Football Manager 26 was already down a bad path in Early Access. Apart from the long list of technical issues and bugs, the game just delivered a poor experience. FM26 just feels like every old FM game with a fresh coat of paint.
So, it is not surprising that the game launched with “Mostly Negative” reviews on Steam. Football Manager already has a small fanbase, and to get a Mostly Negative review just goes to show how problematic the game is.
What’s The Reason For Such Poor Reviews
Both the positive and negative things about FM26 are that it’s pretty much the same game with a slight visual overhaul (mainly UI). You are basically paying to play the same game that just has a “better” looking UI and a better in-game graphics engine.
But the problem also lies with this new UI. Sure, it looks modern, but the new UI lacks functionality. Firstly, it’s slow and clunky, but a lot of the screens and navigation just don’t make sense from a usability perspective. The options are drop-downs in odd locations, and there are menus within menus that just don’t make sense. Now, UI is never the main reason to bash a game, but in a game where most of your time is spent in menus, it’s a major critique. Plus, the game lacks support for skins, which doesn’t work well in its favor.
Then, there is the laundry list of technical bugs and glitches that just make the overall experience poor. The new tactics system is cool, but how can you enjoy that if the game constantly crashes or runs at potato frames? This Steam review from the user Randy sums up what I am talking about.
Bad:
Almost non-existent data during matches. No pass network, no heat maps, no avg. position, nothing visual. Why remove a ton of data that was available during matches in the past iterations of the game?
Horrible UI with no scaling. Endless bugs, and the game was released on an actual beta version.
Good:
IP – OOP tactics – instructions and their implementation in the game during matches is amazing, sadly, everything else looks like a beta for FM27.
But all is not lost. At its core, the game is the same. You still manage players, staff, the team, look out for potential players, and take the team to the top. The bugs will get fixed over time, and the mod support will get better as time passes.
