EA Sports FC 25 review: One for the tacticians

Yet, despite some underlying issues that, at this point, are so ingrained I would miss them if they were fixed, this is a year with a lot of positives for the series.

Most importantly for many fans, Career Mode has received some attention for the first time in years, helping to elevate the game mode and making it feel less like the forgotten middle child it's sadly become.

Now, academies are a worthwhile endeavour when crafting your own management career, enabling a reliance on youth that has been nothing short of a slog in the past.

It adds another dimension to the mode, offering players a new, reliable way to play, finally improving the youth system introduced years ago.

The menus have also been overhauled so they sit more in line stylistically with Ultimate Team, and when setting up the save, I felt spoilt with the tweaks I could make for my journey ahead.

It's still a shame that the database couldn't be more advanced; it completely ignores the history of the players' careers, only focusing on what's next.

Club stats, like youngest goalscorer, top goalscorer, fastest goals scored, and league stats, would have been a welcome addition that is still sadly missing.

It may not seem like a big deal, but something as simple as the above would help ground the game more in reality, layering in authenticity alongside tracking your progress in greater detail.

The most glaring and arguably frustrating issue with FC 25 isn't anything to do with what's been added or changed; there are no big swings and misses, and it's purely just how slow the menus are.

A poor UI isn't the end of the world - you can power through in many games - but this forces players to spend so much time in the borderline unresponsive menus for them to barely work.

Completing SBCs in Ultimate Team, sorting tactics in Career Mode, and even making a substitution in a match is a laborious task, if it even works at all.

In the short time since the game came out, I've failed to make substitutions in a Rivals game on more than one occasion because the menus feel so sticky and lethargic.

It's baffling and frustrating that a popular game that earns so much money and sells incredibly well has some of the least user-friendly menus I can remember. It makes the problems that have always existed in the game feel even more offensive.

Problems like kit clashes in Ultimate Team, how poor the matchmaking is in Clubs, the kits only changing for the club's captain, the wrong badges appearing when commentators describe players and even more are all present. FC needs to start doing the little things better, or someone else will.

Regardless of the above issues, this year's new additions and moment-to-moment gameplay feel amazing. I'm particularly impressed by how enjoyable the new Rush mode is.

It's a simple enough game, essentially just being five-a-side football, but it adds another dimension and is featured in multiple game modes, unlike the now-shelved Volta.

Rush features in Clubs, Ultimate Team and Career Mode, feeling welcome in each of them. In Clubs, it's a great way to grind XP when the whole squad isn't on; it uniquely enables the use of less exciting players in Ultimate Team.

Career Mode combines Rush with the academy changes to act as tournaments, helping youngsters reach their full potential.

The gameplay in Rush is so frantic, so chaotic, with goals flying in everywhere, and the pressure if it somehow goes to Golden Goal elicits a similar feeling to when you're only one hit away from a boss in a Souls game but can't quite land the final blow.

The other significant change in FC 25 is the complete overhaul tactics and Player Roles have received. At first, it can be a little daunting, but clearly it's taking inspiration from Football Manager to modernise the tactics so they're more akin to what we see at football matches every weekend.

Once you've started tinkering and getting to grips with the system, it becomes clear how big of a leap this is.

Every player now has roles that fit them better, which will influence squad building and recruitment in Career Mode. Currently, in Ultimate Team, I am using Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back and João Cancelo at left-back, both players with a preferred role of Falseback. Instead of overlapping the wingers, they will come inside to overload the middle when in possession.

I then have Declan Rice set to Half-back, so he drops into the defence when I'm attacking, allowing for a fluidity we often see in modern football to be experienced in FC, and it works exactly as it should. Players swap and rotate well, much like in an actual match. It will be interesting to see how far this can be taken once more time is spent with the game.

FC 25 is still weighed down by the usual baggage we've come to expect from the series, but there are some genuinely noteworthy additions this year that freshen up gameplay, tactics and more.

The Rush mode is a particular standout, introducing a chaotic fun that the game has lacked in recent years, while tactics offer more freedom to how the game is played than ever before.

This year's edition solidifies its claim as the best football game around, but it also showcases a need for competition, so there is pressure to iron out some of the frustrating kinks.

FC 25 launches on 27th September for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and mobile.

We reviewed FC 25 on PS5, and you can order your copy now.

Read more on FC 25:

• FC 25 ratings: The very best players
• FC 25 Heroes and Icons: Returning legends confirmed
• FC 25 Career Mode interview: Lamine Yamal, Fabrizio Romano and more
• FC 25 producer interview: Professional fouls, diving and Volta
• FC 25 soundtrack: Full list of songs
• FC 25 defenders: Best CB, RB and LB

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