Madden 25 review: Brilliance without the soul

This is the best Madden in a long time, and also disappointing.

The HBO documentary Music Box: Listening to Kenny G is a fascinating study of an artist. In it, Kenny G opines about why he’s disliked so much, and whether that’s fair. One of the highest-selling musicians of all-time, he is truly confused at the idea that someone who is as technically proficient as he is, as mechanically brilliant as he is, really needs to be concerned with factors like emotion, feeling, and soul.

Madden 25 conveys this same theme, and it’s not entirely the game’s fault. In fact, quality of life changes, adjustments to the formula, and the on-field act of playing football have never been better in a Madden game. The core issue isn’t anything that Madden 25 is or isn’t, and rather what we’ve already experienced this year.

College Football 25 is quite literally a game changer for the Madden franchise. For the better part of a decade the NFL’s game has been the only one in town, allowing it to be a monolith only comparable to itself. There remained one incontrovertible truth when it came to Madden despite the frustration at a lack of changes, annoyance of missed features, and hundreds of hours of glitches: If you wanted to play the newest football game you only had one option. No amount of complaining changed that.

So, when College Football 25 comes along from the same company, complete with a heaping of love and care put into every down, it’s impossible not to view Madden 25 through the same lens and be disappointed with the result. For every ounce of joy college football exudes, the NFL lacks it. In many ways the differences between college and pro football has never been better highlighted, but in this case that’s not a good thing. As a result Madden 25 just feels flat on the presentation side.

Here’s an easy case in point: Earlier this week in College Football 25 I was playing in the fourth year of my dynasty as Tennessee. My junior QB threw for five touchdowns for the first time, and it was met with bespoke commentary pointing out that he’d “Now joined Heath Shuler, Casey Clausen, and the great Peyton Manning in the Tennessee record books.” The only way to hear this line is if you throw for five touchdowns in a game with a player for one specific school — and yet College Football 25 had that covered.

Meanwhile in Madden there’s nothing close to that. Sure, commentary might make a pertinent comment about how great C.J. Stroud was in his rookie season, or give a throwaway line about Sauce Gardner was Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2022, but there’s almost nothing unique about history of the franchises, great players from the past, or the significance of key moments as they’re playing out on the field.

If this was just limited to commentary it would be one thing, but generic team introductions across the NFL, a lack of unique fans, and presentation which has been run back leaves the entire experience lacking. While I personally identify far more with my favorite NFL team, I was left wanting to go back to my dynasty in College Football 25 rather than continue my season in Madden 25.

What makes this so frustrating is that all this is true, while this also being the best iteration of Madden I’ve played in years. Many of the best on-field elements of College Football 25 have been ported over. The animations chain together better than before, making the action feel smoother. Offensive line blocking is improved, which makes the ground game feel a lot more like the college game, albeit with narrower running lanes, while quarterbacking rewards diagnosing the defense more than ever.

Thankfully this also translates to defense. Teams play more like their real-life counterparts than ever before, and make much more sensible situational playcalling. In my time with the game I’ve seen less critical short-yardage third downs result in bizarre deep passes to 4th-string receivers than in the past, and more cases where the team will actively try to use their running backs. In the same vein you won’t see a pocket QB scamper for a 15-yard run. Instead they’ll roll out, and look for a play to develop before throwing the ball away.

At no point in time that I played a game of Madden 25 did I feel like two teams played the same way. This is a massive improvement for a franchise which so often has been marred by everything feeling the same outside of playbooks and player stats.

In terms of game modes we have some incremental improvements, but it’s a far cry from the complete overhaul people hoped for. The new “storyline” system is a welcome change to break up the action, but too often the results of these decisions is far too transparent to really be intriguing. During training camp a reporter asked my coach what part of the team I was most confident in, to which I said “The defensive line: I guarantee we’ll get 50 tackles and 10 tackles for a loss this season.” Naturally this became a goal for the season, but it was hilarious to imagine any football coach speaking like this. It was a moment that would have been far more effective without the ceaseless hand-holding on what these decisions result in.

This wholesale pivot from ownership to coaching that’s happened in recent iterations from Madden continues to be a step in the wrong direction. Leveling up the traits of a coach might be neat, but I still want to set the prices of tickets, parking, popcorn, and examine the economy of running a team — because that’s what sets the NFL apart from the college game.

On a positive note, the quality of life changes are brilliant. Menus are snappier than ever before, and the music is the best its been in years. This is critical because songs will play routinely in the pre-game practice mini-games in franchise mode, so it’s nice to have something better to listen to. The biggest element missing from College Football 25 is the automatic clock run-off to kneel out a game. It was one of the most welcome elements that hasn’t been brought over for some inexplicable reason, and I didn’t know how much I missed it until it was gone.

The biggest gameplay shift comes with the NFL’s new kickoff rules, and it’s clear that the Madden team isn’t entirely sure how this will play out like the rest of us. It’s a little jarring to get used to waiting for the pursuit on defense, but it feels fresh. The problem is when something happens to the kickoff that alters the formula. For example: If you commit a roughing the kicker penalty on a PAT, the kicker is essentially coded to boot the ball as far as they can on the ensuing kickoff — which translates to a touchback every single time. The A.I. rarely skies the ball, or uses any other techniques which could play into the new NFL kickoffs.

Is Madden 25 worth buying?

So we’re left with the big question. If you’re an NFL addicted fan without much appreciation for the college game then it’s a resounding yes. You will see a monumental shift in the on-field action from Madden 24, and especially if you didn’t play College Football 25 it will feel like a vastly improved experience.

Just don’t expect this game to reinvent the wheel. It has borrowed many of the best elements from EA Sports’ college game, but is still extremely lacking in the presentation department. Outside of the new commentary teams (Mike Tirico and Greg Olsen/ Kate Scott/ Broack Huard) the formula for how the game looks and sounds between downs is very similar.

We’re left with a football game that’s a lot like Kenny G: Technically brilliant, but it doesn’t make you feel anything. For some fans that will be enough, but this is a case where it’s impossible not to draw comparisons to College Football 25, and to that end it feels like a major step back, just a couple of months apart.