One step forward, two steps sideways
Year in, and year out we get a new Madden game. It signifies the coming onslaught of Fall gaming and kicks off about a month before the official NFL season gets started, just in time to get fans like me running their teams to the Super Bowl. It is no secret that each iteration has been less and less impressive over the past few years. Some of that is due to a certain pandemic, the other part is likely due to continued lack of competition. The game has felt very incremental forever, but the last few years have been worse than normal. Madden NFL 24 improves some of my biggest gripes, builds on the animation system, and adds plenty of tweaks, but is it the upgrade the series finally needs to feel fresh?
I want to kick off this review with general game play. Every year I spend an unhealthy amount of time playing through franchise mode. I learn the quirks with each iteration. Last year interceptions plagued the game for months. Certain plays just worked 100% of the time. These are the things I noticed. With Madden NFL 24 there are a lot of improvements as well as issues as per usual. This year coverage continues to be a sticking point. Defenders narrow in on the ball with laser accuracy. My completion percentage in my first was just above 50%. I also noticed elite receivers dropping passes constantly. Davante Adams is not going to drop many passes that hit him in the hands. It happened four times in one game for me.
MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $59.99
Running feels great. Following lead blockers feels realistic and jump cuts are so satisfying. The new tackle animations are outstanding. There are still some awkward falling over other players and getting glitched, but for the most part it looks incredible. The amount of new tackle animations are impressive. Seeing large defenders pick up runners low and slamming them down is super satisfying. There are also contested catch animations and new knockouts. It all adds to the realism and works really well. The total control passing still eludes me and I swapped back to classic in my second season. I just don’t like having to manage the meter and the pocket as well as watching 3-4 receivers.
Passing also received a skill-based mode which means Madden finally has more diving catch animations. I feel like these are a bit overused. It sometimes seems the QB throws the ball outside where I want them to cause the player to dive for it. It wasn’t necessary when the receiver had a good two yards on the defender. This extends to the other players as well; they are more likely to move and react like they do in real games. Yes, that means Mahomes is diving and throwing side arm passes while escaping the pocket, but no behind the back passes yet. Someday Madden, some day.
Franchise mode has seen some refinements and quality of life updates. Training camp returns with a host of mini-games that are decently fun to play. Sadly, it is short-lived at the beginning of each season. There are now more relocation settings and a better coaching skill tree. I usually fall off this stuff after one season though. There are more trade slots and some other updates, but it is nice to see them finally put some effort into this mode. It has been copy/pasted for several years. It is still not where it needs to be though, which is disappointing.
As for the rest of the game it feels familiar. Online head-to-head returns and this time brings crossplay, which is an extremely welcome addition. People still disconnect when they are losing, so in that regard, just another year of Madden. The rest of the modes feel pretty much copy and paste. Pro Bowl is buried in quick play, drills are still here, and fun and of course MUT returns. This mode once again works on the pack system and feels predatory in its spending, but it isn’t going anywhere. Makes me sad as the mode can be fun, but if you don’t want to spend money it grows tiresome relatively quickly.
Finally let’s talk about visuals. The game engine remains mostly the same and looks good. The new animations are the highlight. I loved seeing all the new stuff in the on-the-field action. It really does a lot to make it feel more like a game on Sunday. The stadiums and presentation look fantastic. The crowds are more animated on the pan views, and it all has a decent presentation that still feels a lot like last year. There are still glitches in stats pre-game and some awkward glitches from time to time, but for the most part it looks great. The frame rate was an issue though. During the game it mostly holds the line, but when it goes to the action camera slow down definitely occurs. This is even in performance mode. The fidelity mode feels almost identical so not sure what is going on.
The commentary is super disappointing. I still love hearing Charles Davis and Brandon Gaudin, but their lines have been the same for years. There are a few added pieces here and there, but man I just deleted Madden 23 and a lot of these lines are the exact same. It is super disappointing. The audio mix also needs tweaking. The crowd is way too loud, and the commentary is way too low.
Madden NFL 24 is a solid entry that simply doesn’t do enough to push it forward. I feel like EA really needs to take a year off, do a roster update, and build an entirely new game. This copy paste stuff continues to bring down the advancements made. It is wild that we say the same stuff every year and each year it rarely changes. Like most people though, I play it every time because there simply isn’t another option, and it isn’t a bad game, far from it, it just feels on cruise control. I want the game to get better, and it does, just not enough to warrant yearly iterations.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
