College Football 27 is an elite game — with one concerning caveat
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It’s not often you see uproar over an absolute success, but that is the case for EA Sports.
The next installment in the company’s popular video game series, EA Sports College Football 27, officially releases on Thursday, July 9 after early access began a week prior.
Those who have played it already — or are about to for the first time — won’t need much time to realize this is the best edition of the franchise so far. There are major aspects that are miles ahead of the two most recent installments, and it feels like the magnum opus of college football video games: exactly what diehard fans have been waiting for since the series was revived.
But like all good, there is bad. You can’t deny the several features that make this game hard to put down. Yet, alarms are going off that will cause worry for where the series is headed, potentially dismantling the allure of a beloved fabric of college sports.
EA Sports College Football 27 review
Fantastic gameplay
Undoubtedly, the gameplay is phenomenal.
Playing actual football is extremely fun, upping the notch on authenticity and making it feel as immersive as possible. Of course, it takes some initial adjusting to, but that doesn’t dampen the quality of the game.
Before the snap, in-game adjustments are such a big boost. On defense, you can see how the offense is lined up and make changes to your coverage just off what you see. See the potential for the quarterback to scramble? Get the spy ready. Sensing a rush? Bring the house, without having to flail for an audible.
That sets it up for actually playing. It’s almost astonishing how smooth the game feels on all sides of the ball. Player movement feels as realistic as has been, with smarter decision making-coming from non-controlled athletes on the field. Your offensive line shifts smoothly in run protection, and the secondary actually follows coverage adjustments.
Going hand-in-hand with the gameplay is with a step up in the presentation: The atmosphere sounds more like what you hear in a stadium, and there’s a better sense of the storylines within the game, no matter if it’s just a casual play now or dynasty contest. The halftime show is worth paying attention to now, and the in-game updates have better context.
The two new voices of the game come in big. Holly Rowe is a tremendous reporter and her segments in games are a great twist to bring realism. There was curiosity to see how Joel Klatt would do in his debut, given Kirk Herbstreit was part of the game for so long. The dynamic with ESPN’s Chris Fowler could have been choppy. Instead, Klatt shines, doing what he does best in elevating the big moments and meeting the occasion for those big plays.
Lastly, the dynamic weather is a game-changer. No longer is it just raining the entire game: There could be periods where it pours for one quarter and then clears up the next. The wind could suddenly pick up just in time for a long field goal. The field conditions are accurate in how weather plays a role in games. Some of the transitions are sudden, but that’s the beauty of unpredictable weather.
Dynasty mode
The key mode of the game, dynasty has added features that make it closer to real life, while adding more time to building a program.
The biggest add is dynasty blueprint, allowing you to decide how to construct a program however you want. It makes for a unique experience for every dynasty done, and makes it more challenging to turn bottom feeders of the sport into a powerhouse: a welcome challenge for fans of the series.
There’s also the introduction of NIL, where top recruits want some payment to play for your school. It was needed to more accurately reflect contemporary recruiting, and requires the player to actually think about which recruits they want on their team. NIL funds depend on the program and how much you decide to allocate in spending.
It’s a genius idea, although there are some kinks with it that need to be patched: Some of the spending doesn’t make sense, or top recruits aren’t getting picked up by schools (causing several teams end up getting worse as the dynasty years roll on).
A small wrinkle of dynasty is an updated home screen with storylines being more fleshed out and better knowledge of game previews and what’s going on around the country.
Road to Glory
The single-player storyline to college star may be the mode with the least added boosts. It has the same high school start of trying to do key moments — unfortunate, since it’s still a rather boring process to boost your recruitment.
Getting recruited has improved, as teams have varying pitches depending on how bad they want you. So a school can initially offer just a small leadership gain, but can give out more if you are a clear five-star recruit.
As for when you get to college, the time spent weekly working on studying, working out or branding still feels unbalanced, making it hard to be excellent at many things and risking health in the process. Time spent studying doesn’t have much payoff, requiring more resources while at the same time trying to do all the recovery so you aren’t getting injured while playing.
Microtransactions hurt reputation
Despite plenty of good and revamped features, there are some terrible features causing great concern, and it’s something that has plagued all of gaming: microtransactions.
Sports video games have seen microtransactions take over games, such as NBA 2K and even EA Sports’ Madden, much to the groan of gamers; it essentially became pay for play. Despite the rise, it felt like the College Football series would be immune from added expenses.
It’s not new to the franchise, as it has been in ultimate team, but their sneaky segue into dynasty mode and road to glory has fans up in arms. And rightfully so.
Basically, developers have made it virtually impossible to level up as a coach or in Road to Glory to max levels unless you buy points, adding to expenses of buying the game. It’s unfortunate since these are primarily single-player modes and seem like cash grabs to get more revenue to get the full experience.
The backlash has been undeniable, as this a decision that severely alienates the core players who have long enjoyed a game that didn’t try to guilt it into spending more. Some of the biggest EA Sports partners have voiced their displeasure, campaigning for the company to get rid of the feature.
Suddenly, the franchise reaches a critical juncture of its lifespan. Since the game was revived in 2024, it preached that this game has been made for fans, by fans. With this change, it shifts the thought to the game is for fans, by money-hungry executives. If these are being added now, how much more will it be involved next year?
That’s what prevents College Football 27 from being a perfect game. While everything about the gameplay and presentation screams it, the backdoor push for cash leaves a black stain that could keep people from playing a game that easily brings so much joy.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College Football 27 is an elite game — with one concerning caveat
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