Another rebuilding year??
Oh Mr. Madden, I feel like we have a very interesting relationship. Every year I get excited about your video game release, and each year I play it for basically 12 months for two simple reasons. I love football, and there are no other options. The narrative is always that Madden has no competition, and that is true, but it also doesn’t mean every year the game falls short of expectations. Madden 25 is one of the bigger updates in recent years. Adding a lot of presentation features that should make it a better game. The new “boom” tech should make hitting feel better, and the new running animations should make it more fun to play. While some of these things are true, the fact remains, Madden needs some competition, and fast.
I want to kick things off with what I liked about this entry. First off, the menus. Yeah, that is boring, but if you have played the last few games, you know those menus are awful. They are laggy and confusing, and doing simple things is a big pain. This year all of that has changed. They feel snappy. Things are easy to find, and simple things are simple to do. It is a massive quality of life upgrade.
MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $59.99
Speaking of presentation, the on-field action has also received some overhauls. The biggest addition is what the team is referring to as BOOM tech. This is essentially a revamp of the player movement and interactions. The hit stick now has consequences. If I timed it too early, I might miss my tackle, where if I timed it perfectly there was a better chance I would cause something like a dropped pass or fumble. It is a great system that really improves the action when playing. It makes it feel more like real football.
Player movement is also improved. Running animations are much smoother, allowing for better jukes and stiff arms. Players also have updated signature animations. Saquon doesn’t run like McCaffrey and so on. It is nice to see quarterbacks have specific animations pre-snap, and yes, I still hate hearing Dak yell “Here we go…” Defense gets a massive upgrade with new shell coverage as well as being able to swap defense during a play with the right stick. This is a risk/reward system where picking who to cover could result in a turnover, or a big gain. I love these things.
Pre-snap is a big deal too. Offense now has the ability to make coverage adjustments. See that blitz coming from the right side? Simply shift your offensive line to pick it up. It is a chess match, and for those that dig deep into these things, it is a treat. I also loved being able to customize hot routes, including longer slants. There really is a lot added to the actual football, which is where I end up spending most of my time. What I do not like about the new on-field action is what is missing. I used to be able to see impact players pre-snap and what their traits were. The kicking meter used to give feedback about how good my kicks were, same with the passing window. These are just gone. Also, the new kicking meter sucks. I don’t recommend using it.
This kind of stuff also spills into the other modes. The Superstar mode now features a real draft night, and not a spreadsheet. I even got to stand on stage with the commissioner, which is neat. At least it is something. There are team meetings, coach conversations, it is generic and looks awkward, but at least it is here. The new Super Bowl celebration is disappointing to say the least. It is like they copied the last few years and tossed in Randy Moss carrying the Lombardi, and Goodell on stage, that is about it. Even the music is super non-dramatic. I didn’t feel like I actually won. It was kind of sad, then there was the commentary where wooden Mike Tirico sounded like we just finished week one between the Panthers and the Giants. This brings me to the presentation.
During the game EA has always struggled to even come close to NFL 2K5…which was 20 years ago at this point. A lot of this was due to the commentary that has been copy/pasted for the past few years. The standard Charles Davis and Brandon Gaudin are here, and I swear…they have nothing new to say. If you told me, it was last year’s game, I would believe you. In addition, we also have two new teams. The prime-time games are hosted by Mike Tirico and Greg Olsen, and they are awful. Olsen rarely speaks and Tirico sounds like someone created an AI voice with tech from 2005. He just doesn’t seem to care to be there. The third team is the best, but I rarely hear them. This includes Kate Scott and Brock Huard. Kate is enthusiastic and fun, and while Brock barely speaks, he reminds me of Peter O’Keefe from NFL2K, which is a good thing.
It is also worth noting that commentary in the franchise is not selectable. It seems to randomly decide who we get to hear. There also doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. It is amazing that after so many years we finally get new commentary, and while one is pretty good, the big names sound like they phoned it in. It truly is disappointing.
I would love to tell you that other things have been revamped, but much like the commentary, it feels copy/pasted from previous entries. Still the new menus make it easier to navigate, which is nice. Superstar feels the same, Ultimate Team functions the same, and outside of a few new mini-games, skill trainer is essentially the same as it has been.
Now, let’s quickly touch on the visuals. The game looks good as it always does. There are definitely more face scans for well-known players. The signature animations are nice, and the framerate feels a lot more stable on the newer consoles. The stadiums are similar, but they did add some nice effects to snow games. There are some glitches at times, I had receivers teleport on routes and some weird collision on some tackles, but these are things that will get ironed out over time. The soundtrack is mostly forgettable for me, and we already discussed the lackluster commentary.
Madden NFL 25 has some highs and lows for sure. It is the only game in town, which means as long as it is better than 24, I will continue playing it. I enjoy the on-field action, which is the most important aspect each year. Still it feels on cruise control, which sucks. I want to see some real revelations in the game and presentation. Hopefully we get some true competition in the future as the team here clearly loves the game and knows how to make it fun.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
