EA FC 25 review – Impressive debuts but still waiting to reach its potential

There’s an old adage in football that says you should “never change a winning team.” EA FC 25 takes these wise words to heart. Despite an excellent new game mode and a handful of welcome changes off the pitch, the action on it is comfortably familiar.

There was a lot of optimism when the long-running FIFA franchise rebranded itself to EA SPORTS FC. Many long-time players hoped that this would be the moment the series meaningfully evolved. However, FC 24 played it safe. It was a fast and fun brand of football, retaining its status as the best out there, but it also didn’t rip up the rulebook.

One year on, EA FC 25 once again delivers the best depiction of the beautiful game you can play on virtual grass. It makes smart additions, but also misses the opportunity to double down on its best ideas.

EA FC 25 key details

• Price: $69.99 / £69.99
• Developer: EA SPORTS
• Release date: September 27, 2024 / September 20, 2024 (Ultimate Edition)
• Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
• Reviewed on PS5

Safety first

Loading into a game of EA FC 25 feels like putting on your favorite jersey after a long summer off – it’s a little tighter in some places but has that undeniable aura of comfort.

If you want to play a video game that depicts football, there just isn’t anything close to EA FC still. The attention to detail is as impressive as it ever has been. From the crackling atmosphere inside the stadiums to the sweat dripping down the players’ faces, the buzz of a real matchday is recreated beautifully.

The action itself will be instantly familiar to series veterans, albeit a little slower and more methodical this time around. Passes require an extra ounce of power to avoid being cut out and players feel like they have weight to them, as opposed to the wingers that could zig and zag like a mosquito in last year’s game.

Crosses and headers, which were meta for most of FC 24, have also received welcome adjustments. Gone are the laser-accurate balls into the box. Now, it’s whipped passes that are easy to over or under-hit if you don’t judge them correctly.

One of the few major gameplay innovations is FC IQ, an overhaul of the tactics system that offers more flexibility. Managers can choose specific Player Roles in each position, which finally allows you to recreate the complicated systems used by elite managers.

For example, if you want your full-back to dictate the game by drifting into midfield a la Trent Alexander-Arnold, set them to a ‘Falseback.’ Or, if you prefer your wingers to play more narrowly to make space for an overlapping left-back, select ‘Inside Forward.’

EA SPORTS / Dexerto

It’s a much-needed update that completely changes how you set up before a match. I’ve already spent far too long tinkering with my tactics to find the perfect balance for my team while emulating my favorite managers.

All that being said, the limited number of Player Roles per position and formation is frustratingly restrictive at times. While this is likely in place to stop newer players from completely ruining their formation with tactics that don’t fit together, I’d love to see what die-hard fans would come up with if they were given the freedom to sculpt a system from scratch.

What a Rush

The other major addition in EA FC 25 is Rush, a brand-new 5v5 mode that’s featured heavily in the marketing prior to launch. I was initially skeptical about how much time I’d invest in these bite-sized matches, as someone who left his Volta team collecting dust for years.

But seconds into my first game, it became clear this isn’t just Volta 2.0. In fact, it’s one of the best new additions we’ve seen in EA SPORTS FC or FIFA for years.

Rush is a surprisingly tactical mode that’s an absolute blast if you can find a full team of friends. The removal of offsides outside of the final third makes every match a frantic scramble that can change on a dime, as the team that nearly conceded in one breath can be one-on-one with the goalkeeper in another.

EA SPORTS / Dexerto

This forces you to make split-second decisions about who should go forward and who should hang back, making clear communication essential if you want to win consistently. But even the best-laid plans can descend into chaos. Especially when someone receives a blue card and gets sent temporarily to the sin bin, leaving the remaining three players defending for dear life while the timer counts down.

EA also made the smart decision to seamlessly implement Rush across existing modes, rather than making it a standalone experience. Being able to level up my Pro Clubs player or earn Ultimate Team rewards at the same time gives me a reason to keep coming back, a missing feature that spelled the death of Volta.

