EA Sports FC 25 on Nintendo Switch delivers a solid football experience that just about overcomes its technical limitations.
Being a football fan is frequently hard work. Each year brings renewed excitement, some thrilling games, a few underwhelming games, and, inevitably, some questionable managerial decisions to debate.
Being a Nintendo fan is frequently hard work. Each year brings renewed excitement, some thrilling games, a few underwhelming games, and, inevitably, some questionable managerial decisions to debate.
So, what about being a Nintendo fan who loves football? Well, it’s been an interesting eight years.
We’ve been tracking EA’s football journey on the Nintendo Switch from the start, always searching for that elusive great portable football game. With this mindset, we’ve sometimes gone against the grain, giving reasonably positive reviews to even the much-maligned Legacy Editions of FIFA, all because we were eager for a solid on-the-go football experience.
Last year, we praised EA Sports FC 24 for finally delivering long-demanded gameplay enhancements on the Switch. Despite a few technical setbacks, it was a noticeable improvement.
This year’s edition, EA Sports FC 25, is another feature-packed release that – at least in terms of modes – offers parity with more powerful console platforms. You’ll find everything here, from Manager Career mode (my default choice) and the new 5v5 Rush mode to Ultimate Team, the popular, monetised trading experience that I continue to give a wide berth.
On the field, the action is capped at 30fps, just like last year. It’s an immediate and noticeable downgrade compared to the 60fps on Xbox and PlayStation, and even those FIFA Legacy Editions on Switch from 2017 to 2022. However, the difference isn’t as problematic as you’d expect. If you’ve been playing on a more powerful system – I’ve compared it to Xbox Series X – it can feel jarring at first, but it doesn’t take long to acclimatise.
Visually, the game holds up fairly well, though there are some rough spots. One obvious example is the medium-distance camera angles, where the crowds look like something straight out of Ikea’s flat-pack furniture range. The players themselves generally look decent, however, although it’s clear that some star players have received more attention than others. Given the hardware limitations, it’s acceptable, but as a West Ham supporter, I do wish Jarrod Bowen didn’t look quite so ghoulish.
The visual downgrades are more noticeable when playing on a large 4K screen. In handheld mode, EA Sports FC 25 looks good, especially on the OLED model. And even on the more compact screen of the Switch Lite, the game looks impressive.
The compromises on the pitch are manageable, then. It’s off-the-pitch that frustrations arise. There’s a noticeable lag in almost every interaction. Managing your team sheet becomes an exercise in patience, for example, with selections taking a moment to register and several more seconds to update. Navigating the career mode menu is just as slow, and even the main menu chugs when it first loads.
This is another instance of how games designed for more powerful platforms often struggle when adapted for the Switch The same issue was evident last year, and it’s disappointing that no improvements have been made, as this detracts from the good work done in other areas.
If you can overlook these issues, however, there’s much to recommend. From a gameplay perspective, EA Sports FC 25 performs as well as last year’s iteration. The game leans towards a more arcade-like feel, but a wealth of sliders lets you tailor the on-field action for a more simulation-oriented experience. New in-game quick-actions also speed up the substitution process, which helps to offset those sluggish menus.
5v5 Rush, which replaces Volta Football, is also an unexpected treat. In solo mode, it nicely captures the fast-paced intensity of a pre-pub five-a-side match, and it’s cleverly integrated into the Career modes for short, youth-team games.
So, is this the football game we’ve always wanted on the Nintendo Switch?
For years, we got by on FIFA updates that did little more than refresh rosters and kits. I’m thankful those days are behind us, and I appreciate the effort in bringing the full EA Sports FC 25 experience to the Switch, despite the frustrating compromises. At the risk of repeating ourselves for the eighth year running, it’s another cautious thumbs up.
And ultimately, given the challenges of getting EA Sports FC 25 running on a Steam Deck, the Nintendo Switch version continues to be the best option for those looking for that elusive great portable football game
Game: EA Sports FC 25
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Developer: Electronic Arts
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date: September 27, 2024
