2024 was a big year for the Madden franchise, with EA Sports and the NFL negotiating an extension of their exclusive license agreement, which expires in 2027.
EA Sports had all the reasons to prove to the NFL that extending the license agreement was the best move, and releasing a great game was the best way to showcase that.
The features announced for Madden 25 backed that up. EA Sports revealed some exciting features, especially in gameplay and the forgotten Franchise mode, which left fans optimistic about the title.
Many players believed this could be the game that would turn the franchise around, marking a return to the golden age of Madden, and could deliver the best football simulation of all time.
Unfortunately, despite taking baby steps, Madden still needs to learn to walk, and Madden 25 isn't the fantastic game many were waiting for.
Reviewed on Xbox Series X. Review copy provided by the publisher. Buy your copy here.
The BOOM Isn't Enough to Make the Gameplay Feel Special
BOOM Tech was by far the most hyped feature in Madden 25, at least gameplay-wise, and for a good reason: it delivers everything it promised. Tackles and collisions are much more realistic, and you are penalized by badly-timed tackles. You can see the impact of the BOOM Tech feature in every play, and tackles feel more satisfying.
The revamped hit stick is another one of the positives of the Madden 25 gameplay, as the hit-stick mechanic is now much more high-risk and high-reward, and you need to time the hit stick perfectly, but when you do, it feels great.
Regular and signature animations look good, even if running animations often leave something to be desired. The new pass block and pass protection options are a good addition, but nothing game-changing.
The AI still makes some egregious mistakes, like offensive linemen not blocking for your running back, even if the opponent is passing just in front of him.
AI players stick to the play call and never deviate from it, which causes the AI to lack a huge amount of adaptation, which is crucial in football. With Madden being a simulation game, you would expect it to have it. This can lead to frustrating plays that will leave you wanting to throw the controller instead of the football.
Overall, the Madden 25 gameplay feels okay, better than Madden 24. The new features aren't groundbreaking, and despite improving the gameplay, they don't do so in a massive way, where you feel the gameplay is something completely different than before.
An Improved UI
The UI was massively improved in Madden 25. Not only does the main menu look better, but it's also more responsive. Finally, the painfully slow menus are gone, and navigating this new UI is easier, faster, and more satisfying.
The developers got this right, and Madden needed it, which might make it the most impactful new feature introduced by the title.
However, the game mode menus are still annoyingly slow, especially the Franchise mode one. Accessing the depth chart, the team salary page, or going back and forth in the trade center takes ages, which hinders the experience and immersion.
A Soulless Franchise Mode
Despite the new features, such as the messaging board or the revamped draft experience, which is quite underwhelming, the Franchise mode continues to be soulless.
The changes made to the NFL Draft are disappointing, to say the least. There are no voices during the draft cutscenes. Roger Goodell is in the game, and you can see him moving his lips when presenting a player, but there is no sound.
This feels like a huge missed opportunity; why have the NFL commissioner in the game if he is just going to stand on the podium and hold the jersey? Surely, he could at least say the player's name, college, and position.
It is disappointing that there was no commentary during the entire draft and no analysts talking about the players, their attributes, how they went up or down in the draft board, and why. It feels like yet another missed opportunity.
The draft cutscenes are forgettable, and you will most likely skip them after watching them two or three times. Madden had a chance to improve the NFL Draft presentation and overall experience, but they missed it.
They did, however, get it right with the new prospect board, which delivers a more intuitive UI, making it easier to draft players. Despite that, you still can't see what players you picked in previous draft rounds, which doesn't make sense.
The changes to Franchise mode are surface-level and, unfortunately, don't make the mode more immersive or improve the overall experience.
It seems Franchise fans will have to continue to fight the good fight, as they have done so far, and hope next year is the year Madden introduces significant changes to the mode.
Superstar Mode isn't that Super
Similar to what happened to Franchise, the new features of Superstar mode are lackluster. You have more hairstyles, faces, and even tattoos, but you still don't have a face scan feature, something NBA 2K and MLB The Show introduced quite some time ago.
EA Sports certainly has the means to do that, which begs the question, why haven't they?
You can only choose between five positions, and while the option to import your College Football 25 Road to Glory character is a good one, apart from the five extra skill points you get, your college career doesn't matter.
Did you win the Heisman and multiple National Championships? Well, congratulations, but we don't really care. Now, go to the draft combine and make sure you answer all of the interview questions correctly so we can decide where you will land on the draft board.
The cutscenes in Superstar mode are also forgettable, and just like in Franchise mode, they get boring after a while. Oh, and did I mention there isn't any sound on these, just subtitles?
When NBA 2K, which I have been critical of plenty of times, has created engaging storylines year after year, with cutscenes where you can hear the characters talking and the tone of their voices changing depending on the situation, why can't EA also do that?
Don't get me wrong, the NBA 2K storylines are very hit-or-miss, but the cutscenes are miles better. Once again, this is something EA could have introduced in Madden 25 but decided not to, another missed opportunity.
Madden is Ultimate Team
This has been clear for quite some time, but EA Sports reminds us every year that Madden is Ultimate Team, and that's the mode the publisher wants you to play. Otherwise, we wouldn't get an Ultimate Team ad pop-up whenever we leave a game mode.
The mode continues to be a hellscape of microtransactions, where players must spend money to compete. Fair-to-play users are at an insane disadvantage, as they have to grind through an ocean of challenges just to get cards that allow them a fighting chance.
The problem is that new cards behind a paywall are released almost every week, making fair-to-play users constantly on the back foot.
Do you want access to great cards, perhaps even play with legendary players? Well, pull your wallet out. It's as simple as that and has been for many years, and I don't expect that to change anytime soon.
Yes, we now have Head-to-Head ranked, new challenge types, and 6-on-6 events, but the core of Ultimate Team remains the same: a money grab.
Furthermore, EA Sports announced that Madden 25 will introduce more content than ever, which means players will need to spend even more money to obtain cards that will become outdated in two weeks.
Verdict
Madden 25 is a slightly improved version of Madden 24, but most new features fall short of expectations. The gameplay is decent, and the UI is much better, but the changes to the game modes are lackluster and don't make the game more immersive or enjoyable.
Madden 25 isn't fun, contrary to College Football 25, which excels at walking the fine line between delivering a realistic but also fun experience. Yes, they are two hugely different games, but it's impossible not to compare them when they are both football games made by the same company and studio.
If you were looking for a title that would revolutionize the Madden franchise, this one certainly isn't it. Unfortunately, this is the only one available if you are a huge NFL fan and want an NFL simulation football game.
The 2024 NFL season is expected to be very exciting and deliver memorable moments, but Madden 25, on the other hand, is not so much.
