After more than a decade of waiting, players can finally retire NCAA Football 14 with the arrival of College Football 25. First announced back in February 2021, it has been a long road to reach this day filled with enormous excitement from a fanbase that has grown tired of Madden.
The biggest hurdle for EA was securing the names, images, and likeness (NIL) deals for players, allowing fans to score touchdowns with their favorite athletes. With that secured, the game began to take shape and has finally hit the shelves. Can it truly live up to the fan expectations and hype, or are the fears of it being the same as Madden accurate?
Reviewed on Xbox Series X. Review copy provided by publisher.
More than a Madden Clone
The biggest concern about College Football 25 was that it would just be Madden with different stadiums, uniforms, and player names. Let’s start by putting that fear to rest. College Football 25 is its own standalone game with a truly unique feel. While the sport is obviously the same, college football has different rules from the NFL, and these are well-represented in College Football 25. However, the most important aspect is the gameplay.
Player movement, tackling, throwing, and even blocking is a huge step up from Madden and so different that if you try to utilize your Madden muscle memory, you will struggle to get results.
College Football 25’s in-game mechanics are a true breath of fresh air, showcasing what EA can produce when not bogged down by an annual cycle. This game is so fresh and new that it can rekindle the love of the game in even the most cynical Madden player.
The biggest difference on the field is that while speed is important in College Football 25, it is not the game-changer it is in Madden. OVR actually matters, as offensive lines can get shredded by more technical or stronger pass rushers, and unaware linebackers can’t suddenly appear with no-look interceptions. Perhaps best of all, being on the road in a rowdy atmosphere adds genuine difficulty to the game. Hot routes can’t always be communicated to receivers, play art becomes wavy and unrecognizable, and receiver icons disappear.
These changes may be frustrating for long-term Madden players when first encountered, but they work brilliantly in differentiating the game from Madden and create an enormous leap forward on the field.
Football Is Freedom
NFL playbooks have been getting more homogeneous over the last few years, as teams all run basically the same plays. This cannot be said for college football, where old-school veer and flexbone football contend with air raid spread systems.
College Football 25 has done a terrific job in creating an enormously diverse yet effective range of playbooks and play styles for everyone.
While you can change your playbook in Dynasty Mode and Ultimate Team, for quick play and head-to-heads, you can’t. This keeps every school within its identity and should reduce “meta” play. While Ultimate Team players are likely to coalesce into a handful of styles, there should be enough in this game to keep even the most die-hard players finding new and inventive ways of scoring touchdowns.
Because of all the new options, RPOs, screens, and double passes, you’ll want to hit the practice field to get your timing, button combos, and reads right. The combination of a new feel on the field and fresh playbooks to master makes College Football 25 a refreshing experience.
Dynastic Struggle
College Football 25 has a huge number of teams to pick in Dynasty mode, and while some will jump right into Ohio State or Alabama, plenty more will try to take the smallest schools to the title.
This journey is another big success for College Football 25. If you start with an LSU or Georgia, you will have a massive job juggling the five-star recruits and competing with other big teams. Most players won’t do this, though, and will start far from the elite SEC teams. In that case, you can forget about recruiting even three-star players right away. You will need to carefully scout one- and two-star players, nurture their talents to ensure they don’t transfer away, and be patient.
While some big-time players can fall through the cracks (I was able to bring the #11 prospect in the nation to Boston College), the recruitment cycle feels just balanced enough between the realism of competing against elite programs and the joy of building up from a humble beginning. It won’t be impossible to take Appalachian State to the College Football National Playoff Championship, but it will be a very, very long road.
The only issue with Dynasty mode is that game simulations are not always brilliant. There have been reports of players dropping games to schools they are 20+ OVR better than when simming through the games. Hopefully, this gets tweaked in future patches, as it will make those long-term projects harder to balance if you have to grind through every game.
Verdict
College Football 25 is as good as everyone hoped it would be and more. From amazing pre-match presentations at each school to a truly vibrant in-game atmosphere that speaks to the joy of college football compared to the NFL.
Everything from the soundtrack (a marching band rather than Madden’s usual rap and hip-hop) to the lesser prominence of Ultimate Team makes this game feel different from Madden. It’s a brilliant achievement that brings the joy of sports games back. You can feel the passion that went into the game, from the intricacies of recruiting to the explosion of noise when you enter the stadium on game day.
