Another year means another round of EA Sports games. While the series felt fresh after a decade-long break last year, College Football 26 is now firmly in annual franchise territory, meaning it will be subject to extra scrutiny. No longer will the game be evaluated on its own, but instead, in contrast to the previous year's model, to see if it's worth the price of admission.

College Football 26 is largely the same as College Football 25, but where it's different is where it shines. There have been some genuinely great improvements to the previous game that prove EA Sports listened to some of the criticism players had. Some updates to Dynasty mode and Road to Glory are also nice steps forward, though certain aspects of these modes could still use a little work.

College Football 26's Changes Add Up

Some Subtle Changes Greatly Improve The Gameplay Experience

One of the biggest questions players ask themselves when considering a new annual sports title is "what's different from last year?" This can sometimes be hard to tell when looking at the big picture, as College Football 26's basic gameplay hasn't changed all that much at first glance. However, while the changes may be subtle, that doesn't mean they don't have a big impact on gameplay.

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Several of College Football 26's seemingly small changes are actually major quality of life improvements to last year's game. A good example of this is how the new playbook UI shows the button inputs for receivers on each play. This cuts down on the need to check your routes, which both saves time and stops you from revealing your game plan to your opponent in multiplayer. This adjustment also addresses complaints over Stadium Pulse making receiver buttons disappear in College Football 25.

Expanded playbooks are another aspect of College Football 26 that improves the overall experience. Although casual players who stick with the coach's suggestions might not notice a huge change, anyone who likes to dive deeper into their choices will be very pleased to find 2,800 new plays and over 45 new formations. This is especially nice when crafting a custom playbook, as you'll have all the tools you need to play the game exactly the way you want.

Realism Is Still The Name Of The Game, And EA Continues To Make Improvements

New Gameplay Features And Player Abilities Make College Football 26 Feel More True-To-Life

Part of the appeal of the EA Sports College Football franchise is its realism, which is determined by a few factors. On-the-field gameplay is obviously one of them, but how players are built behind the scenes, and presentation are other aspects that play a big role too. College Football 26 does a good job building on the foundation of last year's model to create an even more realistic experience. One of the best updates this year is to the way tackling works.

Finding the right difficulty for breaking tackles is important in a football game. There have been games where the truck stick feels like a cheat code, and others where ball carriers go down the instant a defender touches them. College Football 26 has managed to find the perfect balance between these two, creating a more realistic experience where breaking tackles are possible, but also not guaranteed. The realistic messiness also creates some very exciting moments when players manage to squeak through defenders and gain massive yardage.

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The improved realism around tackling is helped in part by the extension of player abilities, some of which give players an advantage when trying to break tackles under specific circumstances. The larger list of abilities also improves realism by allowing College Football 26 to create more differentiation between athletes. More than ever, the players on your team feel like actual individuals as opposed to interchangeable character models.

This also extends to coaches, as College Football 26 now also includes their likenesses. You also have the option to play as these real coaches in Dynasty mode, where you'll benefit from their unique abilities to recruit, motivate, and direct players. All these abilities are also available for your custom players and coaches, allowing you to craft a more unique individual for your Dynasty or Road to Glory playthroughs.

The Good Outweighs The Bad In College Football 26's Various Game Modes

College Football 26's Game Modes Improve In Most Ways, Though Have Stagnated In Others

A game like College Football 26 lives and dies by how well it manages its various game modes. You can only play so many quick-play games before you want a richer experience from the game, which is where Dynasty, Road to Glory, and Ultimate Team modes come into play. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, but overall, College Football 26's game modes do a lot to enhance the experience.

One of my favorite additions to Road to Glory this year was the high school mode. Before entering college, you select your top 10 schools, then participate in a series of challenges framed as defining moments of your high school career. Your performance in these challenges determines whether you get into your top-choice schools or not. This added high stakes to the challenges, aside from just their impact on your player's rating, and I was genuinely thrilled when I finally managed to secure an offer from my number-one school, the University of Oregon.

