Paulo Dybala is one of the mentors found in The Grounds – is it really as bad as it appears? (Image: EA Sports)
This week, leaked footage of the EA FC 27 closed beta test had the internet in a meltdown. “Who asks for this?” one Reddit user said.
They were of course referring to the newest game mode in the EA Sports FC franchise. The Grounds is an open world social hub that brings together 100 players ready to take part in the series’ Clubs mode. It includes a host of customisation options in the form of stores dotted around its three districts inspired by football cultures around the world.
Many gamers have raised concerns about The Grounds, especially comparing it to NBA 2K’s controversial The City. Another Redditor said just that, and raised the valid concern that empty space could be the mode’s downfall.
They wrote: “I am [an] oldhead NBA 2K enjoyer. There is nothing worse than big city with lots of unused space and points of interest in different corners of the hub.”
A third added: “My initial reaction is, I hope I dont have to use this or participate in it. Open world and sports just are not genres I feel need to mix it up together.”
These worries are totally understandable. Nobody wants to spend minutes running through a virtual High Street loaded with storefronts that are either superficial or trying to sell you stuff you don’t want or need.
But the reality isn’t quite as dire as the social media echo chambers might have you believe. The Grounds is a bit of a strange mode, for sure, but it is essentially only needed if you’re a fan of the Clubs mode.
Admittedly, Clubs is wildly popular and probably second only to Ultimate Team in terms of the most used EA FC game modes. But much like anything, you can choose not to partake in this.
Is The Grounds as bad as it’s being made out to be? I don’t think so. I’ve had access to the EA FC 27 closed beta for just over a week, and tried out The Grounds a fair bit.
Maybe I’m not an ideal tester for it because I am simply not that big of a Clubs person. Yet, as someone who spends most of their time in Ultimate Team and Career Mode, I actually found the casual street games scattered around the districts to be a genuine breath of fresh air away from the sweat-inducing grind of FUT Champions.
The Grounds is far from perfect – but has a lot of potential (Image: EA Sports)
Exploring the environment felt surprisingly fluid, and the minigames offer a quick-fire change of pace. Crucially, the viral video clips misrepresent how the mode actually runs – compressed 10-second leaks showed janky animations and players clipping through walls.
In my hands-on testing, I haven’t seen a single ghost-sprinting Sterling or broken NPC collision. It’s incomplete beta code, but in motion, it feels far more cohesive than the clips suggest.
Let’s also remember that the best way to signal to publishers that we’re not happy with something is to vote with our feet. If you don’t want to play The Grounds, then don’t – that’s the clearest message you could send EA that the mode isn’t working.
The Grounds won’t be for everyone, and EA will have to prove that it won’t devolve into a bloated ad-space. But judging an entire game mode off compressed leak clips does a disservice to what could be a new, fun experiment for Clubs players. Before we burn it all down, let’s at least wait until we get controller-in-hand with the final build.
