Last year, after an 11 year hiatus, EA Sports released College Football 25, a fun NCAA-style football video game aimed at players who wanted to coach or play their way through the college ranks. The new EA Sports College Football 26 is now available, adding in more of what EA hopes fans will see as cheer-worthy improvements.
So, what do you get?
Well, the basic elements from last year are still pretty much intact. “Dynasty” mode, for instance, is all about building a college football program from the ground up. Players carefully shape a coach who leans into being either a recruiter, a motivator or a tactician. And those archetypes determine how your coach will guide a team through building a game-winning powerhouse program.
“The Road to Glory” mode allows players to minutely customize their own ballplayer—choosing from quarterback, running back, wide receiver, cornerback and the like—and jump into a great collegiate program. Each of those personalized positions features selectable archetypes that reflect different playstyles and skillsets.
Other modes, such as “Ultimate Team” mode and “Road to the College Football Playoffs” mode, further fine-tune your playing opportunities on the gridiron.
The newly buffed-up improvements, though, are the things that EA Sports gamemakers hope will have you coming back for more. There are two new schools—Delaware and Missouri State—added to the college list, for instance. And the game now features real-world coaches in the mix, too. This year, more than 300 such coaches are included, featuring their likenesses and tendencies.
Gameplay has been tweaked with upgraded player movements and reactions. That list includes details such as improved tackling and physics-based damage. The “Wear and Tear” system, for instance—which impacts a player’s energy and moves in games—has been upgraded to provide more realistic injury outcomes. And team playbooks are much more complex this go ‘round as well. College Football 26 includes more than 2,800 new plays and 45 new formations.
Other tweaks include an improved recruiting depth and the fact that the game generates 2,000 new recruits each year to mirror the real-life talent pool. And players can now play through their senior year of high school to stir up their favorite college’s interests in their skills.
An online connection and an EA account are required to play this game. And EA Sports College Football 26 offers various multiplayer modes, including cross-platform play.
EA Sports College Football 26 is colorful and packed with college-focused images and effects, such as a soundtrack that features stadium anthems and marching-band covers.
And this year’s gameplay has been upgraded with crisper animation, less-forgiving football play and more choices in general.
There are no language issues or other negative content in this E-rated game.
That said, it should be noted that EA’s efforts to enhance the game’s AI, deepen the playbooks and give players more options and challenges, has also given the gameplay a steeper learning curve. Those realistic additions and tweaks might make the game more difficult for younger players to slip into easily. (If that’s a concern, College Football 25 might be a better choice.)
EA Sports College Football 26 dials up the player challenges and choices while keeping things E-rated fun. For fans of college football, this game extends a deep and realistic virtual invitation to hone your pigskin skills as both a player and as a coach.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
