FC 25 Rush: VOLTA out, small-field clubs in check

VOLTA is dead, long live Rush! With FC 25, EA SPORTS has quietly buried last year’s “street junk”. Instead, the small-field game format has become the gamescom headliner. A classic EA move: The new “Rush” is a mix of the old VOLTA and the always-existing Pro Clubs. Also game formats that were and are either well thought out or well made.

EA SPORTS takes these good ideas and pours them into a fast-paced, fun game. Even the money-making madness has not (yet) taken hold. This is then praised as an innovative move.

Just like in clubs, you only control a single kicker and therefore have no CPU team disadvantages or advantages: victory or defeat is in your hands – and those of the team.

Rush brings more dynamism to team play

Clubs has a problem: 11vs11 means that you rarely have the ball – little action, a lot of idle time. EA SPORTS has also given the football mode a few adrenaline shots and created Rush. Translated into German, this means something like “hectic, haste, rushing”.

The mode is very good overall, it almost seems as if the publisher has read our series on FIFA street football – almost all of our criticisms have been taken into account. Pure coincidence? Probably. But one thing is clear: EA SPORTS has finally created a really good experience.

Rush will be a new element in each of the four major FC game formats, appearing in FUT, Career Mode, Kick-Off and Clubs.

The game is played in small teams 4-on-4 plus a goalkeeper. The goalkeeper is taken over by the AI. The field is not the street, but the green grass without boards. This saves EA SPORTS a lot of programming effort. The developer only has to take the existing model and make it smaller.

It’s a shame that EA SPORTS is also throwing away all the VOLTA venues. But at least FUT has a similarly bombastic stadium.

There is also a fantastic stadium. In FUT, of course, and of course branded.
kicker eSport

In addition, the new mode includes time penalties for particularly hard fouls and short game durations of seven minutes with few, and if so short, interruptions: Rush. What makes small-field sports attractive in reality is also what EA SPORTS brings correctly to FC 25.

Rush only reaches its full potential with friends

If you have three friends on hand, the mode shows off all its strengths: team spirit, emotions, highs and lows, adrenaline and fun. It’s what Clubs is, so to speak, only it needs less than half as many people. We were able to play the mode intensively at gamescom and even keep up (somewhat) with pros like ‘BeneCR7’ and ‘MoAuba’. What an experience!

However, if you don’t have three friends, it becomes problematic. This is where EA SPORTS’ “rushed” reformatting of the mode comes into play. Thanks to the VOLTA disaster from previous years, the developer has already been able to fill in some of the construction sites. However, frustration, overwhelm and boredom remain part of the experience – depending on which mode you are playing. So here’s the details:

Frustration and mistakes in his career: Rush not yet mature

All bad things at launch: The Rush version in career mode is reminiscent of VOLTA times. Everything is unfinished, buggy and lame. We assume that EA SPORTS will make improvements before the full release – that’s how it was with VOLTA in 2023.

In the career mode, you can compete in tournaments with your youth players. These are pointless, but there is something else at stake here: the games accelerate the development of the youngsters and apparently even make them better. In addition, as we showed in the career mode test, you can already get a feel for it: Upcoming star and/or instant reinforcement?

A good approach from EA SPORTS, but not thought through to the end. Because of their poor rating, the players sneak around the pitch, play dull passes, and have hardly any game intelligence. This is garnished with a dull training ground atmosphere and a constantly running EA soundtrack – sometimes double-layered.

Dull training ground atmosphere in career mode rush.
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Goals are a matter of luck or exploiting the same mechanics over and over again. The mode degenerates into work with a terrible presentation: we need the increases in values, but have little desire to play the tournaments. In addition: tactical settings are completely missing, despite the much-hyped FC IQ. Even in the small field there are countless running routes, roles and formations.

