EA Sports FC 26 Review - Strong Potential

"The headlining change is a shift to two distinct playstyles. The series has always felt somewhat different when played online compared to offline, but the feeling is now much more pronounced and extends beyond the foibles of online netcode. Competitive and Authentic gameplay presets make a marked difference in how the match engine handles. You can choose between either one when playing offline, but online modes, such as Ultimate Team, are locked into the Competitive playstyle (even when playing Squad Battles against the CPU)."

"The Competitive preset is all about player skill. The pace of the game is rapid, with passes ping-ponging between players' feet, and the spotlight is on dribbling, skill moves, and consistently high-scoring matches. Despite this proclivity for attacking football, defending has also been improved. Successful tackles actually regain possession, rather than knocking the ball right back to the attacking player's feet, so a lot of the frustration from previous entries has been exorcised."

"That's not to say you won't feel outmatched, though. The midfield in online games is practically nonexistent when defending. There's so much space, passes are so fast, and it feels so responsive that it only takes a couple of passes to reach the edge of the opposition's box. This, then, is where the vast majority of tackling occurs. I've tried preventing this by playing two defensive midfielders and setting instructions"

EA Sports FC 26 is an iterative upgrade that addresses longstanding franchise issues and responds to player feedback. The game introduces two distinct match engine playstyles: Competitive and Authentic. Competitive emphasizes rapid pace, dribbling, skill moves, and high-scoring matches, and is enforced in online modes including Ultimate Team and Squad Battles. Defending has been improved so successful tackles regain possession instead of immediately returning the ball to attackers. Online midfield defending is thin, with large spaces and very fast passes that allow quick transitions into attacking positions. Adjusting tactics, such as deploying two defensive midfielders, can mitigate but not eliminate those online imbalances.

Read at GameSpot