The big news this year in EA Sports FC 27 is undoubtedly the new game mode, The Grounds. Recently, I had the chance to try out this new feature in-person in Vancouver, Canada, albeit for a very limited time, and I'm going to share some of my impressions here, as well as what you can expect when the game is released in September.
If you've played the NBA 2K series at any point in recent years, you'll recognise the concept straight away. Put simply, it's an online hub designed as an open-world where you can run around, use emotes, show off your newly purchased kit, and above all, find your way to different match types. The idea from EA Sports is that this will also become the new way you experience Clubs, the game mode where you team up with friends to form your own club and play against other clubs online. Here, you'll now be able to represent your club colours in various types of matches where you don't even need to play with your teammates. You'll be able to jump into, for example, a three-a-side match with unknown teammates via drop-in, whilst still contributing to the goals required for various challenges. Of course, you'll be able to play 11-a-side matches as well.
"Everything in The Grounds has been designed from the ground up to address three key requests from players. Number one: Fans want more ways to play together, whether with their friends and clubmates or individually. Number two: They want more ways to build their football identity, more ways to progress. Number three: They want more ways to experience football culture in its entirety, on and off the pitch", said the developers during a presentation.
New for this year with Clubs is how there will now also be 11-a-side tournaments, not just the usual ranked matches. Over the course of the year, the number of rounds in the tournaments and various match rules will change, as will the rewards that come with these tournaments.
"Whilst there will be individual reasons for you to play these experiences and develop your avatar, we're also introducing club objectives. So there will be incentives for you and your clubmates to work together or separately to progress, compete for, and complete unique rewards."
However, as mentioned, this new game mode isn't just for players who play in Clubs. You can also jump straight in as a solo player. The open-world is divided into three different districts based on Argentina, England, and France. As well as having their own mentor (Dybala, Chloe Kelly, and Mbappé, plus a returning Alex Hunter, the fictional main character from the story mode "The Journey" a few years ago), each district has a distinct look with different types of football pitches. You can play various types of 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, and the "Rush" mode from recent years. During our half-hour session, which is a very short time to form any opinions, we got to try out a 2v2 mode with different rules for scoring goals. Each rule lasts one minute, and I noticed, amongst other things, you could be required to score whilst the ball is in the air, with a direct shot where the ball must hit the back of the net to count, another requiring the ball pass through a slalom gate, and so on. Score without meeting these requirements and the goal won't count, and it gets even trickier as you have to aim the shots manually, so don't count on getting any help from the game.
Football basketball will be available to play at The Grounds.
Another was three-a-side match, where the goals were much smaller (think of the sort you can buy in a sports shop to set up in the garden for your children) and the third and final match type we managed to try wasn't even a match: It was something called Balloon Ball. It's a type of dodgeball where you try to throw the ball at your opponents, and if you hit them, you take one of their lives, or balloons. Some Mario Kart games have featured a similar game mode that you may have tried, as in the three-round match, you can hide behind cushions and collect power-ups that, amongst other things, throw car tyres at your opponents to make them fall over. There are also other match types we weren't able to try out, such as one where you score by getting the ball through a basketball hoop, which they showcased in the latest trailer.
My impression after trying this out (bear in mind it was only 30 minutes) is positive. It's possible it's just the novelty factor, and that the main appeal is simply having something new to do. I see this as a sort of party game mode, something where I can log in and have a bit of fun instead of sitting there getting frustrated at being dominated by a full Legend team in Ultimate Team. The big question is how EA Sports will manage to keep players interested throughout the game's lifecycle. How many will play it for a while and then get bored? We've already seen examples of this with Volta, and to some extent with Rush too, namely that players find it fresh and fun, but the novelty slowly starts to wear off day-by-day. What's going to keep me interested in playing the same match types over-and-over again? EA Sports needs to strike the perfect balance to make it feel rewarding to play.
During yesterday's presentation, they revealed The Grounds will feature different themes throughout the year. The first is based on the Champions League, the second is "Scream" for Halloween, and this winter we'll get a winter-inspired look too. This will mean the entire open-world is filled with decorations and other elements based on the theme. Among other things, we saw the world will take on a darker atmosphere for Halloween, with pumpkins placed around you can shoot to pieces. This is actually one of the few things you can do in the open-world apart from running about and kicking balls at various targets. Otherwise, you just have to run up to a football pitch, stand there, and queue.
The world consists of three different districts; here is Parkside, based on England.
One of the biggest questions that popped into my head is: Could this just have been a menu option instead? Rather than having to run (or fast-travel) to the match type you want to play, couldn't it just have been on the main menu? Clubs have always been there, but now we have to go into The Grounds and then run over to the clubhouse, where Rush is the same. Then there's an extra menu for "party matches". Although I had fun during the short time I played, and it's definitely more fun to play with someone than on your own, it's hard to shake the feeling this is yet another way for the company to make money. NBA 2K already feels like one big shopping centre with a bit of basketball here and there. Will The Grounds in EA Sports FC 27 feel the same? That remains to be seen until I get the chance to spend some significant time with the mode, but they're making a big deal of the fact they have official clothing brands for which you can buy outfits to use in-game, alongside match shirts and general clothing. This is combined with various emotes and upgrades for your avatar.
"That theme of personalisation extends across The Grounds with many new ways to express yourself on the pitch. From matchday outfits to everyday streetwear, football fashion has become a defining part of modern football. In The Grounds, we wanted to bring that same level of self-expression, giving you new ways to showcase your achievements and create your own football style."
Mbappé isn't just a poster boy; he's also a mentor in the French section.
The player upgrade system works by selecting an archetype and then unlocking attribute bonuses by levelling up or equipping a special boost. You can have three of these at any one time, and these can be general or based on specific real-life players. They are then available for a certain number of matches before they disappear. The bonuses gained from levelling up remain permanently across all archetypes, so if you start as a "finisher" and reach level ten, you'll unlock a +1 in "finishing" and a +1 in "composure", which will then remain even if you switch to a different archetype. The temporary boosters can be earned through various missions or simply by purchasing them.
All in all, this is clearly the biggest thing EA Sports has introduced to the series in ages, perhaps since Ultimate Team was launched. Unfortunately, as I mentioned, I only had 30 minutes with The Grounds and we weren't allowed to take any photos of the preview build ourselves. If you're wondering what the other game modes are like, there'll be a preview of all of them next week. Still, The Grounds is a good start, even if it is a controversial one. The game mode won't be available on the previous generation of consoles, but only on PC, PlayStation 5, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S.