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EA Sports invited me to watch its various preview presentations for FC 27, which is launching officially on 25th September.
But among all the usual buzzwords about advanced defensive AI and improved off-the-ball runs, I was most compelled to learn about The Grounds, the game’s new social sandbox mode, which will only be available in the next-gen version of the game.
Every year the publisher announces a new soccer sim and is met with criticism of the game being identical to years past.
One year, the game may play slower, attracting criticism from fans – so it’ll overcompensate by making the next year’s entry feel faster. Rinse and repeat for eternity.
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But The Grounds does represent something genuinely new for the series, I’m just curious how longtime fans are going to respond to it.
If you’ve ever played any of the NBA 2K games, this mode has been lifted directly from it. Divided into three distinct districts inspired by the UK, France, and Argentina, you’ll be able to explore as your avatar and interact with minigames and matches.
On the competitive end of the scale, this is where Clubs will exist: your traditional 11-on-11 full-size matches, which can be accessed via a stadium hub in the middle of the sandbox.
I assume there’ll be ways to load directly into this area, but you’ll also be able to access it on-foot if you really want to, a bit like The Rec in 2K Sports’ basketball games.
But it’s that on-foot exploration that’s really bringing something different to EA Sports FC 27, and I’m curious how fans are going to react to it.
Around the open world, you’ll find small pitches where you can queue up for one-on-ones or five-a-sides, as well as minigames like obstacle courses and even a basketball-inspired twist on original football.
EA Sports says it’s building this like a live service, so new minigames will be introduced over time, while the theme of the sandboxes will change. I got to see an in-development Halloween event, for example, where the world is decorated with pumpkins and other time-limited activities.
One thing I was really shocked to see is that there are collectibles within the world, and you can stop at any time and drop-kick your football in their direction to collect them. I wonder if there’ll be more interactions like this to discover in the final game.
Of course, EA Sports wants to monetise this, and there’ll be various in-game shops flogging digital gear, from real-life brands like Puma and Adidas. Again, this is just like NBA 2K, and I imagine there’ll be new content added every week.
While I personally am intrigued by all this, I wonder how many people are going to actually play it.
To be fair, The City is arguably the most successful mode in NBA 2K, and some players spend hundreds of dollars perfecting their builds to take online.
I’m not convinced it’s going to be anywhere near as successful in EA Sports FC 27, but I’m certainly intrigued to see how this is all received.
If nothing else, you’ve got to give the publisher credit for actually incorporating something new in this year’s game – even if it did steal its homework from NBA 2K.