Lacrosse 26 is available now on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and if there’s a word that best describes it, it would be potential.
The first console lacrosse video game since 2018’s Casey Powell Lacrosse 18, Lacrosse 26 takes a bold risk in bringing the sport back to gamers. Rather than build on a system that’s nearly a decade old, the small five-person team at Crosse Studios decided to build this game from the ground up.
Using the Unity engine, Lacrosse 26 features a new system of player movement, animations, and more, aiming to bring more realism to the field than past games have had. In some aspects, it really works. In others, however, there are some concerns.
Before getting to the gameplay, let’s talk about the game mode offerings.
Lacrosse 26 features three main modes: Quick Play, Practice, and Franchise. Quick Play and Practice are self-explanatory, but Franchise is more of a college-like Dynasty mode than anything else.
You start by creating your team. A word to the wise, the creation suite is limited compared to what you might be used to from Casey Powell Lacrosse. You get a selection of team names and 99 logos to choose from, as well as one of 10 jersey designs. For your players, you can change their names and headshots, but not their attributes or anything like that. More customization options are planned for post-launch, but a timetable hasn’t been announced yet.
Once your team is created, you can start setting your lineup for each position group—attack, midfield, defense, and goaltender. Each position can have two groups set that you can quickly swap between during games. It makes substitutions a breeze and helps you create lineups for different game scenarios.
Elsewhere in the mode, you can improve your team’s fitness, morale, hype, and fan happiness using the money you earn while playing. Each category gives you different boosts, such as fitness, making your players faster, or team morale, increasing the XP you earn as a coach.
That XP is then used for scouting players for your program. As you play and either win or lose, you’ll have different caliber prospects interested in your program. Like other dynasty modes in sports, the better your program, the better the players you can target.
How Does It Play?
Of course, the main aspect everyone wants to know about is how Lacrosse 26 plays on the field. In all honesty, it’s a mixed bag.
Let’s start with what I really like. Player movement is head and shoulders above what the Casey Powell games were, along with many other independent sports games. They run with a smoothness that’s extremely hard to pull off, and the jukes and spins look just as good.
Shooting is another area that I think works well. The shot animations are fantastic compared to the past, and watching them on replay really highlights that.
The controls are very 2000s, where you use face buttons for shots and passes. For your shot, you’ll start by using the meter to get your power before using the left stick to pinpoint your shot. The better your players, the more accurate your shots. It’s really a system that’s easy to pick up, but takes a little bit to fully get the hang of. I strongly suggest utilizing practice for that. I would’ve liked to see more variety in shot types like diving and behind-the-back, among others, but there’s always the chance those get added in a later update.
As I said, though, the gameplay is a mixed bag. While player movement and shooting work great, passing is a bit of a hit or miss.
Passing always forces your players to be moving. Right now, there’s no way to just do standing passes or ball cycles. If you are standing still and pass, the animation forces your player to move forward. The lack of icon passing limits your targets, which can be frustrating if, even when you are trying to aim beyond, you are forced to pass to the player who’s standing five feet in front of you.
Defensively, it’s tough. You can’t intercept passes. There are body checks and stick checks, and I saw many complain about them not working. I had that feeling at first before I saw the meter under my player. The more in the middle you get, the more likely you are to land a successful hit.
Now, on to what I feel really needs to improve. The game can start to feel too easy rather quickly. There’s no difficulty scale aside from the ratings of the players. Once you really get the hang of the shooting, you can run up the scores with the better teams pretty easily.
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There are times when you can just win a faceoff, pick up the ball, and charge right at the net and shoot over and over. To make the game more difficult, I ended up creating my own challenges, like mandatory passes or long-distance shots. Also, the out-of-bounds logic needs some fixes, as there were instances when the ball would go out in an instance when it should be my possession, only for the opponent to keep the ball.
From a presentation point, I know the visuals will be a big point of debate for players. For me, I care more about how the game plays than what it looks like. Yes, it does look more like a 2010s Xbox Arcade title than something for 2026, but that’s not a terrible thing. For audio, Eamon McAnaney handles the play-by-play. Lines can get repetitive, and the audio splicing needs a bit of work, but it’s a nice touch for the game.
Lastly, in all my games, I didn’t see a single penalty called or injury happen. That takes a bit away from some of the immersion.
Lacrosse 26 Final Thoughts
I said at the beginning of this article that the one word I’d use to describe Lacrosse 26 is potential. And I stand by that.
There is a great foundation here for what the game can become. The shooting and player movement are the best Crosse Studios has produced, and its Franchise Mode is a good start for what they can expand to in the future.
But it’s not perfect, and I won’t pretend that it is. Passing works fine, but could use some improvements, and the defensive play and logic need tuning.
Crosse Studios says they are planning on listening to player feedback for updates to the game moving forward and will use that input to determine priority. If they take fan feedback seriously and work to address some of the pain points, we could be looking at the start of a new regular franchise in a sport that has long been neglected.
Have you picked up Lacrosse 26 yet? If so, what are your thoughts on the game so far? Leave your thoughts down in the comments and in the official Insider Gaming Discord.
Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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