'Madden NFL 24' scores a win: review
The first Madden football video game came out a whopping 35 years ago, way back in 1988, on the PC (back when people called PC’s “home computers,” too; let that sink in for a moment). In 2023, the series is still chugging along.
Yes, Madden’s had some hiccups in recent years (most notably last year, when a save bug wrecked plenty of gamers’ NFL video game enjoyment, including mine). But with "Madden NFL 24," the game rediscovers its footing. There’s nothing amazingly revolutionary about EA Sports’ latest Madden effort, but this is a steady game that continues moving the video game football downfield. "Madden 24" is like a four-yard rush up the gut on second down: not fancy, but an effective (and often critical) step in any 90-yard touchdown drive.
Things don’t make a great first impression (though this is a problem in other sports games too). For several years, you had an obvious pop-up trying to sell you Ultimate Team (or ... something) and you’d hit the B button, then move to your regular game menu.
Now, this pop-up is a bothersome full-screen event. Coupled with oddly sluggish menus, you might take a few seconds longer than you want to get into the action action.
But the action itself is worthwhile. The gameplay itself remains as steady as ever, with subtle improvements driving a sharper on-field experience. The guts of the experience remain the same, from X-Factor powers on superstars to the general structure of your playcalling, but tiny changes abound to make this feel like a more elevated experience.
If you’re a casual Madden player, you may not recognize the changes instantly, but the more you play, the more you’ll see receivers catching the ball in stride, or making faster, more natural cuts as soon as they catch a ball on a hook pattern.
This is most noticeable when you throw a short hook over the middle: There’s a new sense of momentum here that feels realistic but fair. Along with new passing control options that make it easier and more natural than ever to lead receivers, you have an aerial offense that plays fast.
If you love quarterbacking hurry-up schemes and channeling your inner Brady (I have), you’ll love the pace and precision of the offense this year.
It all looks great too, even if it doesn’t sound great. One of the biggest letdowns of Madden the last few years has been the color commentary, and it’s that way again this year. There are few impactful lines from the booth, so go ahead and crank up some tunes while you play this year’s game.
Still, the onfield experience is solid enough, and everything feels appropriately big. Madden’s made great strides to hone the game in recent years, the in-game momentum meter being one of them: If you’re able to gain momentum, you’ll get certain buffs until you lose it. This feature feels tuned perfectly in "Madden 24," so much so that I’d actually advise sports game rivals "MLB The Show" and "NBA 2K" learn from Madden here.
There are missteps, though, especially in regards to substitutions. The league is increasingly positionless, but you still can’t play wide receivers (see: Samuel, Deebo) as running backs. Madden needs to do a better job of reflecting the versatility of today’s football better, but its depth charts and substitutions have too many limits.
Madden’s Franchise mode, meanwhile, sees slight improvements that enhance its fun factor. By and large much like the rest of the game, it’s a similar experience to previous iterations.
But you’ll appreciate the small tweaks. Mini-games are finally back, taking up residence in the Weekly Strategy portion of prep for every game, and they give you a chance to earn XP for your players. They’re also a great way to learn and pick up nuances in pass patterns, run blocking and other in-game actions you’ll need to know.
The downside of those mini-games is they fail to evolve with you. Every single week, they’re the same, even if you’ve dominated a mini-game for your favorite receiver for 10 straight weeks. The position of passing icons barely changes, the defensive variables don’t change, and the scores you pursue don’t change.
This would be far more fun with leaderboards of some sort, or escalating score targets based on your level of experience in-game. (Still I’d rather have them than not, if only to learn and master the rest of the game.)
Madden also adds a few wrinkles to contract negotiations. These are subtle, but now, instead of resigning a player simply by drawing up his contract, you’ll get a bit more information about what will work from him, and the drawbacks and strengths of potential deals. I wish we had deeper sliders, as we do in "NBA 2K," to help us tune trade logic even more, but it’s heartening that Madden is finally doing a bit of this. Ultimate Team and online play both remain steady as well.
It all adds up to a solid effort by the folks at EA Sports – and a turnaround from last year. Few annually released video games face the pressures of Madden – and no, the game hasn’t met them every year. But this year, EA scores a win, delivering video game football at its best.
Sometimes, a four-yard run up the gut is just fine.
———
'MADDEN NFL 24'
3 out of 5 stars
Reviewed on Xbox Series X and PC
Available on Xbox platforms, PlayStation platforms, PC
