The best time of the year is almost here. I’m scrolling message boards daily, drinking the Kool-Aid, and getting almost irritable watching the days tick down. Just bring me some college football! My Oklahoma Sooners are ready for anyone this year, and I think this is finally the year we can run the dang ball (Please, OL…). My Saturdays are ready to be taken over. But that aside, with another year comes another new EA Sports College Football game, this time aptly named EA Sports College Football 27.
I’ve taken quite a bit of time to write this review, but in all honesty, EA Sports College Football 27 has changed a lot since launch. In case you missed it, EA rolled back some very intrusive microtransactions after fan outcry. In addition, some major tweaks were made to Dynasty and to blocking overall, both of which are appreciated. So, where does College Football 27 sit ahead of Week “0”? I’d say it’s pretty dang good.
Huddle Up
If you’ve had the chance to check out either College Football 25 or College Football 26, you know what to expect here. Rosters have been updated following the chaos that is the transfer portal, some mechanical updates have been added, and there are a few new additions to the game this year. Ultimately, though, College Football 27 is built around the same main modes seen in previous titles: Dynasty, Road to Glory, College Football Ultimate Team, and Road to the College Football Playoff. Of course, there are always online modes, too, to play with friends or randoms.
Honestly, I know it can be tiring to see a lack of new modes each year, but these are what the hardcore base wants and plays. I don’t fault EA for sticking with what works and refining it. This year, however, there is a new mode that is a blast to play, Mascot Mashup, which brings back the beloved mode with 120 playable mascots. This is the chaotic and goofy side of the older NCAA games I adored, so I was really happy to see this make a return. It’s definitely nice to jump in and play as a team of Georgia Bulldogs or Oregon Ducks after getting trashed online.
Once you hop on the field, things don’t feel too different from last year, but I’ve found myself appreciating some of the changes the longer I’ve played. The run game, for example, feels more mature, as you can actually let blocks develop instead of just praying a hole opens up while you gun it up the middle. There were some frustrating missed assignments and strange blocking behavior at launch, especially on offense, but EA has cleaned up most of those issues through patches.
Dynasty is still the mode that can consume entire nights, and I found this to be the area that EA Sports College Football 27 changes the most. The new Dynasty Blueprint system gives you a limited pool of resources to split between your coaching staff, facilities, recruiting, and current NIL. It’s eerily and unfortunately realistic, and it made me feel like a true GM as I attempted to build up my program. You get judged not just on wins but possibly things like beating rivals, reaching the Playoff, and more.
Finally Available on PC
Alongside the new additions to gameplay, this year marks the first time since the series returned that PC players are invited to the tailgate. College Football 27 launched across Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. I’ve had the chance to play the game across PC and the PlayStation 5, and overall, I’m really happy with the PC performance.
My 3060Ti handled the game quite well, which satisfied me considering it was marked as the recommended GPU for 1440p. Alongside the 3060Ti, I have an i7-11700K and 32GB of DDR4 RAM, and I was able to run the game at a consistent 60 FPS at 1440p with High settings. Do be warned your RAM will be swallowed whole, though. There are a surprising number of graphical options that are a welcome addition to the PC port, like the ability to have different graphics settings for cutscenes and gameplay and support for 30, 60, 120, and uncapped frame rates.
However, a major omission is the lack of upscaling options. I’m thrilled that my game runs as well as it does, but it’s a little head-scratching to see a lack of support for DLSS or FSR, especially considering there is support for ray-tracing. Hopefully, EA adds some of these options in a future update.
Junior Year Has Proven to Be Worthwhile
EA Sports College Football 27 does not reinvent the wheel, but it brings some nice additions and refinements to a formula that’s largely been good since the return of CFB games. At this point, I don’t think EA needs to go back to the drawing board or move toward reinventing aspects of the game. The current approach is working, and each entry is feeling better than the last for the most part.
There are still some rough edges here and there, but I’ve genuinely had a good time with the PC version. As a whole, there are still some additions I’d love to see, like a true high school experience in Road to Glory, spring games, and of course, even more presentation bits. Still, College Football 27 should satisfy anyone who previously enjoyed the series while giving longtime fans enough to keep things interesting.
EA Sports College Football 27 is so close to greatness. The foundation is there, and when it clicks, man does it click. The atmosphere is spot-on, the chaotic nature of the game is there, and there’s clearly immense passion in modes like Dynasty. However, I still want more from modes like Road to Glory, and above all else, I want to see some surprises next year. Mascot Mashup is a blast and my go-to at the moment, but heading into senior year, I need EA to show me something unexpected.
My biggest hope for College Football 28 is a Nintendo Switch 2 version. I’m thrilled Madden 27 finally added 60 FPS support, and I really want to be able to take my Sooners with me wherever. EA, it’s a no-brainer; I’m thrilled for PC, but please make this happen next year.
Disclaimer: EA provided a PC (EA App) copy of EA Sports College Football 27 for review purposes.