Another fun aspect of Road to Glory's high school mode was the ability to import a custom team. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a user named CCider had expertly recreated my hometown's Highland Park Giants, complete with a perfect rendering of our most controversial logo. It's worth noting I didn't get a crack at making the team myself, because EA's Team Builder is currently down for maintenance.

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Dynasty mode also has some meaningful and positive changes. It was a bit too easy to secure and retain talented players last year, making rebuilds of struggling programs a bit too easy. However, the revamped transfer portal makes holding onto your best players a more realistic struggle than it had previously been. If you're planning to turn the newly added Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens into a powerhouse, it will be a much more realistic challenge now.

As mentioned before, Dynasty mode also now includes the option to play as real coaches. This is a nice addition for players who might not want to build a coach from scratch, but do already know a real-life college football coach whose style they'd like to emulate. Of course, this does mean your coach can't have a vibrant green mustache, so it's worth considering what you lose when you pick a real coach, too.

Every New Mascot In College Football 26

Several new mascots make their debut in College Football 26, bringing additional characters to represent the spirit of their schools in many modes.

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Sadly, the role-playing aspect of both Dynasty mode and Road to Glory continues to feel half-baked. You're often faced with simplistic decisions that boil down to whether you'd like to be rude for no reason. I imagine that there are many complex and interesting choices that student athletes and coaches face that would make for a compelling addition to this aspect of the game. If EA doesn't want to take the time to develop this feature, I'd prefer it if it were removed and stopped wasting my time between practice and games.

College Football 26's Ultimate Team mode continues to be what it was in last year's game, and has been in Madden for years: a polarizing grind with a monetization problem. For some, the grind of Ultimate Team mode is appealing, and I can understand the general appeal of climbing the ladder in a competitive multiplayer mode. However, I still find it hard to sink extra money into a game mode that will essentially reset when next year's game comes out. You know what you're getting with Ultimate Team mode, so you probably already know if it's for you or not.

College Football 26's Presentation Continues To Impress

College Football 26's Visuals And Attention To Detail Are Top Notch

One of my favorite aspects of College Football 25's presentation was the inclusion of school-specific mascots, celebrations, and traditions. My biggest complaint with this was that more schools didn't have their own mascots and celebrations, making the experience somewhat uneven depending on the school you played at. I was therefore very pleased to see College Football 26 had added 37 new mascots. While still not entirely comprehensive, this makes the experience feel much more finished than last year's game.

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Another aspect of College Football 26's presentation that I truly enjoy is the new day and night cycle. If you're playing an afternoon game, the sun will set as you play. Although this doesn't affect the gameplay all that much, it helps further the sense of realism, which is much appreciated.

If I have one gripe with the presentation of this game, it's with the Stadium Pulse camera vibration. This effect continues to be sickening, and is just as distracting to the defenders as the offense, somewhat defeating its intended purpose. Messing with pass routes, and making kicks more difficult are adequate at showing the impact a home crowd can have on visitors. Luckily, you can turn this feature off in the settings, which I strongly recommend doing if you don't want to feel nauseated while playing.

College Football 26 Passes The Ultimate Test For A Sports Title

College Football 26 Is Worth Buying, Even If You Have Last Year's Game

Recommending College Football 26 to someone who didn't play last year's game is easy. It's the best football game on the market right now, and I have serious doubts that this year's Madden will change that. However, the true test of College Football 26's quality comes down to whether it's worth buying if you already have last year's game. While perhaps not doing so with flying colors, College Football 26 does improve enough on last year's game to pass.

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Overall, College Football 26 was a pleasant surprise. I had assumed my enthusiasm for College Football 25 was largely due to the novelty of having a new college football game after so many years, and I honestly didn't think this year's game could eclipse the hype. I am happy to admit when I'm wrong, especially if it means getting a great new College Football experience.

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