EA Sports invited MeinMMO to play a pre-beta of EA FC 25. We didn’t need to be asked twice and took a close look at the gameplay. Find out what has changed in the gameplay and how the new 5VS5 mode “Rush” plays here.
This is what we tested: We were able to play a pre-beta of EA Sports FC 25 on the PS5, which is a very early playable version of the title. It already contains all the gameplay changes, but is still in development and is therefore far from finished and balanced.
The Kick-Off mode with the classic 11VS11 and the brand new 5VS5 mode “Rush” were available, which ensured that VOLTA was finally kicked out of FC 25. EA justified this decision with feedback from the community.
Playable were:
The stats and teams were still based on FC 24 data, so nothing has been revealed in this area yet.
What should be new in terms of gameplay? In a major presentation, EA presented the gameplay innovations that FC 25 will have in store. These include:
What’s new in graphics?
But what do the changes really do? What do you notice straight away? We’ll tell you which 3 new features you can look forward to and what gameplay really feels like.
1. The new gameplay tweaks the right things
This is what the new gameplay really is like: When you play your first match in FC 25, you immediately feel at home, because the general gameplay and feel are very similar to FC 24. Almost identical. But that’s not a bad thing, because the predecessor FC 24 offered excellent gameplay. Nothing was really overpowered and it always felt fair and good – except when the servers went on strike.
In FC 25, a lot is the same as before and you have to look closely to find differences in the gameplay. What is immediately noticeable, however, is that the gameplay has become slower again and therefore feels more realistic.
It is also much more difficult to play passes when your own player is under pressure and is being pressed. The wildest pass across the whole field no longer works. A realistic improvement.
It is also noticeable that it has become more difficult to score goals because the opposing defenders are defending the spaces very well. The defense seems much more stable here. The AI of the CPU players also seems better in general. In pressing situations, the opponents now try to dribble in order to get out of the situation.
It’s just a shame that there are no major changes to the shots, passes or standard mechanics. Corner, free kick and penalty systems are all identical to FC 24. Except for “Rush”, but you can read more about that further down in this post.
What stands out in particular are the new player roles, which complement the PlayStyles and finally replace the old work rates and greatly improve the tactics.
2. The new player roles improve tactics tremendously
This important topic has finally been addressed: tactics in FC. These were neglected for years and innovations were rare. And even when something was new, it was usually only minor improvements.
Now in FC 25 there is finally a big tactical revolution and you can actually feel it on the virtual pitch. EA Sports summarizes the tactical innovations in EA FC 25 under “FC IQ”, which include the following:
What are the new player roles? If you’ve ever played Sega’s Football Manager, player roles will be nothing new to you. In EA FC 25, they work in a similar way. Every professional has at least one player role that determines his running routes and positioning when he doesn’t have the ball.
For example, there is the “Shadow Striker” player role that Jude Bellingham will have in FC 25. If you select this for Bellingham, he will play as a ZOM on the attack and look for the gap behind the strikers. He will aim for well-timed runs into the 16-yard box and try to score goals there.
Good to know for the Player Roles:
Why the Player Roles are a good addition: The new player roles make the game much more realistic and the tactics much more extensive. In the past, you had to spend hours fiddling around in the tactics menu and then hope that the players would follow the routes you had thought up.
Now the player roles regulate this. Of course, it remains to be seen how well this will work in the finished game. In the beta, however, you could already guess that FQ IQ will ensure significantly better running routes.
3. “Rush” offers cool rules and variety on the ball
This is what Rush has to offer: Rush is a new mode in FC 25, which, as the rumors suggested, is a 5V5 mode where you play on a smaller soccer field with 4 field players, while the goalkeeper is controlled by the AI.
The gameplay in Rush will be identical to the gameplay in FC 25 and will not rely on a separate, trickier gameplay like VOLTA.
What’s special about Rush is that you can play it cooperatively. This means that you can find 3 friends and go on a goal hunt together in Rush. Rush is also available in many FC modes. You can play it in Kickoff mode on the couch, in Ultimate Team online or even in Clubs (formerly Pro Clubs).
These are the rules of Rush:
How to play: Rush is a bit like a real football game in a light version. It is much slimmer, faster and less stiff. It is almost reminiscent of the small-field leagues like the Baller League or Kings League, which also try to speed up classic football a bit and make it more fun.
And it works: Rush is simply fun. It’s great that the gameplay here is identical to the normal 11VS11 mode. Because that means you don’t have to think differently and you can just have fun. However, you have to get used to the small field and say goodbye to tactics, sophisticated running routes and long passing sequences.
The only things that count here are good dribbling, precise passes and shots on goal. Fouls are punished with timeouts, which gives you a clear advantage when you’re only playing against 3 field players.
The rules are well thought out and the new penalties are particularly exciting. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the opportunity to play Rush cooperatively. The mode will probably be a lot more fun with friends than playing alone against the CPU.
Our conclusion on the beta: All in all, the FC 25 beta was fun and particularly impressive in the tactical area. In terms of gameplay, not much has changed compared to the previous game, which isn’t such a bad thing considering the strong predecessor. The new “Rush” mode offers fast, fun matches that feel really well-developed and well thought out.
But whether all of this justifies a full price again remains questionable. Fans would certainly have been happy about a new update model given the sparse but very good changes. What do you think? Are you interested in EA FC 25? Let us know in the comments!