Football Manager 26 Review

Football Manager 26 is almost here, and it arrives with the weight of expectation after Sports Interactive skipped last year’s entry to overhaul the series. You would think that this year off was exactly the thing they needed to bring a product that would satisfy fans, but it seems the result is a release that feels like a step forward and back at the same time.

As someone who has not delved into the world of sports simulation games, outside of dabbling with the 2K series of basketball titles, seeing all these numbers can be pretty intimidating. Paired with the fact that Football isn’t a well-known sport in this part of the world, this presents a big barrier to entry for new players who want to let their curiosity take over.

Through the lens of a new player, a rookie if you may, Football Manager 26 certainly scratches a very niche itch. The audience for this type of game may not be too broad, but for its target, expect hours and hours of addictive gameplay. That said, the game also stumbles on multiple fronts, and although these issues can be addressed with some updates, players might want to hold out for a bit before diving in.

A New Engine

One of the biggest talking points of Football Manager 26 is its upgraded match engine, and for the most part, it delivers. Matches look better than before, equipped with fluid animations and more realistic player behavior that accurately reflects their actual stats.

It’s important to note that the comparison is being made with previous entries in the series. It’s a relatively low bar to pass, considering the graphics of earlier titles. The audience area could use a bit more detail, along with character models that look a bit rough. Still, this upgrade is very welcome.

From the start of Football Manager 26, players will have a choice to begin with a new manager, Quick Start, or Advanced Setup. Advanced Setup is a mode where you can create your custom game world, adding select nations from around the globe, choosing transfer modes, and more. Manager Creation allows you to create your character to accompany you on your journey to football stardom, and Quick Start is the mode that gets you into the action the fastest by enabling you to choose a team to manage after creating your persona.

Even from this early on in the game, there are already a ton of options to choose from, and it may get a bit intimidating for newcomers. Creating a manager profile will require you to provide details about your past achievements, positions held, coaching style, and other relevant information. Even after you start your career, you’re bombarded with information, such as messages and news tickers, that gets you into the action quickly.

Reading the inbox alone and checking out the messages in Football Manager 26 can be a bit daunting, with some asking you about your vision for the team you’re handling and whether you’re willing to negotiate or accept the board’s decisions. There will be some decisions that you can even delegate to certain members of your staff if you don’t feel the need to think about it yourself. The game doesn’t play around, and really expects players to immerse themselves in the world.

For the most part, players can expect to review pages of numbers and reports, making decisions based on the information presented to them. The time you’ll spend reading and understanding the ins and outs of the game outweighs the actual games, so you’ll need to temper your expectations before trying Football Manager 26 out.

Even during games, there’s a tendency for new players to stare at the simulation rather than proactively handling substitutions, changing tactics on the fly, and more. It’s a whole different ball game than something more involved, like FIFA, where you can directly control the outcome of each match as opposed to just watching.

That said, the improvements made here are welcome, and with the addition of Women’s football and the Premier League, Football Manager 26 provides a lot of value.

Interface and Accessibility are a Mixed Bag

As someone new to the series, Football Manager 26 offers a comprehensive onboarding process that got me up to speed, despite my limited prior experience with the series. The steps were detailed and easy to understand, although there were points where some terms and systems flew over my head, which made the whole process somewhat challenging. It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of thing, although you can repeat tutorial steps if need be. Despite that, I felt that the developers had done well with the tutorials in getting new players on board.

However, there are times when I felt like I had already done what was required, but the game wouldn’t let me advance. Not being familiar with the game, its flow, and previous installments, there were moments when it was a bit challenging to follow what needed to be done. I think the game can improve further in the tutorial process, or at least by highlighting key parts of the UI with tooltips to indicate what else is required.

It’s surprising how much is needed even to start your first match. Football Manager 26 delves into the nitty-gritty of management, including setting meetings with players, such as informing your team captain that you want to remove the captain position if he doesn’t improve, and filling out your coaching staff. As indicated by its title, management is a significant part of this game, thus, reading and decision-making are essential.

Football Manager 26 also received a drastic overhaul in its user interface. While it does look good, the nature of the game being a simulation management with countless data really makes it challenging to find and figure out where some menus are located, let alone clicking through multiple windows and menus to find what you are looking for. It also doesn’t help that it’s difficult to determine which parts of the UI are clickable or not.

The whole look and feel is minimalistic, but given such an overhaul, I can imagine that veteran players will take a while to acclimate themselves to the new look, meaning that they cannot simply jump in and get to playing within minutes due to a required learning curve, treating their experience as almost zero. It does take a bit of time to navigate through the many menus and windows, but after a few hours, you’ll eventually get the hang of it. Veteran players will be hit the hardest with this redesign, for better or for worse.

Step Forward, Step Back

After several hours into Football Manager 26, it feels like progression is a bit too slow for my taste. Within my first hour, I had only played one game, and the days leading up to that game were spent on extensive reading and decision-making, which significantly slowed down the pace. It’s a challenging aspect to deal with because an extreme amount of detail is involved, which is a good thing for this type of game, but on the other hand, that level of detail may deter players who prefer a more casual approach.

Football Manager 26 also has some technical issues, and during our playtime, we encountered a few crashes here and there. Of course, mileage may vary, and while this was the case, getting back into the game didn’t take too long.

Considering we were playing on a reasonably capable PC (RTX 4070 Super, 16GB RAM, Ryzen 5 5600x), performance was pretty smooth, but was hindered by the crashes mentioned above. Navigating through menus can sometimes feel sluggish, especially when switching between multiple windows.

Verdict: Wait for it…

Football Manager 26 is tricky. On one hand, fans have been waiting for its return, only to find some controversial design decisions here that they may disagree with. On the other hand, as a newcomer, the game isn’t as beginner-friendly as I would have liked, which raises the barrier of entry. Both items are definitely something that can be fixed, but it’ll take time and several updates.

When Football Manager 26 works, it’s commendable to see all of the systems at play, but I can understand that it is not a game that many will like and enjoy due to its niche genre. It is the definitive football management sim, but until its issues and innovations are addressed, it might be best to hold off for now.

*Football Manager 26 was reviewed on a PC with a review code provided by the publisher