An Honest Review Of Every New FC 27 Feature (And Yeah, Some Of It's Great)

Right. I sat through every single FC 27 deep dive with a notepad. So here's what I think. 

And?

Some of this is genuinely good. A couple of bits I'm actually buzzing for. And yeah, a few things are more "nice to have" than "must have," but that's allowed. Not everything has to change your life. So instead of doing the usual internet thing where we all decide it's rubbish before we've even touched it, let's just be fair. Every new feature, one by one, an honest verdict on each.

If it's great, I'll tell you it's great. If it's only fine, I'll tell you that too. No agenda, no pile-on.

Let's actually be normal about a football game for once. Starting with the big one.

 Grounds

This is the headline, and it's a proper swing. The Grounds is a new social, community-driven street football mode built into Clubs. Your own little hangout, walk around, meet people, play street games, be part of a community instead of just staring at a menu.

And you know what? I love that they're trying this.

FC has needed a proper social space for years. Somewhere that isn't just queue, match, queue, match until your eyes give out. If you've played NBA 2K's The City, you already know how much life a shared hangout can add to a sports game, and this is clearly aiming at that. Done right, this could be the thing that keeps you logging in long after the FUT grind's worn you down.

One fair heads-up: The Grounds only runs on PS5, Xbox Series X and S, PC, and the Switch 2. So if you're on older hardware, this one isn't for you this year, and that's worth knowing before you get too excited.

But as an idea? Great. Genuinely the most interesting thing in the whole reveal.

Verdict: Great. Big potential, and about time. A TIER

FUT Gallery

Okay, this one depends entirely on what kind of player you are, so let me be straight with you.

The FUT Gallery is a new way to view and interact with your cards. A proper home for your collection, where the players you've packed and earned actually feel like they mean something instead of vanishing into a squad screen. If you're a competitive grinder who only cares about the next win, you'll probably click straight past it. That's fair enough. But if you're one of the people who loves the collecting side of Ultimate Team, and there are millions of us. 

This is genuinely lovely.

The Grounds hub, showing the street pitch and players moving around.

It was pulling a card you were buzzing for and actually feeling something. It won't change your Rivals rank, and it's not trying to. Judge it for what it is, and for collectors, it's a really nice addition.

Verdict: Really good if you're a collector. Fine to skip if you're not. B Tier

Hall Of FUT And The ICON Class Of '27

New FC 27 ICONs

New ICONs. New legends dropping into the game. And honestly, this is one of the most exciting parts of any new FC.

The Class of '27 ICONs are the cards people will spend the whole year chasing, building squads around, dreaming about. That chase is a massive part of what makes Ultimate Team tick, and a fresh batch of legends is always a good day.

New HALL OF FUT Class

EA SPORTS FC 27 introduces Hall of FUT, a new item type celebrating footballers who became iconic within Ultimate Team, meaning this list is expected to grow throughout FC 27.

The inaugural class features Adebayo Akinfenwa, Marouane Fellaini, Loïc Rémy, Eljero Elia and Giovani dos Santos. EA has confirmed that more Hall of FUT inductees will be revealed closer to launch

I'll be honest about the catch, because a genuine review has to. Whether you actually get the ICON you want  comes down to pack luck or a lot of coins, and that can sting. So chase it sensibly. 

But the content itself, the legends, the moments they're celebrating? Brilliant. This is FUT doing what FUT does best.

Verdict: Great content. Just be sensible with how you chase it. A tier

The SBC Changes

EA has simplified Squad Building Challenges to lower the learning curve, and the hardcore crowd have got opinions.

Here's my honest take. It's a good change.

For years, completing SBCs efficiently basically meant following a 14-tab guide off some website so you didn't waste a single card of fodder. That's fine if you love the puzzle, but it quietly locked a lot of casual players out of a mode that's meant to be fun. Making it more approachable means more people get to enjoy building squads, and that's a genuine positive for the game.

Do you lose a sliver of depth for the min-maxers? A little, yeah, and their frustration is fair. But on balance, more people being able to enjoy the mode is the right call.

Verdict: Good. More accessible, and that's a positive. B TIER

SBC Change in FC 27

The Career Mode Update

Career Mode got a proper deep dive this year with real changes, and I just want to say: good. Genuinely good.

Career is the mode that so often gets left in the corner while FUT hogs all the attention, so seeing EA actually put work into it is lovely to see. If you're someone who lives in Career, dragging a club from the Championship to the Champions League, this year should feel like you've finally been remembered.It won't matter to your online rank, but Career players have never cared about that, and they shouldn't have to. Judged on its own terms, this is a solid, welcome update.

Verdict: Solid, and great to see the mode get some love.B tier

EAFC 27 Career Mode

The 10,000 FC Points Pre-Order Bonus

Let me do this one straight, no spin either way.

Pre-order the Ultimate Plus Edition before August 31 and you get up to 10,000 FC Points, spread across five months. FC 26's equivalent gave you 6,000, so the bundle's a bit bigger this year.

