EA Sports FC 27 is out today but here’s 4 features EA still need to fix

This year’s new football game from EA is out for everybody today, but already fans are noticing some concerning problems that need fixing as soon as possible.

Although EA Sports FC 27 is officially only released today, if you bought the Ultimate Edition or Ultimate Plus Editions you could’ve been playing it a week early. That’s good for EA, because they make more money from the more expensive editions, but it also means that a lot of people already have firm opinions about the game.

We gave the annual football sim a positive review and it has a generally favourable score of 77 on Metacritic. That score, however, doesn’t reflect some serious issues making waves across the community.

It should be noted that many of these issues were actually discovered during the pre-release demo, and EA is usually quick to stamp out exploits, but, at time of writing, here’s everything that’s getting fans upset.

Corners

The first problem is the new corner system. EA has implemented a fresh way of taking corners this year and it’s not exactly won players over. The system introduces a third step whereby, after you’ve set up the corner and aimed where you want to deliver the ball, you take control of players in the box.

You’re essentially trying to move your attacker into position, avoiding defenders and shielding their obstruction attempts, before making contact with the ball. For many, it’s just too much.

‘Anyone else just hate the new corners?’ asks Reddit user Tegsmo. ‘Like seriously, why did they feel the need to change it? It’s awful now. Maybe it’s just me but I can’t ever control where I need my players to be since you can’t see where the ball is going.’

Stamphasadeathwish agrees, writing, ‘Corners are terrible. The two stage thing could work if there were some kind of indicator for where to expect the ball, but scoring headers requires too much precision for guesswork.’

EA is unlikely to strip this feature out completely, but hopefully they will respond to the complaints. There is already a mode where you can practice corners in a controlled environment; this is found in the Learn to Play section, where there’s a dedicated corner skill game.

Glitches

Not all of FC 27’s issues have players raging. Some hilarious glitches are having the opposite effect. Take one found by Reddit user Alternative_Smile866, who loaded up a match and found one of their subs wearing a black sports bra.

‘Can anyone tell me who this is on my bench?’ they asked the EASportsFC subreddit. ‘Paused game for a sub and this player flicked on for a split second… not sure if on bench or in shower but either way, I’m not sure which player they are of mine (no AI was used for this photo)’.

Elsewhere on the subreddit, one player discovered a glitch involving a goalkeeper who appeared to become stuck to the goal post after saving a freekick.

Up43, meanwhile, discovered an interesting strategy in the new 2v2 street mode: getting their player tangled in the net so they double up as a makeshift keeper.

While silly, these glitches can be replicated and used online, interfering with the gameplay. EA will almost certainly aim to squash bugs like these as soon as it can. Gameplay is often subjective, but glitches just aren’t part of the experience, especially in a tightly controlled setting like competitive multiplayer.

Through balls

Outcry over through balls is something that returns every year, but FC 27 seems to have given critics more fuel than ever. Splitting the defence with a decisive ball should be an act of skill and timing, but this year, for some, it’s proving a little too effective.

Medium_Location1298 says, ‘In a few games I was trying the stupid through balls that worked last year as my only form of attack and was scoring consistently. It genuinely just makes the game boring.’

You can see the player’s point. Why mess around in midfield when you can bypass it all with a simple tap of the ‘Y’ button? Players will always default to the easiest possible option and that spells disaster for the multiplayer meta if the devs don’t keep an eye on it.

On the other hand, some players are saying through balls aren’t effective enough. PM_ME_BAKAYOKO_PICS writes, ‘They’re not nerfed they’re just manual, they’re actually strong as f*** and it’s the new meta in high divs/pro play, but since they’re manual you have to put the correct power and direction on them.’

When you have an equal number of players calling for a feature to be both buffed and nerfed, it probably means it’s actually working fine.

Player switching

Another issue that has fans up in arms is player switching. This is a simple mechanic inherent to any group sports game, which involves switching control to a nearby player. When implemented well it’s barely noticeable. In FC 27, however, it is proving seriously noticeable.

Reddit user blutgraetsche says, ‘I’ve conceded nine goals in squad battles so far and seven were from me not being able to switch players and running around like a headless chicken with the wrong player.’

Froduy says, ‘I agree that player switching feels a little bit off, but might have to do with sensitivity. I change it every year until I find the best one for me.’

This one is more of a teething issue. FC 27 hasn’t implemented a widespread change to player switching this year, so anyone having trouble with it would do well to heed Frouduy’s advice and have a play around in the settings.

To the game’s credit, the settings menu is full of sliders for almost every possible facet, from your defenders’ tackling aggression to how frequently your wingers will make runs. If something’s not to your liking, you have at least a bit of leeway to fix it.

Certain issues, though, like egregious bugs or poorly implemented systems, need more than a tinker in the menu to alleviate. Hopefully EA is listening to its playerbase and sensibly monitoring issues that crop up over the next year.

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