Madden needs a year off.

The annual NFL simulation juggernaut has been a late-summer mainstay for the video game industry for over 30 years now, bringing with it the most realistic portrayal of National Football League action there is to be found. The teams are here, the players are here, everything a football fan could want from an official simulation is here in Madden NFL 25.

As an avid fan myself—which reminds me, Go Birds—the yearly Madden drop should jazz me up for the upcoming regular season. As recently as a few years ago, it did; Madden was the signal that the NFL season was on the horizon, and the digital version would make the last month of waiting for the real thing easier.

Order Madden NFL 25: Amazon | Best Buy | GameStop

Now though, as I sit here ready to watch some real Eagles football come September, my attitude toward Madden rests where no video game, much less the official simulation of one of the most popular sports in the country, should ever put its audience: Apathy.

Bringing the boom

The main addition to Madden 25‘s football mechanics is Boom Tech, a complete redesign of the physics portraying the physicality on the field. Hundreds of small, subtle animations have been added to every point of contact during a game, and the results are tangibly better than previous years. In fact, I’d say this is the best on-field experience Madden has ever presented.

Every little detail—the angle of the defender, the speed of the ball-carrier, the hand the runner is using to hold the ball, etc.—-affects the results of each play thanks to this redesign. Football is a game of inches, so they say, and these extra physics-based additions make it feel like I’m earning that extra yard while being pulled down.

It’s neat to watch in motion, and precise execution garners some truly satisfying results. Pulling an opponent down in the open field brings a satisfying pop, to the point I can hear John Madden himself yelling “BOOM!” in my ear when I time the hit just right. Fighting through the offensive line and sacking the quarterback feels earned and worthy of the silly celebration that follows.

Speaking of, even celebratory moments like that offer an extra hint of authenticity through this new system. During one drive, DeVonta Smith caught a pass for 30 yards and a first down, and when the prompt appeared, I selected that he do a little dance. The dance ended with the traditional hand signal for first down–arm extended in a single chopping motion, for those unaware.

However, as Smith fully extended his arm, a defending player walked through the shot and into Smith’s arm. Suddenly, the two players started jawing at one another, Smith’s hand still resting where it touched the defender. It sounds small, and the moment was fleeting, but little encounters like this bring Madden closer to feeling like an actual NFL TV broadcast.

(Also, while I’m talking about celebratory dances: After a fumble recovery for a touchdown, the scorer and another defender did the Fusion Dance from Dragon Ball Z as a celebration. This isn’t a big deal, but it got a big cheer out of me.)

Wait, what did he say?

One thing that does pull me out of that “actual TV broadcast” feeling, however, is the broadcasters themselves. Three different teams of commentators are included in this year’s game, including the first-ever female commentator, Kate Scott. For the most part, they do a good job calling the action, even though it’s painfully obvious how the game is pulling audio files to string sentences together. Mike Tirico’s tone at the end of a quarter is particularly weird, as he says “We’re Back! [slight loading] From Philadelphia! [slight loading again] After this!”

Sometimes, though, the game loads up the wrong situation and the commentary ends up being completely wrong. During an exhibition against the Vikings, I managed to sack Sam Darnold for a big loss. Both Mike Tirico and Greg Olsen started talking about how that was my “third consecutive sack,” implying I’d scored sacks on the previous two plays, and how devastating that was for the offense.

The problem is, the sack occurred on 2nd and 2, meaning the previous play was a positive one for the offense and definitely not a sack. When I paused and checked the stats, I found that it was indeed my third sack of the game, but they weren’t on consecutive plays. It’s a small misstep, but one that makes Madden feel less authentic.

Commentary aside, I just spent a good chunk of time praising Madden 25‘s gameplay right after saying the franchise needs a break, and that may cause some confusion. However, that’s what makes the lack of depth across the rest of the game so damn frustrating. The core product– simulated football—is great; it’s the rest of the package that’s stuck in a rut.

Franchise and Superstar modes shine a spotlight on this issue. Franchise lets you run an NFL franchise while managing all of the spinning plates that entails, from building a roster to managing a coaching staff to fighting out my team’s overall strategy and schemes on the field. Superstar, meanwhile, shifts the focus to a single player, where you start as a rookie fresh out of college, drafted to an NFL team, and play through the created player’s career. Both modes, inherently, are a series of menus, as most of the decisions made off the field in both modes are handled via menu screens. The few times they do offer something different, other than playing football, they’re fleeting and don’t offer much of interest.

Take, for example, Franchise mode: As I start my franchise with Nick Sirianni and my Eagles, I’m given the option to take a sideline interview from the practice field. The reporter asks me which part of the team concerns me the most going into the season, and I’m given the option to choose “the offense” or “the defense.”

Now, perhaps I’ve played too many RPGs in my time, but with those dialogue choices presented to me, I’m expecting that whichever I select will be elaborated on in the next bit of dialogue. I might choose “the offense,” but Sirianni might say something like “The offense suffered toward the end of last season, but I’m hoping we can work hard and get back to the success we’re used to” or something like that.

Nope. I select “the offense,” and then big white letters flash “THE OFFENSE” on screen, implying Sirianni replied with just two simple words, no elaboration. For a franchise that strives on creating authentic experiences, that is simply not how many NFL coaches—outside of maybe Bill Belichick preparing for Cincinnati—would answer that question, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Both Franchise and Superstar modes have weird conversations like this, and they feel more awkward than anything.

I understand these things aren’t the core focus of Madden, but for a franchise that promises authenticity, not applying it to these moments makes those claims feel disingenuous. Furthermore, while Franchise and Superstar are lacking in focus, another mode definitely isn’t.

MUT MUT MUT

Madden Ultimate Team is clearly the top dog in the franchise now, and it shows. The first thing you do after turning on the game, after all, is start building your Ultimate Team by opening packs and playing a few tutorial challenges with the players you receive. After that, you’re bombarded with ads for the current MUT season, and MUT deals, and MUT-themed bundles, and these ads are designed to keep you going back into MUT even after you try to exit out of it.

I am not joking when I say that a full hour passed between my first boot of the game and my ability to play a standard exhibition game of football. In that time, I exited Madden Ultimate Team three times; once after the initial tutorial, and twice more after in-game ads pulled me back in. Then, when I finally got to the main menu, the order of selections started with Madden News, then Ultimate Team, and then Quick Play. MUT sits above the standard gameplay mode now, as if EA’s reverence to its card-based cash cow couldn’t be any more obvious.

Is MUT fun? Sure! Building a team with loot boxes randomized packs of players, and then using that team to play football is a good time, and the endorphin hit that comes with opening a top-rated player is cool. However, the way Madden 25 is programmed to push players towards MUT, after they’ve already dropped the entry fee called “retail price” to begin with, has an air of “used-car salesman” tactics that I could do without.

I’m not naive enough to think that Madden will ever stop its yearly visits to store shelves. However, it is absolutely time for this franchise to receive a deep, substantial glow-up, especially this year with its new neighbor College Football 25 completely eating its lunch.

The core gameplay of Madden 25 is great, but there are some severe problems with everything surrounding what happens on the field. Franchise and Superstar are starving while MUT is treated like a king. Commentary has glimmers of brilliance, but mostly comes off stilted or even incorrect. For every time I pumped my fist to the sky for something I liked, I held my head in my hands for something I hated.

The aging gunslinger known as the Madden franchise is showing some wear and tear, with Madden NFL 25 being the latest example. While I don’t ever expect it to be put out to pasture, it might be time for the old coach to take a year off to revamp its approach.

Order Madden NFL 25: Amazon | Best Buy | GameStop

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