REVIEW: Football Manager 27 on PC

Review by Jon Donnis

Football Manager 27 arrives with the difficult task of restoring confidence in a series that has increasingly struggled to justify its annual releases. Following the troubled transition to the Unity engine in Football Manager 26, Sports Interactive has had an opportunity to address the problems, refine the experience and deliver the management simulation fans expect. There are some welcome improvements, but also enough familiar frustrations to suggest the series is still some distance from reaching its full potential.

The redesigned interface is the most immediately noticeable improvement. Navigation is considerably easier than in FM26, with fewer steps required to find information and greater flexibility through customisable screens, bookmarks and shortcuts. The return of club colours is particularly welcome, giving the interface a stronger connection to individual teams, while the improved news hubs provide more information about other leagues, clubs and managers. The result is a footballing world that feels more alive, rather than everything revolving around the club I happen to be managing.

Unfortunately, not every design decision works. The new font is blurry and difficult to read, particularly on higher-resolution monitors, while poor colour contrast makes certain menus uncomfortable to use. The absence of a proper light interface option is another frustration. Some screens also feel designed primarily with tablets and consoles in mind rather than PC players. The squad screen is a particular disappointment, displaying relatively few players at once and requiring unnecessary scrolling. Selecting a starting eleven directly from the main squad screen is also less straightforward than it should be. These might seem like minor complaints, but when managing a club involves spending countless hours navigating menus, they quickly become irritating.

On the pitch, FM27 introduces several worthwhile improvements. The match engine offers greater tactical depth, with changes to formations and instructions having a noticeable influence on how matches develop. Player movement is more convincing, particularly among defenders, while blocks, tackles and last-minute interventions look considerably more realistic. Motion capture also helps deliver more natural animations, making matches feel less mechanical.

The improved stadium presentation, crowds, weather and lighting make match days feel more immersive, particularly during European competitions. However, the graphical improvements are not quite as impressive as I would have hoped. The 3D match engine still looks dated in places, and some aspects of its presentation actually feel like a step backwards compared with previous editions. Regenerated player faces remain another weak point, doing little to improve the overall appearance.

Defending is perhaps the biggest contradiction in the new match engine. Although individual defensive animations have improved, the actual behaviour of defenders can be extremely frustrating. Full-backs sometimes appear content to escort opposing wingers towards the penalty area rather than attempting a challenge, while centre-backs can be surprisingly passive when dealing with crosses. It is difficult to appreciate the improved defensive animations when players occasionally seem incapable of making basic defensive decisions.

Attacking play has its own problems. Too many opportunities develop down the wings, with crosses becoming an excessively dominant method of scoring. Strikers are frequently caught offside, while opposition goals occasionally appear to come from offside positions without being ruled out. The repeated appearance of similar highlights and goals also makes matches feel increasingly repetitive, undermining some of the improvements to the match presentation.

The wider problem is the match engine's apparent inconsistency. There is something to be said for making football less predictable, and FM27's increased difficulty encourages greater tactical preparation. Simply downloading a popular tactic and expecting it to work everywhere is no longer a reliable route to success. Managers need to analyse opponents, adapt their approach and make changes when things are not working.

However, there is a difference between unpredictability and randomness. Too many matches feel like pot luck, with results bearing little relationship to the relative quality of the teams or their tactical preparation. Away victories are particularly difficult to achieve, and the balance between home and away results can feel completely unrealistic. Established clubs can also finish surprisingly low in the table, making it difficult to accept the footballing world being generated as a believable reflection of real football.

Tactical Effectiveness is another addition that has divided the experience. The system makes training more meaningful, encouraging greater involvement in player development and helping managers understand how effectively their squad can execute particular instructions. In principle, this is a worthwhile development. In practice, however, there are situations where it makes little sense. Even technically superior teams can struggle to execute relatively straightforward formations, including a conventional 4-4-2. The pressing system also feels excessively weakened, making pressing tactics considerably less effective than they should be.

Away from the pitch, the returning Data Hub and improved scouting system provide useful information when assessing recruitment targets and analysing performances. The wider game world also benefits from additional licensing. FM27 features 59 playable nations, including the fully licensed Arkema Première Ligue and Roshn Saudi League. The French Football Federation partnership brings official logos, kits and player faces to the French women's top division, while Indonesian language support is another welcome addition. There is also the option for your in-game manager to use a wheelchair, providing another degree of character customisation.

The new Shuffle Draft multiplayer mode, developed in partnership with FIFAe, is an interesting addition. Supporting between two and 32 players, it allows participants to draft teams from a customisable player pool before competing in a tournament. Formats include a knockout competition, a group stage followed by knockouts, or a full season-long league. It offers something different from the traditional management experience, although online multiplayer stability still needs attention, particularly when joining games.

Unfortunately, several longstanding problems remain. I still find the AI's approach to transfers, wages and squad building frustrating, with computer-controlled clubs regularly making questionable decisions. Interactions and press conferences still feel outdated, with little meaningful development to make conversations more interesting or consequential. There are also familiar technical problems carried over from FM26, including issues with staff searches and unavailable-player filters. These are precisely the sorts of problems that should have been addressed rather than carried into another annual release.

That brings me to the wider question of what Football Manager is actually trying to achieve. Each edition introduces changes, improvements and additional features, but the underlying experience remains remarkably familiar. That is not necessarily a criticism in itself. Football management is a specialised genre, and there is only so much that can be changed without fundamentally altering what makes the series appealing. However, when familiar bugs persist, neglected features receive little attention and supposedly improved systems introduce fresh problems, it becomes increasingly difficult to get excited about another annual instalment.

Football Manager 27 is undoubtedly an improvement over FM26. I particularly appreciate the more accessible interface, the livelier footballing world and the improvements to scouting and tactical analysis, although the match engine still has some considerable problems. There is enough here to make the experience enjoyable, particularly for newcomers.

However, neither FM26 nor FM27 comes close to matching Football Manager 24, and neither reaches the heights of Football Manager 2012. That is ultimately the problem. We are essentially being asked to buy another version of the same game every year, without necessarily getting the best version of that game in return. Some things improve, others remain untouched, and occasionally problems from previous editions are simply carried forward.

What exactly is the point of releasing a new game every year if the overall experience is not consistently getting better?

For newcomers, Football Manager 27 is a perfectly reasonable starting point. It offers plenty of depth and enough improvements over its predecessor to make it worthwhile. Returning players will find things to appreciate, but those who have been playing the series for years may struggle to overlook the familiar shortcomings.

As a standalone game, Football Manager 27 deserves a 7 out of 10. It is a good football management simulation and certainly better than its immediate predecessor. However, after so many annual releases, it is difficult not to wonder whether Sports Interactive is improving the series or simply finding new ways to repackage it.

Out Now on PC

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4530370/Football_Manager_27/