Many fans imagine playing their favorite sports at the pro level, yet many if not most are not skilled enough to do so. That’s where sports games come in and EA Sports FC 25, is the latest soccer game (or football game) that fans have to experience. This game shows the basics at what it takes to become a pro soccer star, from interviews all the way to the actual games. You can even connect your EA sports account to continue keeping track of your progress and scoreboard.

Once you start the game you can play either a soccer match against either the CPU or against other players using online multiplayer playing as your favorite soccer team, train/practice your skills, or play through the campaign and become a pro soccer player. I definitely recommend going through the training mode before playing any matches or the main campaign. EA Sports FC 25 is not friendly with beginners, the controls do take some time to get used to and require practice, but once you get a handle on them it can become a fun experience. The training mode goes over the basic controls and gives you a rundown on how a match is played. Once you finish the training you can do a practice match to hone your skill. During the match, you will be given training missions to fulfill as well as winning the game. After you play the training match, the game will automatically recommend a difficulty setting based on your performance, which can be changed in the main menu if it gets too easy or too hard. The actual soccer matches work just like a regular game. Two teams go head to head and see who can score the most goals before time runs out. You can even play as your favorite teams and have your Dream matches.

Once you finish training you can start your career to become a pro soccer player. In career mode you get to manage your personal player’s carrier and work towards getting recruited onto their dream team. When you play a soccer match you can either choose to play as the whole team or just as your character. I recommend players solely as your character to better improve your solo skills at first, then once you get a handle on playing as one character, you can try playing as the whole team. After the match, you will be given points to use to upgrade your player skills. These range from your running speed, ball control and scoring ability. In between soccer matches, You will have to choose certain options such as the type of interviews you will take. Each choice will give you certain points that affect your career. However, some options cannot be chosen at first so you might not be able to choose a certain option or even be able to do any interview so you will have no choice but to skip it.

They’re some issues and complaints with the game however.  When you start career mode, you don’t have many choices to create your character. In fact, the only thing you get to choose is the character’s body type. When you have a game where you get to create a character, you should be able to choose more than just the body type. Not to mention at the very least you should be able to choose the hair style, so you can better immerse yourself inside the game.

The controls of the game can also be complicated and difficult to get used to. When shooting the ball into the goal, I find it difficult to score a point. Every time I make a shot, the ball tends to go over the net. The game states it depends on how long you hold the button to shoot the ball, but the power is inconsistent, I would either shoot over the net or the ball will barely move. When passing the ball to your teammates, it feels like it takes too long and makes it easier for the opponent to steal the ball. When trying to steal the ball from the opponent, unless you have perfect timing it is very easy to get a penalty affecting your stats and making it harder to gain fame and get recruited. This game is definitely  not friendly with beginners or people who aren’t fans. You also spend a lot of time on the menus between games, and while you can skip them, you lose chances to increase your stats and fame, which is the main point of the campaign. The actual soccer matches, once you have a handle of the controls, allow for a fun experience. The feeling of passing the ball before it gets stolen always has me feeling like a pro, and when I am able to score the goal by successfully pressing the shoot button almost wants me to celebrate alongside my player. I almost feel like i’m becoming a pro soccer player every time I win.

In conclusion, EA Sports FC 25, while being a solid soccer game, has some minor issues that unless you’re a fan of soccer in general, you might have some issues enjoying the game. The controls and lack of customization options hindered my enjoyment of the game and prevent me from immersing myself into the game. I only recommend this game if you have played past EA Sports games and are a fan of soccer in general and want to see an example on what it takes to be a pro player.

Score: 6 out of 10

Reviewed on Playstation 5