EA FC 26 has finally been released, and there’s a lot to look forward to. Fans are excited to explore the newest features and discover what the game has to offer. This year, like all the previous years, EA has stuck to more or less the same game modes, making a few tweaks here and there. Surprisingly, there are quite a lot of changes to career mode, and some of them are very significant upgrades.
While it was a game mode that was majorly ignored by EA for quite a while now, it seems EA has finally turned its attention towards it. At the very least, it’s worth diving into and checking out whether or not it’s worth your time. If you’re not into Ultimate Team, is Career Mode enough for you to justify spending $70 on the game? We’ll be answering that question by taking a deeper look at Career Mode in FC 26 today.
Manager Market And Events
One of the first features that adds to the realism is the Manager Market. This has been an anticipated feature for a lot of players as it adds to the realism aspect of career mode. What this feature provides is a full-fledged managerial marketplace through which you can change teams once your challenge with one is complete. How this has been improved from previous games is that this time around, you are given much more detail.
This refers to a club’s expected tactical style, the current manager’s status, and their job security. Manager tactics change over time, providing a new dynamic to each season and giving a more authentic career journey.
Another feature that makes career mode better and worth it this time is the unexpected events feature, which basically just gives you challenges throughout the career. It allows for off-pitch drama, which gives you tons of twists as you play on. Now, this could include anything from a star player wanting to go on leave because of an emergency, or that your club could be on the brink of financial collapse. How you react to the events will influence the morale of your players and also your job security.
Deeper Simulation
Another change to the Manager Career Mode is Deeper Simulation. This new mechanic basically allows you to gather up data that can significantly help you throughout the season. You get to choose five leagues, along with your own, which you can monitor for any useful information. This new feature is bound to add realism to not just transfers, but to scouting as well, instead of everything taking place mysteriously in the background.
It even allows you to get historical player data, which lets you review goals, assists, clean sheets, and match ratings. What this is going to do is add to the realism as you get to see in-depth information on players and make decisions accordingly, whether it might be who to place in your first team or even what transfers to make.
This seems to be the groundbreaking feature of this year, as it is a never-before-seen feature. It significantly adds to the realism of the game and gives you the feel of being an actual manager. While it may not be as detailed as some other games, like Football Manager, it stands to be a feature most players are looking forward to taking advantage of.
These are some of the features that are definitely going to make playing career mode worth it this year. They’re going to add a new aspect to the game mode instead of just having the standard features like making transfers and handling your team. This time around, you can prove yourself to be a manager who’s smart as you work through the unexpected events and take your team to glory.
Player Career Mode
The player career mode is not a very popular one, and there is an obvious reason for it. It has received barely any updates throughout the years, and the fact that it is the bare minimum. What that means is that it has only the simplest features: customize your player, choose a team, and basically play games and progress with your player.
There is one interesting new addition here, though: Player Archetypes. The mode remains more or less the same, but with archetypes now. It’s simple to understand; you get to choose one from 13 archetypes, and then you progress with your player. Through this, you get to upgrade stats more suited to your archetype. It adds a much-needed layer of identity to your player and forces you to commit to different styles of play depending on the archetype. You could be a “Box-to-Box Midfielder”, or even a “Poacher”, rather than just an all-rounder.
As pointed out in our FC 26 review, the overall presentation is just as incredible this time around. The club intros, fan chants, and celebrations all make the game highly immersive. You almost don’t want to skip these cinematics immediately, because they’re so good. Now, whether that combined with the new archetypes mechanic is enough to lure you in personally, that’s a different story.
Is Career Mode Worth It?
Looking at the complete picture, the Manager Career Mode features some significant, game-changing upgrades and looks better than last year’s already. With unexpected events, manager markets, and deeper simulation all working together to make it a game mode worth playing. Then again, you could always play Football Manager if that’s all you’re looking for.
As for the Player Career Mode, there are some subtle changes, like the new archetypes. The game also feels and plays a bit better, thanks to the new Competitive and Authentic presets. It’s still fun and interesting enough from a gameplay perspective, but still a bit hard to justify as the sole reason for buying the game. If you mostly play FIFA offline with your friends, then it’s a nice bonus. It’s worth your time if you already have the game, but I wouldn’t run out and buy the game solely for Career Mode.
