Madden NFL 23

Madden NFL 23 Review – High Upside

In total, this year’s Madden is a lot like the past decade of Madden in that it suffers a number of self-inflicted wounds and returns features that were unpopular in years prior. However, it’s crucial to reiterate, on the field, Madden genuinely feels great for the first time in a long time. The changes to Franchise are helpful but not revolutionary, the MUT Field Pass system is promising but janky at launch, and other modes are largely forgettable. This would all present quite a lackluster view of the game if not for the impressive on-field leap it performs. The improvements on gameday make Madden 23 a flawed game, but clearly an improvement in the series’ most important way: the actual playing of football. Read full review…

Madden NFL 23 Review – A respectable rebuilding effort, even if it doesn’t quite earn a “Boom!”

Madden fans will tell you that it hasn’t been a great decade for EA’s football sim. Like the NFL itself, the profits have continued to grow, but the product has suffered. Madden NFL 23, though, provides a glimpse of a light at the end of the tunnel with a handful of smart enhancements to animations, AI, and passing mechanics that make subtle but meaningful improvements to the moment-to-moment football on the field. To be clear, Madden still has a long way to go to catch up with other sports sims, the majority of which are more refined, less buggy, and have a clearer identity. After playing Madden NFL 23, though, I finally have a little optimism that it’s on the right path — maybe not an emphatic “Boom!”, but clear forward progress for a series that so desperately needs it. Read full review…

Review | Madden NFL 23 on Series X|S

On the field has seen a marked improvement over last year. The overall presentation is great, but the microtransaction heavy focus still detracts from things for those interested in the FUT mode. Being tied to the online servers for so much of the game’s functionality is worrisome when the servers have been in such rough shape during this launch period. Also, the game is $70 on series consoles which is a big ask for a yearly title. Overall it’s a step in the right direction that I hope carries the franchise back to its once great heights. Read full review…

Madden NFL 23 Review

Overall, I had a lot of fun with Madden 23 and will likely get close to the hundred hour mark in it over the course of the next year via Franchise Mode alone, much like I have with previous entries in the series. That said, aside from the welcome overhauls to aspects of that mode, I struggled to find many truly noticeable changes that would single this game out to be one which takes the annual series to a new level. Read full review…

Review for Madden NFL 23

This year’s installment of Madden NFL highlights EA’s priorities. Instead of bringing new features to PC, the company forces players to buy $70 copies of the game for consoles that are still hard to come by. Instead of creating value with the addition of crossplay multiplayer, the company forces friends to choose a platform to play on or even buy multiple copies. This is checkbook game development, and enough is enough. The developers of the Madden NFL franchise need to be held to account, not by video game reviewers, but by the community itself.

At the end of the day, Madden NFL 23 is a poor pro football simulator. It isn’t even a fun arcade-style game. It feels somewhat aimless with the development team pulling the game in many different directions at the same time. The changes from Madden NFL 22 are minimal and the PS5/Xbox Series X/S exclusive features still do not address core gameplay problems. Read full review…

Madden NFL 23 Review – A Legend’s Lasting Legacy

Madden 23 returns to its roots by focusing on gameplay improvement and player experience. Though no significant developments or additions were made to its multiple game modes, this still feels like a step in the right direction for a franchise that has otherwise been taking it in the shins in recent years. It still remains to be seen whether EA can build on the solid foundation of this year’s release, but at the very least, the game is a fitting tribute to the legend of John Madden, who preached fundamentals above all else. Read full review…