I won’t lie — when it was revealed that Football Manager 25 was being canceled after a long delay, I wasn’t too optimistic about the future of the series. My initial concern was that the team at Sports Interactive had bitten off way more than they could chew by attempting to drastically overhaul a game built upon decades of work, and that the future of the series could be in jeopardy. Was that a reasonable fear? Maybe not, considering SI has been doing this for almost as long as I’ve been alive, but it was a fear nonetheless. And then I saw the gameplay for Football Manager 26 earlier today, and ladies and gentlemen… I’m happy to report that my fears were greatly exaggerated.
To put it simply, the new Unity engine looks great. The football showcased looks incredibly fluid, detailed, and dare I say lifelike. There are definitely some wonky animations, especially after goals, when players will begin to run to the touchline to celebrate. Outside of that, though, this looks excellent.
One thing that really impressed me was the goalkeeper animations. Whether they’re making a save or watching the ball sail into the back of the net, every animation looks on point. The same goes for first touches. In past Football Manager titles, first touches always looked off — almost as if most of the simulation was happening in the background while the visual match engine struggled to mimic the results. But, from what Sports Interactive has shown us, that looks to be a thing of the past.
I really wish I could come up with a concern regarding what I saw in the gameplay reveal. But honestly, I can’t. At least as it pertains to the visual match engine, it’s a thumbs up for me.
One thing that wasn’t revealed, however, is the features. As pretty as Football Manager 26 looks, it’ll be worth nothing if the game isn’t as deep or immersive as its predecessors have been. That said, the game’s release date hasn’t even been revealed yet, so there is still time for all of that to be disseminated. My fingers are going to remain crossed that international management has received an overhaul, as well as other things, such as press conferences and player interactions.
But for now, I’m happy to take the baby-step walk with SI as the details behind Football Manager 26 are fleshed out over time.
