Small steps forward.
Year in and year out Madden is a staple of gaming. It used to signify the coming of the Fall games, and now it signals another Madden is out. Each year always sees improvements, but every few years we see significant upgrades in areas such as the way players feel. This is that year. Madden 20 feels like the refinement I have been waiting years for. Player movement feels superb, and the new X-Factor system makes players feel unique. Still, something is missing. Awkward animations and weird player behavior still plague a lot of simple actions, making this Madden both a blessing and a curse at the same time.
Let’s start with what works. Player movement feels great. Taking a running back like Saquon Barkley through tacklers feels great. Passing with each quarterback feels different thanks to specific animations for different players. Throwing with Aaron Rodgers feels different than someone like Tom Brady. The new X-Factors really showcase players by giving them boosts when they perform special feats, sort of putting them in-the-zone. It is a cool mechanic that works. Sadly a lot of them are repeated and don’t feel as unique as they could.
MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: XB1 (reviewed), PS4, PC
Price I’d Pay: $59.99
The last two years introduced the story mode Longshot. While the first iteration was novel and neat last year’s was a massive disappointment. Feeling rushed and under budget, the story mode just wasn’t working. This year feels like the foundation of things to evolve over the next few years. Face of the Franchise lets players create a quarterback and take them through the end of their college career and into the NFL. This mode feels simplistic, but it works. There are a handful of college teams to choose from and the build up to the NFL Draft is excellent. I was drafted based on my performance at the Combine, which is a neat touch.
Sadly, once I got into the NFL a lot of the unique parts of this mode dry up. The cut scenes and dialogue pretty much end and instead are replaced with texts with other players, all of which are canned. The XP system is nice, and unlocking new X-Factor abilities for my superstar is cool. I didn’t like who I was drafted by initially, so I demanded release after the first season, if no one picks up my contract I have to retire. That is a cool feature, but I hope they iterate on this more with negotiations and more drama during the NFL season. Overall the mode is neat and I enjoyed taking myself through the NFL.
Most of the portions of Face of the Franchise spill over into Franchise mode itself. Sadly, this is the least upgraded portion of what I normally play. It still feels like the normal cadence. Scouting is more interesting thanks to the improved rating system and ability to unlock X-Factor abilities for players who don’t already have them. It’s a cool system, but I set it to auto after my first season. One thing Madden still suffers from is taking my team into more seasons. After the initial run things start to repeat and everything feels like it is being generated on-the-fly. I wish it was more involved.
Ultimate Team also makes a return and feels as untouched as last year’s iteration. It seems like this is not nearly as high a focus as it is in other EA Sports titles. Outside of how challenges work it feels like pretty much the same mode. I continue to wonder why EA doesn’t just break this out into its own game for Madden and let people just update it over time instead of resetting with each new Madden. Once again my interest fell off after just an hour or so. No reason to invest when it will just show up again next year with little to no effort to make it more interesting.
The presentation is by far my favorite part of Madden 20. So much of the downtime and unnecessary transitions that just slowed down the action are alleviated. For example, after picking a play it pans to the QB under center instead of having to watch them break huddle and walk to the line. Quarter breaks are shorter and the onscreen information is much more legible and easy to see what I need. I love all the little touches; it truly feels like it finally hit its peak. HDR implementation also looks great, and brings out the colors in a lot of uniforms. The game looks and runs great outside of the occasional awkward animations.
Madden NFL 20 is a solid entry with plenty of new additions. I enjoyed the new Face of the Franchise mode and game play improvements, but I was really hoping for tweaked Franchise options and some improved commentary. Still, this is the biggest upgrade to the series in years and I will likely sink yet another 60+ hours into it. I fear the next-generation Madden will take some steps back, so for now I will enjoy Madden 20 for what it is. The best the series has been in a while.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.