EA Sports FC 24 Review

It is that natural time of the year where the heavy influx of games comes thick and fast. Normally I’d be saying another year, another FIFA title. It is a very strange feeling to be referring to this year’s instalment as EA Sports FC 24, but here we are. There will be a whole host of questions from the hardcore community as well as the casual crowd who just love to dip in for a few games with their mates.

As you may well have guessed, there aren’t drastic changes across the board, but is there enough to warrant the price tag? What I immediately noticed after loading up for the first time is the entire game hub has had a total blanket revamp to wrap around the new name. It may sound silly, but after similar menus with just some colour changes here and there over the past couple of years, it really needed a total refresh. I’ll cover this more later in the review, but even the interface makes the game feel like a new experience.

The great news is that the licensing for teams, players and items like balls and boots still show their strong presence. This was the concern for me after losing the FIFA licence, but seemingly the game retains most of the good stuff. Gamers who aren’t into football as a sport appear to knock the game by saying it’s the same experience every year with minor tweaks. They would be right in some respects, but some of those minor updates are important for the regulars. If something isn’t broken, then there is no need to fix it in my opinion. There has always been a deep craving from me personally to pour more love into the Career and Pro Clubs mode rather than the focus being on the money driver that is Ultimate Team.

I’ll get Ultimate Team covered nice and early in the review and whether you love it or hate it, it is back with some changes. The most notable and recognisable early on is the addition of female players to the catalogue of UT. For the first time ever, you’ll be able to craft mixed gender squads for competitive matches online. Female cards work exactly the same as the male ones in terms of player chemistry when it comes to club and country. Some may have mixed feelings about this, but it is solely the choice of the player whether they want all male, all female, mixed. More choices isn’t a bad thing is it?

Player evolutions is another new feature that can give you more flexibility when building your squad. This enables you to select specific players and meet evolution objectives to upgrade their stats and overall rating. It mixes the mode up a little instead of naturally going to the transfer market, observing the highest rated version of a player and realising how expensive they are. It brings some unique personalisation when showcasing your team to others, all completely tailored by the player. Challenges have to be completed to evolve cards which pushes the replayability even further if you want to progress. Aside from these few changes, the mode remains relatively the same with new animations for pack openings and a different aesthetic to the overall look of the cards.

When I don’t like to be too competitive, I do like to indulge into some solo player fun with the Career Mode. It’s a feature that is solid enough but I have always been wishing for more layers of depth to the overall experience. As usual you’ll be able to fabricate and play with your own custom manager, but now you can select from real managers to lead your side. So if you want Pep Guardiola at Salford City, then you absolutely can. There has been a small injection of new cutscenes in between matches and signing players. But it really isn’t long before these get really repetitive. You’ll also find this with press conferences, the same questions with the same branch of responses on offer.

I haven’t managed to blast through an entire career season for this review, but there is the promise of dynamic moments. These consist of open top bus parades and awards events when a season concludes. For those who love their tactics, there are new options here with more exploration in tactical vision, player recruitment and even levelling up coaches to heighten their knowledge. My favourite part though was having a touchline view from a managers perspective and calling the shots. This is a refreshing take on the game if you don’t always want to actually play or quick sim matches.

Pro clubs and Volta football are ever present and I struggled to find any changes here in comparison with FIFA 23. One that will please many is the introduction to crossplay between Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, Playstation 4|5 and PC. Over the last few years it has been unfortunate that the mode has been locked to specific platforms. This meant that up till EA Sports FC 24 you couldn’t play Pro Clubs with someone on an Xbox Series console if you still owned the bog standard Xbox One. A welcome change that improves options for everyone. I tried and tested this with several friends who were on PC, Playstation and Xbox, it worked flawlessly.

Before I go into visuals, I just want to say that as soundtracks go, EA have always nailed it over the last three decades. Each and every year I have not only enjoyed all the music on offer, but pretty much the entire catalogue ends up being added to my personal daily playlist. The team responsible for song selection deserve high praise for their diverse choice and bringing attention to lesser known artists.

Going into the overall graphical presentation, there isn’t a huge leap from last year’s instalment. Aside from the obvious change to the whole interface, the in-game aesthetics remain largely identical. I have noticed some slight UI issues with bits and pieces placed in incorrect places. Nothing has been game breaking or frustrating, although occasionally I have had a glitch that resembles a totem pole in the centre circle of the pitch. There has been a distinct change in the deliverance of in game stats which really add to the immersion of the game.

EA Sports FC 24 is very much the same game we all know and have grown up with. It has a clean, refreshed look and feel to the entire experience. Those who invest in every single instalment will probably agree with me when I say that not a huge amount has changed when it comes to the content.

What we do have is a slight sprinkling of subtle additions that build on the previous foundations of the last few years. For most this is enough, if you’re an Ultimate Team player. Unfortunately though, as is the case with almost every game in the series now, there doesn’t appear to be many major changes in the offline modes. As it stands though, there is only one king in the genre of football games and EA Sports FC 24 retains that crown.