Kick-off: Short-term fun, but little depth

What is slow in a career is adrenaline here. With BVB, the four selected players whizz across the pitch at three speeds. Suddenly, spontaneous moves are possible when the CPU “thinks along”. And it does this mainly in VOLTA. One player stays at the back to provide security and the men without the ball run away. EA SPORTS has done everything right here. However, this form of play is likely to lose its fascination quickly. It’s not about anything, if you’ve played three games, you’ve seen everything – but: the whole thing is also suitable for eSports.

Clubs: Hectic and chaos in rush mode

At least we frowned at gamescom when EA SPORTS officials praised the new mode. Rush has long been part of the football series – as Clubs. Here, 11v11 is played, but the mechanics and emotions are the same, those drawn from a party. To put it positively: EA SPORTS has finally recognized the potential of Clubs and given the principle a modern twist. It was about time.

Accordingly, nothing is new for veterans: the avatar is created, then it’s off to spontaneous games, where up to three random players are assigned. On the pitch, you only control your own player and that’s a drastic change. Suddenly, spaces have to be closed, players covered and the right inputs on the controller have to be made in even less time. Always under the pressure of one or two opponents charging towards you. It’s “hectic” fun!

In FUT the presentation is good, including celebration relics from VOLTA.
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However, completely different things are problematic here: In Early Access, only “sweaters” play, i.e. people with a lot of club experience. With and against the beginners, they have no chance. This leads to frustration for colleagues and for yourself. Because the opponents don’t stop scoring goals even at 1:10. If you don’t yet know how to behave against real players, you have two good actions per party.

The matchmaking also looks terrible once again – it’s possible that this will improve by the full release.

EA SPORTS hasn’t gotten rid of the idlers and egomaniacs either. The publisher told us at the trade fair that they won’t tell players how to play. But behavior can be influenced. The pros level up just by taking part in Rush games and get more points for participating in the game – goals, for example. This leads to inactivity. Contrary to the district league Ronaldo phenomenon: keep dancing around opponents until you score the goal of the month. So no one needs teammates. Club Rush should only be fun with a real team.

Those who play well get better ratings. In FUT you get nothing for this, in clubs you get skill points.
kicker eSports/Patrick Baur

FUT Rush: Team play rewarded, pay-to-win remains problematic

The same applies to FUT. Here, too, you only play one player and are dependent on matchmaking and teammates. What applies to clubs also applies here. However, there are two restrictions that provide a good insight into the way EA SPORTS thinks and acts. One is phenomenally good, the other is utterly reprehensible.

Instead of awarding coins based on CPU-calculated criteria such as “most shots on goal”, the four players have to complete tasks before the match. The selected players have to meet certain criteria: They have to be from a certain country or league. The more criteria are met, the more Season Pass points are awarded. This way, selfishness is not worth it, at least not financially, and EA SPORTS does this very well.

Bronze or gold? If you have it, play it. Once again, slow cards are not recommended.
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On the other hand, there is the pay-to-win mechanism, which EA SPORTS has taken to the extreme here. You can choose the card you play with. Whether it’s Bronze or TOTY – whoever has it, plays.

This has nothing to do with fairness. If you want to achieve something in FUT Rush, you have to draw more packs. At the start, EA SPORTS is at least restricting the rating cap – whether it will stay that way is doubtful.

In our tests, teammates quickly chose strikers – scoring goals is ultimately the only thing that counts. Here, too, a team of colleagues would work much better. EA SPORTS also rewards this teamwork with additional SP points.

Conclusion: Good mode, sensible reformatting

To put it briefly: Rush is an excellent reformatting of old mechanics. We were impressed that EA SPORTS worked on the core errors of VOLTA. No items to buy, no mini-games and, at least in FUT, meaningful player manipulation. The mode is great fun!

It’s a shame that mistakes in the career and bad matchmaking in the individual modes are still there. Otherwise, grab one or three colleagues and experience “hasty” small-field action without too much pressure. Why did it take five years and is now being sold by EA SPORTS as the greatest success despite the existing Clubs mode? Is this related to the popularity of Icon and Baller League? You can only shake your head and say: EA, that’s just it.