Career criminal

Where new signings like Rush have been given the room to shine in EA FC 25, the fan-favorite Career Mode has been left to rot on the bench. Unfortunately, there a very few meaningful changes to freshen up the tried-and-tested formula.

Picking a lower-league club and guiding them up the divisions is as rewarding as ever, but your journey from rags to riches plays out exactly as it has for years. While the new menus at least make it feel more up-to-date and Women’s Career is a long overdue addition, I quickly fell back into the groove of signing players, rotating my squad, and ignoring board objectives.

Introducing Rush as a new way of developing your youth squad is a nice touch, though. Having the opportunity to play matches with them allows you to become more invested in their growth than when they were just names on a screen, I can’t say this did a lot to change my actual approach to a Career Mode save though.

Not quite Icon status

On paper, Player Career has seen a lot more put in this year, but in practice, there is an undeniable sense of treading water in FC 25. The most notable addition is Origin Stories, which are supposed to provide a little backstory to your voiceless player before they begin their climb through the divisions. You can be the child of a former legend looking to follow in their parent’s footsteps or an experienced pro returning from a lengthy injury.

The problem is the only tangible things these options do is determine the age, rating, and Skill Points available to your player at the start of the save. There’s no extra narrative or different scenarios available based on your choice, making Player Career feel frustratingly shallow once again compared to the choices offered in NBA 2K’s rival mode.

The news that Icons are now playable in Career Mode also generated buzz within the community, but this long-awaited addition also feels lik a missed chance. While stepping into the boots of Thierry Henry or the Brazilian Ronaldo sounds like a dream come true, the novelty soon wears off when you’re dropped into a current-day squad and treated like any other player.

EA SPORTS / Dexerto

Legends like Zinedine Zidane have such long and storied careers full of memorable moments that it feels almost criminal that there’s no way to relieve their greatest matches.

More bang for your buck in Ultimate Team

It wouldn’t be an EA FC 25 review without mentioning Ultimate Team, but, again, the devs have opted for smaller quality-of-life changes rather than a major rework to their biggest money maker.

FUT is still riddled with microtransactions designed to part you from your cash, but this year there are far more opportunities to make coins without spending real money. The rewards for Division Rivals have been adjusted to include untradeable and tradeable packs, which finally makes the mode worth the significant time investment every week.

It’s a good thing too, since FUT Champs, the main competitive mode where the best rewards are found, has been altered to make it far less accessible than in previous years. After earning 2,000 points from Rivals, you then need to win three out of five qualifying matches just to take part, before slogging through 15 matches in a weekend to determine your final rank and prizes.

This all adds up to an Ultimate Team where every individual match matters more than it ever has, and the best players are rewarded for their skill and dedication.

Squad Building Challenges have also been streamlined this year thanks to the addition of a Duplicate Storage option. This long-requested feature lets you save any cards you pack more than once to be used in future SBCs, addressing the age-old problem of having to discard a high-rated dupe after wasting valuable time and coins to earn it.

EA SPORTS / Dexerto

Verdict – 4/5

EA FC 25 might not be the giant leap forward that many fans were hoping for, but its best-in-class visuals and realistic matches still comfortably make it the best football sim on the market. While it’s disappointing that some of its biggest and best additions haven’t been fully capitalized on, it still sets a strong foundation for EA SPORTS to build on in the coming years.

FC IQ brings welcome depth to team-building that could revolutionize the franchise, though it’s crying out to be fleshed out further. The new Rush mode is also a revelation that could become a series staple if given long-term love and support.

However, Career Mode and Ultimate Team veterans might feel like they’ve been short-changed, as the on-field action feels mostly the same as in previous years.

EA FC 25 sticks to its winning philosophy and battles its way to a deserved, albeit slightly predictable, three points.

For more information on how we score video games, check out our scoring guidelines here.