If you've played FC before, you'll know the feeling of your defender lunging into a tackle you never asked for. That's the thing EA have gone after hardest this year.
The theme running through every mode is control. Players told EA the game was doing too much for them, so a lot of what used to happen automatically now happens because you decide it should.
Defending is on you
The biggest change. Previously, your AI-controlled defenders would have a go at winning the ball whenever an attacker came near enough. In FC 27 they hold their shape instead, staying in position and supporting you rather than diving in.
Tackling becomes a decision you make, not something the game makes for you. Your defenders will still pick up a loose ball that rolls their way, or win it if an attacker runs straight into them, but they won't take possession on your behalf.
It'll feel harder at first. That's rather the point.
Attackers who find space properly
At the other end, forwards are smarter about where they run. The old problem was predictability: attackers drifting into crowded areas, arriving late, or making the obvious run rather than the useful one.
FC 27 gives them better awareness of the space around them, so runs curve and bend to suit the move as it develops rather than following a set pattern. If you've ever watched a striker peel off the shoulder at exactly the right moment and thought the game should let you do that, this is EA's attempt at it.
And plenty more
There's a long list beyond those two. Corner kicks and crossing have been reworked, with more variety in how you deliver a ball into the box and how attackers attack it. Passing has changed, with updates to through balls and dinked passes. You can manually trigger overlapping and underlapping runs. There's a new off-balance dribbling system, and the usual round of PlayStyles and attribute updates.
Every BWSL player is in the game, so all of it applies whoever you're playing as.
Read the full gameplay deep dive on the official EA SPORTS FC™ 27 site.