fast-paced soccer, frustrated by players who never pass the ball or are always offside.
EA has promised that there will be more Evolutions this year, which was last year’s big hit. Here you can take one of your players and improve them in certain characteristics. This makes team building more varied and fun by creating a team around a certain theme, for example a whole team of players from your home country.
Let’s move on to the online Clubs mode, where you’re supposed to get a group of friends or strangers together, create a club, and compete against each other in a mode that’s not too different from last year. The big differences are mainly cosmetic. Cranium Technology has improved the look of custom players, and you can spend a long time tinkering to get the perfect player. In terms of gameplay, the most important thing at the moment is that it’s now possible to get relegated, so if you play badly and lose too much, you’ll end up being forced to play a relegation match against a club in a similar position. The loser gets relegated, while the winner stays.
On the pitch, FC IQ has obviously helped improve the atmosphere, but the passing game has also been refined since last year. It now looks more realistic than before, and you can no longer pass to a player you can’t even see after turning 180 degrees. Passes as such carry a higher risk of ending up with the opposition player, but that goes for ordinary passes too. Players’ accuracy needs to be better than before, and players with better passing skills will be more likely to make the crucial passes as they should be.
EA Sports FC 25 is a better game in many areas and metrics than FC 24, where it has been significantly improved, and the addition of Rush is a key point in the improvement. However, I can’t turn a blind eye to technical issues. The game has more bugs than I can remember, the menus seem very slow, and I’ve also seen people completely black out when entering matches in certain game modes. These are things that ruin the experience in an otherwise good football game.
