FC 27 Review: The Grounds Falls Flat, Career Mode Shines

The Grounds: open world or elaborate menu?

EA's big new mode is a social hub for Clubs, but it feels more like a third-person menu than a world to explore.

The Grounds is billed as an open-world reimagining of Clubs, letting you roam three cultural hubs of football and jump into 11v11 matches, FIFA Street-style cage games, or casual mini-games like Bucket Ball. In practice, it's a series of poorly rendered maps populated by lifeless NPCs and collectible targets, with PvP waiting areas in between.

The modes themselves are fun enough. The problem is everything around them: you walk from A to B, wait in queues, and occasionally run errands for mentors like Kylian Mbappé or Chloe Kelly to earn cosmetic rewards. The licensed clothing is a nice touch, but it costs extra, and the novelty fades after a handful of matches.

TechRadar's review calls it a hollow imitation of NBA 2K's The City, and that's fair. The Grounds adds wait times more than it adds a world. With a full squad of friends it could be a laugh, but as a solo player you're mostly navigating an elaborate menu system with extra steps.

Career mode is the best it's ever been, but it's fragile

A new transfer system makes off-pitch management genuinely challenging, though it can also break the mode.

Career mode has been treading water for years, so it's a pleasant surprise that FC 27's biggest win is here. The new transfer system adds real stakes to squad building, and the review notes it's refreshingly challenging, particularly off the pitch. You can't just buy your way to a superteam without consequences.

The catch is that the same features that make Career mode better can also break it. The review describes it as oddly prone to breakage by the new systems, which is a frustrating caveat for what is otherwise the highlight of the package. If EA can patch the rough edges, this could be the mode to beat in future years.

Ultimate Team: better, still a grind

Streamlined SBCs are a smart addition, but FUT remains geared toward card collectors and time-rich players.

Ultimate Team opens with the usual barrage of menus and checklists, but there are genuine improvements underneath. Streamlined SBCs replace the formation-and-chemistry puzzle with a simple cumulative score: each player has a value, and you exchange enough of them to hit the target. It's a numbers game, and it respects your time.

Traditional SBCs are still there for those who enjoy the puzzle, which is the right call. The Gallery, a sticker-book style collection tracker, is harmless but forgettable, and its interface is as dizzying as the rest of FUT. It does earn you tokens for special Hall of FUT players, so there's a reason to engage.

The bigger issue is that FUT is still built for people who play every day and spend real money. The improvements make it more bearable, not more welcoming.

Gameplay and presentation: more challenging, more rewarding

On the pitch, FC 27 is tougher than FC 26 but feels better for it, though the art style still lacks FIFA-era soul.

The review notes that gameplay is more challenging than before, but more rewarding as a result. EA is still tweaking balance, so the meta may shift after launch, but the early impression is positive. The bigger complaint is aesthetic: the FC art style still feels sterile compared to the FIFA days, and The Grounds' visuals don't help.

FC 27 is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC. Early access started September 18, with the full release on September 25. If you're on the fence, the Career mode alone is worth a look, but don't buy it for The Grounds.

Availability and pricing

EA Sports FC 27 is out now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC. In the US, the standard edition typically retails for $69.99, while the Ultimate Edition, which includes early access and bonus content, costs around $99.99. UK and EU pricing follows the usual regional conversion, with the standard edition at £69.99 and €79.99 respectively.

Prices can vary by retailer and platform, and EA often runs promotions shortly after launch. If you're mainly interested in Career mode, the standard edition is enough; The Grounds and Ultimate Team don't require the upgrade.

FC 27 is a messy but ambitious step for the series. The Grounds doesn't deliver on its promise, but Career mode and the Ultimate Team tweaks show EA is listening. If you can look past the hollow hub, there's a better football game underneath.