Whether it's worth it comes down to one honest question: were you going to buy FC Points anyway?

If you're someone who buys points most years to open packs, then getting a chunk bundled in is decent value, simple as. If you're not, you lose absolutely nothing by skipping it and playing the game exactly as it's meant to be played.There's no wrong answer here, and anyone who tells you you're a mug either way is talking nonsense.

 It's your money and your game. You already know which camp you're in.

FC 27 Edition Features and ComparisonIf you're still weighing it up, Here's The Order : 

• Check your console first

  The Grounds is PS5, Xbox Series X and S, PC and Switch 2 only. If you're on older hardware, that headline feature isn't part of your year.

• Work out which player you are

  Collector, competitive grinder, or Career lifer. Half this feature list is aimed squarely at one of those three, and knowing which changes the whole verdict.

• Decide on points before August 31

  Only a real question if you buy points most years anyway. If you don't, skip it with a clear conscience and move on.

• Save your final verdict for the gameplay

  It's the one thing on this whole list a trailer genuinely cannot tell you. Wait until it's in your hands.

Verdict : It can be of value if you buy points anyway. No loss at all if you Skip it.  DEPENDS ON YOU

The Gameplay Improvements

And here's the one that actually matters most.

Underneath the town and the gallery and the ICONs, there's the football. The true-to-life gameplay improvements, how the ball moves, how defending feels, how responsive your players are when it's the 89th minute and your heart rate's gone through the roof. Ratings built off real match data.

AI Defending Rebalance

EA SPORTS FC 27 is putting more control back into the hands of the player with its new AI Defending Rebalance. AI defenders have reduced influence, including the removal of automatic tackles, while manually controlled defenders benefit from improved jockeying, positioning, interceptions and standing tackles. 

The goal is simple: less passive AI defending, more skill-based defending. Players who manually switch, read attacking movements, position their defenders correctly and time their tackles should have a greater advantage.

Faster One-Twos in Attacking

EA SPORTS is making one-twos faster and more responsive in FC 27, allowing attacking players to move the ball around the pitch with greater speed and fluidity. 

The changes are designed to make quick passing combinations feel more natural and give players better opportunities to break defensive lines.

The focus is on faster attacking transitions, sharper movement and greater control, rewarding players who use timing and passing combinations intelligently. This should make one-twos a more effective tool for creating space and opening up compact defences.

EA has historically highlighted more fluid movement and responsive passing as key to making incisive, defence-splitting one-twos possible. 

The early signs are that they've put real work in here, which is exactly where you want the effort going. I'll hold the full verdict until we've all actually got hands on it, because gameplay is the one thing you genuinely can't judge from a trailer. But this is the part I care about most, and right now I'm cautiously optimistic.

Verdict: The most important feature of the lot. Cautiously excited. S tier

The Genuinely Great Extras

Quick fire, because these are just good news.

Liga MX is back for the first time since FIFA 22. If you grew up on it or have been asking for it for years, this is brilliant. The overall scale is huge too, over 21,000 players across more than 800 clubs, so the game's more complete than it's ever been And your progress now carries across PS4 and PS5, so upgrading your console no longer means starting again from zero. 

Small thing, genuinely handy.

Verdict: All great. No notes. A tier

Liga MX Featuring In FC 27

The Honest Final List

Every new feature, rated fairly, top to bottom.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is The Grounds in FC 27?

A social, community-driven street football mode built into Clubs. You walk around a shared hangout, meet other players and play street games instead of sitting in a menu between matches.

Q. Which consoles support The Grounds?

PS5, Xbox Series X and S, PC, and the Switch 2. Older hardware misses out this year, so check before you get excited.

Q. Is the FUT Gallery worth caring about?

If you love the collecting side of Ultimate Team, yes, it's genuinely lovely. If you only care about the next win, you'll click straight past it, and that's completely fine.

Q. How many FC Points come with the FC 27 pre-order?

Up to 10,000 with the Ultimate Plus Edition before August 31, spread across five months. FC 26's equivalent gave 6,000.

Q. Should I buy the FC Points bundle?

Only if you were going to buy points anyway. In that case it's decent value. If you weren't, you lose nothing at all by skipping it.

Q. Are the SBC changes good?

On balance, yes. They cost the min-maxers a sliver of depth, but they open squad building up to far more people, which is the right call for the mode.

Q. Is Liga MX in FC 27?

Yes, back for the first time since FIFA 22, as part of a licence list of over 21,000 players across more than 800 clubs.

Q. Which FC 27 feature matters most?

The gameplay. Everything else sits on top of it, and it's the one thing you genuinely can't judge until it's in your hands.

Final Whistle

So there it is. An honest look, not a pile-on.

The truth is FC 27 has got some genuinely good stuff in it, a couple of things worth being properly excited about, and a few bits that'll matter more to some of you than others and that's completely fine. You don't have to love every single feature. You just have to know what each one's actually for.

Tell me what you're most looking forward to. And if you reckon I've rated something too high or too low, come and tell me, because I actually want to hear it.