There’s no denying that College Football 27 gets a lot of things right when you’re on the field. That’s something that was a factor in our review, but we did note that off the field, things could definitely be better. There are flaws in the armor of a franchise that has largely been a successful revival from dormancy, and they’re getting harder to ignore with each passing day of early access giving us time to take a closer look under the game’s shiny hood.
What we’ve found, largely echoed by other critical analyses of the game and ranging from details like a rather ill-conceived approach to progression, half-baked new additions, and gameplay and presentation issues that crop up too frequently to discount, show many reasons to give this one a pass despite its many improvements. And that’s not even mentioning the recruiting issues that come with Dynasty Mode since EA has told us it’s working on a fix.
But what’s going wrong for a title that looked like it had a lot of potential to be the step forward that the franchise needed? Well, join us and find out as we dive deep into a title that comes with enough gripes to balance out its successes, and whether those problems could ultimately be its downfall.
The Silver Spoon In The Room
It’s probably best to get those concerns about paid progression out of the way early. Yes, different editions of the game come with Dynasty Coach Points and RTG Skill Points, with the amount you get increasing with more expensive variants. Heck, the MVP+ edition even came with all Mascots unlocked, although that’s a whole other thing we’re going to talk about a little later down the line.
Of course, it’s the Coach XP Accelerators available exclusively in Online Dynasty Mode that’s drawing a lot of fire. But is it really as bad considering the enormous 20-30 season requirement to fully get the most out of the Dynasty experience? Those boosts are optional time savers, yes, but their very presence, when considered against a progression loop that demands a lot of time and effort, is enough to make trust around fair progression systems waver a fair bit. The fact that Accelerators can be disabled by commissioners goes lost in all the noise.
"But is it really as bad considering the enormous 20-30 season requirement to fully get the most out of the Dynasty experience?"
Of course, the progression loop we mentioned earlier isn’t helping things one bit. We get what EA was trying to do with, framing the level cap for your Coach as the pinnacle of achievement within the game’s experience. But removing faster ways to get there might not have been a choice that worked well with the good one to keep the level requirements the same while switching up the journey instead. It’s especially worrying since the way it’s all been described looked like it was an intentional part of the game’s design, and one that EA has been very quiet about since the complaints started arising. It’s monitoring feedback, to be sure, but that isn’t any indication of likely fixes being deployed until there’s an official announcement.
Well, that’s a slightly altered progression loop with big ramifications taken care of. It’s now time to take a gander at what’s new with CF27, and why that’s a part of this conversation.
Mascots of Mediocrity
We’re going to nip into our review of the game for this one, since the new Mascot Mashup mode was supposed to be a headlining feature, heralding the return of a popular franchise feature that had been surely missed in the last couple of years.
But with new Mascots being unlocked by just playing a quick game with the respective teams, a lack of enough commentary and tournament options, no alternative formats other than the Quick Play one, and a lack of differentiation between the ones available for unlocking made it quite the disappointment.
It’s especially egregious since EA didn’t shy away from presenting it as one of the highlights of the experience it was offering this time around, and to have it executed so poorly leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth for those who looked forward to it and have since moved on to other modes.
It’s a damn shame though, because there were so many potential ways to make it a worthy addition to the franchise in its latest form. Why aren’t there unique ratings on Mascots, which could work well with unique challenges to claim the ones from higher tiers? Why, oh why, are there no tournaments to be had? Why couldn’t special rule sets be added to this one?
Why is such a beloved part of the franchise returning as a novelty and not a unique feature that could help it chart a course into its future? When you think about MVP+ owners unlocking all Mascots without going through the tedium of hopping into a Play Now game with the corresponding team, you begin to see how CF27’s problems seem minor on their own, but tie into each other in ways that make them feel quite glaring.
"It’s a damn shame though, because there were so many potential ways to make it a worthy addition to the franchise in its latest form."
Its progression systems might have optional paywalls included, but the fact that they don’t include enough variety to make ignoring those paywalls easier just exacerbates both problems in a way that affects perceptions around the value it offers despite them.
Gaming The System
We remember worrying about the logic of the game’s systems being unable to bear the strain they were likely to be put under by players, and it turns out our concerns were founded. It was quite evident in the way we were able to skirt around requirements to progress in Road to Glory in ways that were clearly not intended to be a part of a simulator that aimed to be as realistic as this one. Safeties calling plays? Really?
The problem here is simple. The objectives we were given were so narrowly worded, they almost encouraged finding loopholes around them instead of, you know, actually playing well and being an asset to our team. It felt like we were chasing completion of checklists instead of focusing on enjoying the game and all the good stuff that it brought to the table. It reflects a lack of polish and nuance that could reflect badly on a title that’s definitely among the year’s big releases.
That extends to the presentation, where we found misnomers in the broadcasting, overlapping text layers in the Ultimate Team mode, play art overstaying its welcome on our screens far too often, and the broadcasters often acting like our custom Ultimate Teams were just the home team at wherever we were playing that particular match.
All of that pulls you out of the experience, but wouldn’t be as annoying if EA hadn’t made specific promises about all-new commentary, better presentation and atmosphere, and a more immersive experience overall. It’s annoying because things are definitely great, but these inconsistencies add up to deter truly enjoying everything good that’s on offer.
There are also parts of the presentation that are frankly overdone, too. The Dynasty’s NIL system gives away too much information about an athlete’s chances of signing up with your team based on your offer, and it takes out a layer of unpredictability that would have served the entire thing so darn well.
"There are also parts of the presentation that are frankly overdone, too."
That unpredictability was surely needed in a menu-heavy recruiting loop, and what we’ve got instead is one in which things are too certain for them to be as interesting as they could have been. Sure, it makes getting though seasons a tad easier, which should help those of you looking to max out your Coach, but look at it objectively, and you can’t help but feel like it’s a support pillar designed for an already needlessly elaborate progression loop.
Of course, the slow-moving Ultimate Teams Interface with store access appearing in all of its menus must be mentioned, and deserves to be because it could dissuade even players who swear by it from engaging with it as consistently as it needs to land. As it stands, it’s cumbersome to navigate and isn’t something that’s as fun to engage with as it should be.
There are, of course, other issues that have sprung up during our time with the game, which other reviews have supported. The AI does need a bit of work, and the blockers have been identified as a problem area often enough for them to need some serious work. This is a game that wants you to use your knowledge of football as well as your skills with a controller, and that falls flat when your team doesn’t back up intelligent plays as well as it should.
Pair that with pop-up interactions that kind of plonk the ball right into a waiting defender’s hands, another issue that’s been reported as frequent by critical sources, and you begin to see even the gameplay loop on offer being brought down by niggles that should be minor, but add up enough to bring down the overall perception of quality that matters to a title as big as this one.
The Real Enemy
The real enemy that College Football 27 faces isn’t a lack of new content, but is one that can be a far greater threat. It isn’t a bad football game, not by a long shot. But with Mascot Mashup being the only new addition that’s so poorly executed, and only incremental upgrades to the rest of what’s on offer, it becomes easy to say that stagnation is probably going to hold this one back from achieving its own potential.
Of course, its many problems are ones that can be rapidly addressed, but the game then faces an uphill climb as it aims to shake off its poor reputation at the moment and earn back enough goodwill from its players before the next annual iteration comes along. That’s a narrow window, and a long list of things to address.
But the good news is that EA is listening, and is already addressing a few complaints. Well, let’s just hope that it turns its attention to the game’s other issues, and manages to switch things up in the process.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
