The year is 2013, and people are waiting in line for their annual Madden release. Unfortunately for fans, in 2013, the annual American football title Madden NFL 25 was named to celebrate the 25th birthday of the franchise. Back then, I always wondered what would happen when the ‘true’ Madden 25 came out, but here we are, and they dropped the title of the NFL to streamline Madden 25 onto screens everywhere.
Madden 25 restores the timely tradition of annual football release coinciding with the beginning of a fresh season with a new coat of paint, more modes, far better menus, and the hard-hitting action NFL fans seek when the cusp of the season is upon us. It’s in the game.
Madden 25 builds upon the previous entry by including some of the elements found in the lightning-in-a-bottle EA College Football 25. It’s hard to explain, but general gameplay feels better. When receivers run routes on offence, the animations are smoother, and the AI responsible for sending them in the proper direction feels good. However, it’s almost certain that there will be general congestion when there are crossing routes on pass plays (which looks like an NFL player salad in the midfield). This appears to be an ugly montage of offensive/defensive pass interference, and this will happen on most plays when the focus of the field is running at each other.
“Madden 25’s biggest triumph is its consistency, where gameplay makes the player feel like errors are on the player and not the side of development.”
Now that my main problem with last year’s Madden 24 has been identified as ‘still a thing,’ Madden 25 does feel better overall. EA has brought back the Frostbite Engine and with its third year (fourth game including the College entry) it looks better than ever. Athletes resemble their real-life models so closely that even the most eagle-eyed fans can notice the attention to detail on each playable athlete. Brought in from EA College Football 25 is Superstar Mode.
With the lifelike representations of players in the game, the real-life progression of football can follow players’ created athletes to the pro level from the EA College Football 25 campus. This cross-progression is super cool, but it means fans have to play the “Road to Glory” mode in the previous game. That mode is not glorious.
FieldSENSE is back and better than ever. Aside from the receiver salad mentioned above, Madden 25 has the best physics in any football game, period. Slamming into a ball carrier with a hit stick has never felt better, and press-covering a receiver with New York Jets phenom Sauce Gardner feels like it applies that pressure instead of the standard fare of getting “Mossed,” although you had perfect timing. Madden 25’s biggest triumph is its consistency. General gameplay makes the player feel like errors are on the player and not the side of development. That being said, not much has changed from the general formula, and that’s a good thing.
FieldSENSE takes things a step further in Madden 25. The 49ers’ elite running back, Christian McCaffrey, runs like the real deal, and he operates differently from every other running back present in Madden 25. Although this is only present in the elite players, seeing a cookie-cutter model run a similar way, with the only thing setting them apart being their jersey colours, is a stale way to simulate NFL Sunday.
Vikings Justin Jefferson has different mannerisms and behaviour than Tyreek Hill, and both players feel like their real-life counterparts. EA Orlando added a touch of magic this time, and receivers can even go up to make spectacular diving and one-handed catches on purpose. Think Odell Beckham Jr., but without a skirmish with a Punter’s kicking net.
The training mini-games I loved from EA College Football 25 are back and better than a month ago. EA Sports brought an almost identical swath of training skill helpers that double as fun arcade mini-games to the table in Madden’s latest entry, and I love it. This feels just like when the Nintendo Mario sports titles added extra modes that sneakily teach you how to do advanced functions (like a drop shot in Mario Power Tennis) without having to actually ‘learn’—a seriously awesome addition to gameplay.
“Madden 25 is a fantastic NFL Football title, offering a chance to roleplay as football athletes throughout their entire careers in a genuinely unique way.”
Madden 25 has woefully retired the voice of legendary NFL coach John Madden (RIP) in favour of three separate duos that do commentary on actual NFL games to add immersion. Greg Olsen and Mike Tirico sound just like it’s football Sunday, adding another layer of being ‘in the game’ like EA’s retired slogan. Speaking of sound, this is the best-sounding football game in years. A refreshed soundtrack lets the practice fatigued sit in menu screens without the encumbrance of the same music playing over and over. Madden 25 adds Eminem’s Houdini, paired with Green Day’s American Idiot, and Logic’s Mission Control can be heard on the menus, which is another boon in EA Sports’ pocket.
Madden 25 has brought back the usual fare of modes. Franchise Mode is the singular strongest aspect of gameplay, letting the NFL faithful bring their team to glory in a fictional fantasy setting. It’s been over 10 years, but the NY Giants will earn gold this season. While the menus have been dramatically improved in every way, the Franchise has taken a step forward in novelty while taking a half step back.
There are storylines that pop up in the franchise mode that are cool the first two times you see them, but then, it happens every single week and becomes a chore. Now I understand why Marshawn Lynch said, “I’m just here so I don’t get fined,” press conferences are not fun.
The franchise is bolstered by everything else the title adds, so a single shortcoming is not game-breaking. What is, though, is the constant ads that take attention away every time you exit any menu screen. EA Sports really wants you to play Madden Ultimate Team, and it lets you know that it is a game mode every time it gets the chance. I maintain that this mode used to be genuinely fun, with an RPG football aspect to it, but now it feels like more microtransactions tacked to a premium purchase.
What’s worse is this edition says it’s on ‘Season One’. Madden is an annual release, and fans who engage with Ultimate Team have to reset every year, so for the title to also have seasonal releases just feels outrageous. Madden already feels like a season pass (albeit an expensive one) each season, so adding more things to pay for on top feels bad. Many Madden fans can suggest ‘just don’t play that mode,’ but with the constant menu interruptions, it’s almost impossible to avoid accessing it at least once.
Madden 25 is a fantastic NFL Football title. Those who want to roleplay as football athletes throughout their entire careers have a chance to do so in a genuinely unique way. FieldSENSE brings the hurt better than ever before, and graphics have been bolstered to the point of excellence. Madden has never looked, sounded or felt better in years.
Questionable decisions like adding seasons to MUT, continuous in-game suggestions that ask you to play ultimate team, and non-skippable cutscenes being added to franchise are not game breaking but they do provide enough nuisance to get a guttural sigh out of the player. Madden 25 is the best entry in the franchise in years (with EA College Football 25 holding just an edge over it gameplaywise), and hopefully EA continues this pattern on improving their game, unlike the NY Giants.
