EA Sports College Football 26 Review - Many Yards Forward, A Few Yards Back

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Last year, one of my biggest gaming surprises was EA Sports College Football 25, and that’s coming from someone who isn’t a big sports fan. Yes, I casually follow the football season, and I’m always there for a Super Bowl, but I’m not a diehard fan. Still, the revival of College Football was exactly the competition Madden needed, so both could push each franchise to become even better. EA Sports College Football 26 is an improvement in many areas that felt a bit rough in last year’s entry. However, some tiny fumbles prevent it from being perfect.

Bigger, Better, and More Bombastic

Let’s start with the absolute best thing about EA Sports College Football 26: its presentation. I was already blown away at how unique it felt and how it perfectly embraced the college football spirit. It is something that we never see in Madden, even if it was, at the time, the bigger fish in the football sea. Frankly, I thought the team behind College Football 26 would just put the same presentation as last year and offer it as a new dish. That wasn’t the case.

As soon as you fire up the game, it greets you with the most epic college football intro of all time. You’re accompanied by Virginia Tech’s entrance song, Enter Sandman, and a compilation of mascots, fanfare, and more. It all keeps getting better the more you delve into the game’s menus. College Football features an excellent soundtrack, with college band covers of famous songs like Blindling Lights. However, the flourish isn’t exclusive to music only.

It doesn’t take long to see your school’s band and mascot embracing the college spirit to the fullest. Everything continues as you keep playing your match, and the Stadium Pulse rises, which has an effect on gameplay, such as hindering your opponent’s plays or improving yours.

Overall, EA Sports College Football 26 is an absolute treat for fans of this sport and a visual marvel full of hype moments that never stop being great. I am even more surprised to see that some of the zombie-like audience from its predecessor looks much better now. The same applies to the cheerleader teams. Add to that the new dynamic system that changes the time of the day as the match progresses, and it all adds to the immersion that no other game has been able to replicate.

A Technical Upgrade in Almost Every Way

Presentation aside, the technical aspect is equally great, if not better. While College Football 25 already brought many improvements to the football gaming landscape, it improved everything further in this entry. For starters, there aren’t clunky animations anymore or balls that magically teleport to a player’s hand. Every move, pass, and tackle has surgical precision, making EA Sports College Football 26 one of the most realistic sports games out there.

When it comes to plays, the playbook has been expanded considerably. I can’t even count how many plays there are now, but there are hundreds of them. Furthermore, the in-game UI is much easier to understand. It all makes executing plays a lot smoother for fledgling coaches of freshmen jumping on RTG for the first time.

Beyond the planning, controlling players never felt better. Initially, I thought the controls felt a bit slower and heavier, but that was not the actual case. College Football 26 aims for a more precise and realistic feel when playing. Tackling is much smoother and gets rid of floaty animations. Throwing and catching rewards positioning and encourages players to actually know where the ball will land, instead of praying for the game’s engine to teleport it to your location. Of course, the Wear and Tear system is back, with more visual feedback and effects that affect how your players perform.

One complaint I have about this entry is that it doesn’t really ease players into the intricate mechanics. If you’re a football fan, you’re already many yards ahead. But assuming you’re new or not that well-versed in the sport, all systems can get overwhelming. However, playing a few matches will fix that. Still, I wish the onboarding process were easier for players.

The Same Old Road

EA Sports College Football 26 brings the same game modes we saw last year, with a few changes. Some are great, some not so much. As a disclaimer, I didn’t play Ultimate Team that much. I’ve never been a fan of that one, so I tend to skip it as I prefer Dynasty and Road to Glory. So, I’ll focus mostly on the latter.

Dynasty Mode was surprisingly fun and one I didn’t delve into that much back in College Football 25. I’ll explain why in a bit. Here, you still build your team, use your coach hours to recruit and scout players, and try to lead them to the top as the season progresses. Out of all game modes, this is the most packed one. It adds significant strategy layers off-field and then lets you control everything during matches. As someone who always enjoys a mix of planning and execution, this is a match made in heaven, and for me, the perfect mode in EA Sports College Football 26. Again, the only minor complaint I have is the onboarding process, which is lacking.

Now, my biggest disappointment, and it hurts to say it: Road to Glory. In the ’25 edition, Road to Glory was everything for me. I created my Wildcats player, Chris P. Bacon, and saw him rise from his days on the bench to being the first HB on the team. Here, I wanted to do the same, but I was really expecting something different or fresh. There wasn’t anything of the sort.

The one cool thing is that you now start in your senior year and get to pick your top 10 schools and then narrow it down to three. After that, there’s a ceremony where you pick the hat of the college you’re going to. There’s even a cheeky fake hat grab function, which is fun as you hear the audience gasp at your choices. Other than that, it is the same, or even worse. I’m not asking for RPG-like dialogues, but everything felt shallow. The same decisions, mechanics, gameplay loop, etc. For a game mode that felt so innovative and immersive, the lack of new additions made me abandon Chris P. Bacon before I could even reach a season’s end.

The Proper Way to Do a Yearly Sports Game

Overall, EA Sports College Football 26 is an excellent sports game and the best on the market. I have a few complaints about it, but the polish and attention to detail eclipse these minor hiccups. I wish Road to Glory had gotten new things to do, but it is something I’m willing to overlook, especially when Dynasty mode is the ultimate way to experience every mechanic in the game.

Since EA Sports College Football 26 launched before Madden 26, I can only hope for the latter to take a few pages out of the former’s playbook. College Football is once again showing that it can raise the bar with its yearly releases, with its unmatched atmosphere and smooth gameplay. Hopefully, this will only spell good things for the genre and for fans of these bombastic football matches.

Review copy provided by the Publisher.

EA Sports College Football 26 (PS5 Reviewed)

8.5 Great!

EA Sports College Football 26 is a clear improvement upon its predecessor and delivers the best sports gaming experience of the year. While one of its modes falls short, the whole package is terrific and a must-play for football fans.