Opinion

Not interested in "Madden NFL", I'd rather game "College Football"

14.8.2025

Translation: machine translated

It's absurd: two football games from the same company, the same engine and yet they are worlds apart. Anyone comparing the two games will immediately recognise: "Madden" has lost touch and seems like a product without a heart.

«Madden»? Oh no, not again. Every time a new trailer pops up or I hear something about the game somewhere, my mood sinks. It has disappointed me too often in recent years. The desire to get involved with it again has long since evaporated.

And this year the difference is particularly noticeable. Because anyone who has played «College Football 25» or «College Football 26» immediately realises how much more lively, atmospheric and varied football can look as a video game. «Madden», on the other hand, looks like a routine endurance runner that has long forgotten why it was launched in the first place.

Perhaps it's also because as a viewer I tend to favour college football over the NFL anyway. If you want to read my game review of «College Football 26», you can find it here:

Review
"College Football 26": A touchdown, but the extra point doesn't stick
by Kim Muntinga

«College football» breathes life, «Madden» runs on autopilot

Last year's college football comeback was a firework, and EA Sports has followed it up with «College Football 26». Both games are bursting with heart and soul: college stadiums with their peculiarities, marching bands, colourful traditions, heated rivalries. Every kickoff feels like an event, every game tells its own story. For example, I can enjoy the «Enter Sandman» entrance of Metallica at Virginia Tech during the game.

The entrances in «Madden» are supposed to set the mood. To me, they lack anything special. They're just boring and generic.
Source: EA Sports

«Madden» brings NFL licences, logos and players to the screen, but it feels sterile. The stadium atmosphere seems boring and interchangeable, the commentators sound canned and the presentation has the charm of a TV broadcast you've seen a hundred times before.

Gameplay: dynamic versus routine

Whoever plays «College Football 26» quickly realises that there is more energy on the field. The animations seem more fluid, the teams play noticeably differently and there are those turning points where everything can suddenly change: an intercepted pass, a risky touchdown just before the break, a blocked field goal. Suddenly the mood turns, the stadium shakes and I can feel my own team being carried away.

College football generally has the advantage here that the styles of play are more diverse. Some teams rely on the classic triple option, others play an open spread offence, others let the running game dominate until the opponent collapses. In the NFL, on the other hand, the systems often seem like variations of the same blueprint, with only marginal differences. In college, I'm often served completely different approaches week after week. And that's exactly what the video game series can convey - both for better and for worse.

The «College Football» series feels much more alive to me in gameplay.
Source: EA Sports

«Madden», on the other hand, often feels static. Moves are predictable. The players move more slowly, there is less variation. Everything feels so similar. The few new animations do nothing to change the fact that it still feels like the same game from years ago, just with slightly new packaging. Yet both games are based on the same engine and are from the same publisher: EA Sports.

Game modes: From fans for fans or from EA for the wallet

The Dynasty mode in «College Football 26» is the centrepiece of the game for me. It feels like a love letter to everyone who truly lives and breathes college football. Recruiting isn't an annoying menu item, it's its own little world where I can develop strategies, build relationships with talent and shape a programme for the long term. Rivalries aren't just a statistic. They feel like real stories that develop over years.

The recruiting process and transfer portal feel much more intense than the draft and roster building in «Madden» thanks to different college parameters and clear player deal breakers.
Source: Kim Muntinga

The whole thing seems as if the developers have understood what fans want because they are fans themselves. Above all, they have also accepted the criticism from fans after the comeback game «College Football 25» and largely implemented it.

And then comes «Madden». There's the franchise mode. Super. Theoretically, it's the NFL equivalent of Dynasty. In practice, however, it feels like it's been trapped in a time warp for years. There is a lack of small and large improvements. It feels like there has been no noticeable further development for years, no loving details and no surprises.

In the line-up screen of «Madden NFL 24» I set the depth chart of my team.
Source: Kim Muntinga

The AI often feels absurd when making trades. I rarely get realistic offers. On the other hand, I can quickly secure huge amounts of first-round picks with smaller tricks or trade for a strong roster. The draft also still feels like a side note. Yet for me as a fan, including the offseason, it's the centrepiece of the NFL season.

It's shocking how little love or respect this mode is given. Franchise mode feels like a chore that you just drag along because it's always been there. I hate that.

Over the years, a little more information has been added to the draft process, but somehow the whole thing still seems loveless to me.
Source: Kim Muntinga

Instead, EA is putting its energy into Ultimate Team. And let's be honest: it's not a game mode, it's a cash machine. Packs, cards, boosters - it's all about spending. If you pay, you dominate; if you don't pay, you become a sparring partner. It's obvious where most of the development energy is going, and it has nothing to do with a real NFL simulation. It's pure marketing with a football flavour. I don't like that. At least it's not as bad as «Fifa», er, I mean «EA FC».

I love the little traditions in college. Here's Herky the Hawk, the mascot of the Iowa Hawkeyes. The NFL and «Madden» can't give me that atmosphere.
Source: EA Sports

The price of priorities

Maybe «Madden NFL» really needs to take a break to come back with the energy that once made it great. The franchise mode would have to take centre stage again. Finally, there needs to be more focus on real NFL careers instead of the same old Ultimate Team nonsense. But to be honest, I don't think EA will ever go down that route.

The juke fits, the game doesn't.
Source: EA Sports

When we look at how attached the company is to Ultimate Team, it becomes clear: as long as the money is flowing, the fun of the game remains secondary. In 2024 alone, EA generated over 4.4 billion US dollars with «Extra Content» - i.e. microtransactions - more than half of which came from Ultimate Team in «EA FC», «NHL», «Madden» and Co. With total sales of 7.5 billion US dollars, the course is clear. Too bad. Because as long as EA keeps feeding the cash machine, Madden will remain an idle game.

Header image: EA Sports

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Kim Muntinga

Editor

Kim.Muntinga@galaxus.de

My interests are varied, I just like to enjoy life. Always on the lookout for news about darts, gaming, films and series.

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