Madden NFL 25 Review

Another year means another Madden, but despite the monotony of annual releases, Madden NFL 25 does manage to bring some exciting elements to the franchise. Though the game’s new features aren’t so major as to win over players who don’t already like Madden, they are certainly a treat for long-time series fans. At the very least, Madden NFL 25 has surpassed last year’s version, which is the base expectation of any new Madden game.

Some of the best parts of Madden NFL 25 are its controls. New updates to certain aspects of the game make playing feel a lot more satisfying than previous versions. There are also a lot of great options to make the Madden NFL 25 experience unique to each player. The different ways to play Madden NFL 25 also add some nice depth to the experience, but they aren’t necessarily as polished as one might hope.

Madden NFL 25’s Controls And Customization Options Are Satisfying For Experienced Players

There's A Lot For Veterans To Tinker With And Refine

One of the very first screens Madden NFL 25 presents players with is an extensive list of customization options. While this would likely be overwhelming for someone who has never played a Madden game before, it is a welcome site for returning players. Right up front, the game presents a wide range of options to ensure players are getting the exact type of experience they want from Madden NFL 25.

Perhaps the best option among those presented is the ability to choose between the Simulation or Competitive styles of play. Simulation is a more classic Madden experience, where the outcome of plays is largely dictated by the stats of the athletes. Meanwhile, Competitive puts more of the onus on the player’s ability to precisely time their inputs. Simulation mode can be a more casual experience, whereas Competitive mode takes away some of the frustrating aspects of the game being slightly more automated.

Playing on Competitive mode proves to be a very rewarding experience for anyone up to the challenge. Perhaps one of the best aspects of this mode is Madden’s reworked Hit Stick which has made tackling feel more satisfying than ever. The game now analyzes the timing of a hit, with perfectly timed hits being more likely to create a fumble. Few things in Madden NFL 25 are more satisfying than forcing a fumble on the one-yard line and knowing it was thanks in part to a perfectly timed hit.

Simulation mode offers an experience that is closer to a real NFL game. After mastering the controls in Competitive mode, team stats seem to matter far less. While it can be satisfying from a gameplay perspective to complete every pass or run 30+ yards consistently, this makes Madden feel far less like a real football experience and more like an arcade game. Though Simulation doesn’t fully solve some of the game’s issues with realism, it does at least make the difference between the top-ranked Kansas City Chiefs feel meaningfully different from the bottom-ranked New York Giants.

In general, Madden NFL 25’s new controls create a very rewarding experience for players willing to plumb their depths. The ability to adjust passing routes, quickly swap defensive strategy with the Switch Stick, and the easy-to-use system for pre-play changes gives the player plenty of options to pull off impressive plays. This makes Madden NFL 25’s multiplayer much more exciting, as players have a lot of options for what to do on both sides of the play.

Madden NFL 25’s Game Modes Are Fun But Flawed

Whether online or local, multiplayer is where Madden NFL 25 shines the brightest. Thanks to Competitive mode’s focus on stick skills over stats, and the level of control one has over every play, multiplayer feels like a genuine test of one’s abilities. Unfortunately, not all of Madden NFL 25’s game modes live up to this experience.

Franchise mode allows players to act as the coach for their chosen team, and play through multiple seasons as they try to build up their team. Superstar mode is similar, but instead of playing as an entire team, players create their own custom avatar and take on a single position. This allows for a deeper sense of immersion in the role of an individual, but less control over larger team decisions and the game as a whole.

Both game modes are great in concept, and for the most part that translates to a fun gameplay experience. Perhaps one of the best aspects of both modes are the training drills which genuinely feel like they teach valuable Madden skills that can improve one’s game. Both modes also have a nice sense of progression, though Franchise mode’s progression can feel a little less satisfying if players choose a team that is already a major NFL powerhouse.

The main downside of both modes comes in the form of Madden’s simulated play. Occasionally, these modes will take control away from the player, and simulate the results of the game. Frustratingly, the simulations don’t seem to take player performance into account in a meaningful way.

Playing Superstar mode as a quarterback, one might expect that leading their team to three consecutive scoring drives would set up their team for success when the game took control away from them and simulated the rest of the game. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. In one instance, Madden’s simulation gave the winning team no additional points during the simulation, creating a major victory for the team whose defense had been easily dismantled during actual play.

This type of disconnect makes it seem like Madden wants to force players to feel like an underdog at the start, despite not being able to communicate that through gameplay. Watching a player or team do spectacularly during actual play only for the simulation to so poorly reflect that performance going forward is frustrating. This frustration can be avoided in Franchise mode, where simulation is entirely optional. However, in Superstar mode where it is a required part of the game, simulated play can really deflate an exciting performance.

The Financial Realities Of Madden NFL 25 Hold It Back

Ultimate Team Rears Its Ugly Head Once More

It’s impossible to meaningfully examine a game like Madden NFL 25 without discussing its price and the franchise’s release schedule. Madden NFL 25 may have made some gameplay improvements to Madden NFL 24, but it's still hard to recommend on that basis. More than likely, there will be a Madden NFL 26 that builds on these improvements and possibly brings some new ones to the table next year. At a $69.99 price point, a game really should have a longer expiration date than one year.

This aspect of the Madden franchise has been true for a long time, but it feels even more exploitative now thanks to Ultimate Team mode. Ultimate Team mode is fueled by microtransactions and what are essentially loot boxes. If the mode existed in its own corner where one could choose whether to engage with it, that would be fine. However, Madden NFL 25 continuously pushes players toward the mode.

Every time Madden NFL 25 starts up, players are greeted with what is essentially a pop-up ad for Ultimate Team mode. The game is set to bring players directly to the Ultimate Team menu if they click X on this screen, the same button they are likely clicking to advance to the main menu. This often results in players accidentally clicking through to Ultimate Team mode. It’s hard not to feel like Madden NFL 25 is constantly trying to get players to spend additional money on a game that already struggles to justify paying for new versions each year.

Final Thoughts On Madden NFL 25

3.5/5 - “Good, Approaching Great” By Screen Rant’s Review Metric

The highlights of Madden NFL 25 are its updated stick skills and the many options it has for customizing gameplay both on and off the field. Despite their flaws, Madden’s multiple game modes have enough to offer to keep players satisfied. That said, players who aren’t interested in multiplayer probably won’t feel the need to keep playing Madden NFL 25 for more than a few weeks.

Madden NFL 25 truly does make some improvements over Madden NFL 24. That said, it is hard to give the game a glowing review when it isn’t even the best football game EA Sports has released this Summer. Anyone loyal enough to the Madden franchise to pick up the new version each year will definitely be pleased with Madden NFL 25, but the game isn’t a must-have by any metric.