This is our year
I have finally won the Super Bowl. Each year when I review Madden, I make sure to run through an entire franchise mode with my Raiders, which is where I spend the bulk of my time with the game. Madden 26 has promised a ton of upgrades in this department this year, which was a big reason I was stoked for this year’s entry. Each year I come into this game with tempered expectations. A lot of times the upgrades are minimal, it feels a lot like last year with some tweaks here and some upgrades there, but being the only game in town, you will find me sinking dozens of hours into it. Madden 26 is the biggest upgrade in years but also drops the ball on some things. Let’s just get right into it. Are you ready for some football?
Let’s kick things off with the most important part, the game play. With College Football now in its sophomore season, we can finally see the collaboration between the teams take shape. A lot of the stuff found in that game has spilled over into Madden, and for the better. Little touches such as simple substitutions, wear and tear on players, and better secondary coverage. It is also neat coming off of College Football last month to see the speed tuning between the two games. Precision passing is still not my thing, but it has improved. Fans of that style are in for a treat.
MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $69.99
One of my biggest issues with last year’s game was the pass coverage. The CPU seemed to have a second sense when it came to taking away my passing game. Interceptions were abundant, and defensive backs would magically teleport to the ball from 2-5 yards away. It was annoying and I had to tune the sliders to account for this. This year that is fixed as DBs have to see the ball to intercept it, which is a nice touch. However, it comes with a different issue. This year’s game instead gives QBs zero time to react. Pass rushing is kind of nuts. I literally had 1-2 seconds on every single down to make a decision. It just wasn’t fun. So one step forward, one step sideways, but again sliders can solve these issues.
It feels like everything is give and take. The presentation has been improved in several ways. Let’s start off with the weather. Extreme weather is now available, and it completely changes the game. QBs will slip out of their plants, fumbles are more likely in heavy snow, as well as field vision being severely limited. I love this stuff. Weather in past games felt like it didn’t make a huge difference, so I could keep the same game plan, not the case in Madden 26. There are now specific score tickers for prime-time games and the intros for the stadiums are cool, though they tend to get repetitive after a few times as they are always the same. I love Charles Woodson, but he is NOT at every home game.
With all that said, one area presentation falls short is commentary. Last year we got three different commentary teams, and that is the same this year. The problem? They are basically repeating the same lines. Charles Davis and Brandon Gaudin remain the gold standard, but they seem to recycle a lot of their commentary from the past five years. Mike Tirico and Greg Olsen are the worst combo. Tirico sounds like he doesn’t want to be there while Greg rarely speaks. Kate Scott and Brock Huard are great but again recycle a lot of the same lines. Scott Hanson of Red Zone fame now does the halftime shows and weekly recaps, which are nice, but again come with caveats. The game doesn’t seem to respect its player stats. There is zero chance Aaron Rodgers ran an 80-yard touchdown while hurdling two defenders.
Alright, time to dig into Franchise Mode. This is where I spend the bulk of my time, so it is finally nice to see some substantial upgrades to the mode. From the outset coach creation has seen some decent additions, including some more face options and archetypes. They have done away with the skill tree and instead replaced it with points. These can be used to purchase upgrades on gameday to improve various things such as coverage and blocking. It is a welcome change as I can plan for each game. Playing against the Ravens? Let’s buckle down on run defense. I love this week-to-week planning and it really makes each game an experience.
There are also unlockable new plays in the form of playsheets. These are unlocked throughout the franchise that opens up new gameplans. I love this, it expands the amount of plays that any coach has at their disposal. Some of these are really unique and implementing them is super fun, unless of course you manage to get a running play for your QB, who happens to be a non-mobile QB. I still love the abundance of unique options. Some of my classic plays still work without fail, while others are not nearly as effective as they have been.
While Franchise is my mode, there is, as always, a lot more here. Superstar returns with a new character who is a backup QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I always forget this mode exists as it is fine, but nothing spectacular. This year’s iteration has some decent cut scenes and focuses mostly on relationships, which is…fine I guess, but much like last year, I fell off this mode quickly.
Ultimate Team makes a return, and like past years the concept is sound, but the monetization ruins it for me. I am not into buying packs to get better players and grinding for them is a pain. Same with the battle passes, which…why?! I never grab them or even bother with the free ones. Just never found a reason to care.
Madden 26 is the biggest upgrade in years. The revamped franchise mode is great, the on-field mechanics are a welcome change, and it just feels good to play. I ran into several glitches early on, that seem to have been ironed out over the weeks after release. The game continues to chug along and I am enjoying the new stuff, but I do really hope it sees competition again someday. I feel like we go 4-5 years between meaningful upgrades, and even those usually come at a cost. Still if you are an NFL fan the game is solid. The changes are welcome, but how on Earth are we still not able to replicate a halftime show that was created 20 years ago in a $20 game. Something that continues to boggle my mind to this day…
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
