Madden25
I’ve only had Madden 25 for 48 hours, but I’ve already played all of my qualifying matches online head-to-head, fired up a few franchise modes, played the mini-games, dug deep into the customization options, and tried out Superstar Mode and Ultimate Team.
I’ll wrap up my tour of the game by Friday, when the game officially launches and the embargo on rated reviews is lifted. In the meantime, here are the ten things I learned about Madden 25 in my first 24 hours with the game.
Notes are received from the second 24 onwards.
Players are more tangible
Madden 25 hits
For the first time in the series’ history, I can feel the physics-based tackling that the Madden team has been talking about for years. I took a break and let my son play a few games, and he said, “My controller has never rumbled so much in Madden.”
This was a perfect observation and a way to capture the feel of this year’s game. Players are much more responsive to contact and there are far fewer instances where your immersion is broken due to an unrealistic situational animation.
This feature is an important reason for the next item on the list.
I enjoy the gameplay… Think College Football 25
This is by far the most fun I’ve had playing Madden in years.
It’s fun to control dynamic players on both sides of the ball, and the development team has found the right balance in collisions, allowing for satisfying shots that help transfer energy when defending.
Likewise, some of the move combinations that can be performed in the open field are becoming a playground for content creators across social media.
It feels a lot like College Football 25 – especially after the patch – just with far more well-known players.
Madden could benefit from a dynamic difficulty setting
Many users default to All-Madden or All-Pro when playing, but the series could benefit from a dynamic difficulty setting. Madden had this option years ago, but it was removed for some reason.
Dynamic difficulty is great for helping offline users find their optimal difficulty level without forcing them to level up when it’s time for a new challenge.
I appreciate this option in MLB the Show and miss it in Madden.
Franchise mode feels more alive… but
As soon as you get to the dashboard in Franchise Mode you can feel the difference, it’s amazing what a UI refresh can do.
Much of the information available is not new. It is just organized in a way that makes it more accessible and fun to browse through.
New is the conversation system in Franchise mode, which feels more like a rogue-lite experience and is ideal for playing the role of head coach or owner of a football team.
In short, the engine is powered by promises, commitments, goals, successes and failures. The rewards are attribute improvements and team and employee upgrades that help build a successful organization.
The panel on the left side of the screen does a great job of reminding you of the promises and commitments you’ve made, and the cutscenes do the heavy lifting in telling the stories that make for an effective Franchise Mode experience.
On the negative side, the halftime show needs improvement and we don’t have a weekly recap. We’re missing highlights from other teams’ games, so we need to make it relevant to the user somehow.
Imagine if your best plays could be included in the top 10 of the week and winning the fan vote could earn you an XP boost, an ability, or maybe even an X-factor. This could lead to more fans or spectators in the stadium.
Maybe watching highlights will serve as a prep metric for your team or coaching staff. I’m just throwing ideas out there, but hopefully EA sees the vision. I understand EA doesn’t want to invest in something users will skip, but the challenge is to make it important first and then have users appreciate the work after integrating it into the flow of Franchise Mode.
Superstar mode has a lot to offer
I admit that Superstar Mode is sometimes a sideshow for me, but I’ve been trying it out seriously for the past two days and I’m happy with the basic structure. The additional quests bring the mode to life and make you more immersed in your character.
The Combine seems to be relevant to and impacts the player you select, giving you a little more involvement from the start.
The shackles are loosened during adjustment
Besides the improved gameplay, the best thing I’ve learned about Madden 25 is the newfound depth of customization. From more player heads in player creation to TeamBuilder (which doesn’t have the same limitations as the College Football 25 version), Madden Franchise Mode feels as much like a sandbox experience as ever.
Since Franchise Mode is fully customizable, I’ll still be spending most of my time in this mode.
The soundtrack is outstanding
I don’t usually care about the quality of the soundtrack in a game. My time as a content creator has made me afraid to play music for fear of a copyright lawsuit or a strike.
Additionally, if I neglect to mute the sound of game soundtracks, I usually end up with a song stuck in my head for months that I couldn’t initially say I liked.
Nevertheless, there are some hits on this soundtrack.
Older songs like 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” and Mustard’s “Ballin'” were pleasant surprises, while newer tracks from Rapsody like “Back in My Bag” and “Madden 25” appealed to me and officially put me on RLDGLDGRN (Red, Gold, Green).
I’ll still turn it off, but as long as it’s on, that’s a mood.
The mini-games are a blast
EA has done a great job putting together different mini-games for each position. Call me weird, but some of the games for kickers and punters are my favorites.
They remind me of the mini-games in Virtua Tennis, which are still the best I’ve ever played in a sports game.
Madden’s mini-games offer us a great mix of arcade and football-centric concepts.
Not every commentary team offers the same quality
I like the idea of having multiple commentary teams, and this criticism shouldn’t stop EA from going deeper into this type of expansion. While Mike Tirico, Greg Olsen, Kate Scott, and Brock Huard offer a different sound than Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis, the flow of their lines isn’t quite there yet.
It took years of piecing together old and new lines from Gaudin and Davis before things got to where they are today with this team. That attitude isn’t a criticism of the talent; it’s more of an acknowledgment that it will take some time for the new teams to sound as good as the old ones.
The new season mode almost convinced me to play more MUT
I’m not a huge Ultimate Team fan for the following reason: Whenever I play a game or mode, I ask myself two questions: What is my motivation and where does it end?
As for MUT, I have a hard time answering both of those questions. The other discrepancy for me comes when I see cards that have defensive linemen as kickers and unrealistically buffed cards to increase the power curve.
While it’s obviously a winning formula, it’s just not my cup of tea. Still, more power to hardcore MUT players and kudos to EA for pioneering this concept.
That said, the Solo Seasons feature answers the first two questions. While it doesn’t satisfy the PvP craving, it does give me a bit of a Franchise Mode feel by providing a season and post-season format.
Stay tuned for my full review coming later this week.
