EA Sports FC 24 review – new name, same ridiculously fun football sim

Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X; Electronic Arts
The 24th game in what was previously known as the Fifa series has some added RPG elements for upgrading players' skills. But most importantly, the fluidity of the action is beguiling

At the start of each new football season, many fans head to the stadium with a sense that everything will be different this time. Perhaps their team has been promoted or relegated, perhaps there have been new signings, or a new manager, bringing the promise of a fresh start and fresh possibilities. But once inside the ground, those fans have a drink with the same old pals, take their usual seat surrounded by recognisable faces before the familiar voice of the announcer rings out over the PA, followed by the club's traditional song. At that point those fans will realise: nothing has really changed. This is football as it ever was and ever will be.

That's also how it feels when switching on EA Sports FC 24. There may be a new name for the series, now that Fifa and Electronic Arts have parted ways. But you get the same inoffensive dance music, the same authentic teams and players, the same set of options: a quick and easy Kick-off; a Tournament mode; the Player and Manager career modes, where you guide a professional through their entire life in the game; the fun Volta street football mode; and of course Ultimate Team, where you buy packs of players to build your own squad of superstars. EA Sports hasn't suddenly gone mad and introduced a futuristic anti-grav mode, or an option to rediscover the medieval roots of football as a chaotic mass brawl involving the entire population of a village chasing an inflated pig's bladder. When you start playing, all your suspicions are confirmed: this is Fifa 24, minus one teeny-weeny multimillion dollar licence.