EA Sports FC 24: Ultimate Edition

While it isn’t another literal copy-and-paste of last year’s version, EA Sports FC 24 is still leagues worse on Nintendo Switch.

With a rebrand and the FIFA license out of the picture, EA Sports FC 24 signals a new era for the long-running series, but it's mostly business as usual.

With the license gone this is the beginning of a new era, but it feels like business as usual - for better and for worse.

No, really-they've actually changed things this year, and the football feels better.

The most playable FIFA – oops! – in years. This is an encouraging new start for the EA Sports FC franchise, with Ultimate Team innovations truly standing out, and PlayStyles adding a smart new wrinkle to the on-turf action.

The latest game in what was previously known as the Fifa series has some added RPG elements for upgrading players' skills

EA Sports FC 24 isn't the huge departure that we'd hoped for. While Ultimate Team devotees will likely be happy, the rest of the game feels like an afterthought in the transition away from the FIFA license.

EAFC 24 might go about achieving its goals in a slightly different way to the FIFA series, but it lands at the same end result. The same tempting sticker book collect-a-thon and absorbing gameplay carousel makes EAFC 24 a virtual footballing platform that demands your attention and is difficult to put down. Emulating the signature moves of your sporting heroes with box-office Playstyles is a highlight, but there will always be questions about whether the mechanic can stand up to the test of millions of players probing for overpowered exploits.

FIFA 24 in all but name, EA Sports FC 24 is not the bold reboot many may have hoped for when the publisher announced it was breaking away from football’s governing body. But beneath the air of familiarity is another slick soccer sim, with some smart new additions like PlayStyles and Precision Passing which help stamp a bit more personality on a previously robotic experience. Additions to Ultimate Team bring flexibility to the game’s flagship mode, while the developer has been listening to its fanbase, and is slowly iterating on oft neglected areas like Career Mode and Clubs.

After years of lazy, half-hearted Legacy Editions, EA Sports has finally delivered a football game on the Switch that offers full feature parity with other consoles. A much-needed engine upgrade trades frame rate for fidelity, but Switch owners finally have a port they can be proud of, rather than feeling like an afterthought.