Football Manager 26
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Football Manager 26
SI's gap year was well spent on a fantastic match engine update, but progress is still too slow between games.
A new tactical interface and improved match engine are title-worthy, but a frustrating UI, missing features, and numerous bugs drag Football Manager 26 into a relegation battle.
Football Manager 26 is the first step of a new era, and as we're seeing with some of the biggest clubs in the country, any new era comes with the challenge of rebuilding and both setting and meeting expectations. Football Manager 26 can get better with updates, but I doubt that this entry will be the one to make the most of the switch to the new engine, overhauled UI and new features. It might take one or two more years for this rebuild to really meet its potential.
After a two-year wait, Football Manager 26 upgrades every aspect of the football sim, but it may take some getting used to
FM 26 remains the best management sim available, and it’s easy to lose hours to its deep, endlessly rewarding gameplay loop.
Football Manager 26 is finally back, and the work done is undoubtedly of the highest quality and taste. The primary goal was to revamp the game and start from scratch, but obviously the tried-and-true gameplay formula couldn't be completely overturned.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Overall, FM26 has impressed me but frustrated me just as much. We've finally got an improved match engine, women's football, and my favourite addition, the new in and out of possession tactic set-up, but I can't shake this feeling that too many changes have been made to the UI. For a game where you spend a lot of time in the menus, I feel that a lot of unnecessary and frustrating changes were made, that's left me finding it difficult to navigate my way around the game. When comparing it to FM24, improvements have been made, but there are also a few factors I've not enjoyed. So, all in all, FM26 is a fine addition to the Football Manager series, but it's far from groundbreaking.
Football Manager 26 marks the beginning of a new era. Unity brings with it a breath of fresh air, but that step forward has led to two steps back: the UI is dispersive, almost unbelievable in its capriciousness. In a management game where control is everything and analysis is also crucial, appearing with such cluttered screens is problematic
Review in Italian | Read full review
Industry Coverage
Despite 2-Year Wait, Football Manager 26 Is One Of Steam's Worst Reviewed Games
Football Manager 26 has had the longest development time in the series' history, but the delay hasn't borne fruit.
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