Madden NFL 19

 PlayStation 4
User Score
2.0

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 265 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 265
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 265
  3. Negative: 215 out of 265
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  1. opertinicy
    Nov 19, 2018
    4
    Probably the last game I'll purchase from EA Sports. It's like a web of advertisements to give them more money that it ruins the game. I like to play games to escape being hounded by money at every turn. Already paid ~$80 for the pre-release, and wish i could have it back. This business model is bad for games, and won't support it.
    On a happy note, it's fun to play against my friends.
  2. blkdeath75
    Aug 8, 2018
    4
    No idea why all these Madden titles get big reviews. Some people are just programmed to write the same thing every year. Video game football should be about playability and smooth reaction of controls. Madden doesn't hit either of these marks. The game has literally been the same since Madden 2010 only the graphics and animations get a bit better. You seriously could HB toss right and leftNo idea why all these Madden titles get big reviews. Some people are just programmed to write the same thing every year. Video game football should be about playability and smooth reaction of controls. Madden doesn't hit either of these marks. The game has literally been the same since Madden 2010 only the graphics and animations get a bit better. You seriously could HB toss right and left your way to victory in every single game because the AI never learns.
    I like to play D-line when I play and the linemen all have this ability to get magnetically drawn to the O-line. This has been like this since the Madden 90's era. Forcing the lineman to butt heads. Also the offense is just as bad. When a dime zone defense lines up on a fake punt offense and the pass completes for 40 yards it is almost as bad as a goaline blitz 90 rated defense watching a 62 rated HB run up the middle untouched from 15 yards out for a touchdown.
    The only reason Madden gets the reviews it does is because of team/player licensing and nobody else wants to try and get in the business of football games because EA has cornered the market since the early 90's.
    All in all just another EA game with purchase options to boost your Madden Ultimate Team(MUT) to whatever your wallet can handle to blow away single purchase players online with booster pack players.
    As far as the "haters will hate" posts, there is nothing else out on the market to duke it out with EA. Nothing to hate about other than nobody else will try.    … Expand
  3. SaintJames012
    Aug 11, 2018
    4
    In it's current state as of this review (August 11th), Madden is a bug riddled mess. While some bugs are comical in nature, such as the LB turning and staring at the referee which makes me think of some humorous situations where such an action would happen in the middle of a play, others are not so funny, annoying, or downright infuriating. One of the most common bugs that is fairlyIn it's current state as of this review (August 11th), Madden is a bug riddled mess. While some bugs are comical in nature, such as the LB turning and staring at the referee which makes me think of some humorous situations where such an action would happen in the middle of a play, others are not so funny, annoying, or downright infuriating. One of the most common bugs that is fairly annoying but not too bad is the injury notification that flashes every other play when no injury occurs. This will pop up several times in a game when noone gets hurt and will scare you a little the first time it occurs but will become annoying once you realize it is just a hoax. Another glitch involves the use of coach mode, in which the offense will run on autopilot as the mode intended, but the defense will not. This isn't even a situation where not touching the controller will put autopilot on, as if no action occurs, then the player will stand idle. The game soft locks if you spectate a field goal attempt regardless of you kicks it. LBs will stop in place to allow CPU RBs to break off for big yardage. CPU LBs will phase through linemen to tackle your runner behind the line of scrimmage on All-pro and All-Madden difficulty. on harder difficulties, QBs can break off multiple sacks in order to make a big play even if your defense plays flawless. If you use the 3rd person camera for defense, the game does not autoflip the control stick for tackles, so when you go to tackle, your guy will dive away from where you want to since the game is reading the stick in the opposite direction. During the pre-snap, the QB will sometimes wonder toward the sidelines and rarely , though quite infuriatingly enough, not come back resulting in a delay of game. If you call an audible on offense and also a hot route before snapping the ball, the game will sometimes not allow you to snap the ball unless you reset the play to the one you originally called. The player lock-on focuses on the player, but does not position the camera to where you can see the ball, so you are for the first couple seconds playing blind to what the offense is doing. And last but not least, Leveon Bell can teleport across the field, don't believe me look it up.In its state as of writing this, this game is annoying to play really needs to be ironed out.… Expand
  4. hokido
    Sep 1, 2018
    4
    This years iteration of Madden feels like yet another step back for the franchise, with Longshot failing to improve and build on last years release, gameplay wise the game feels no different, and the even more insidious microtransactions that have infested Madden make this a game that should be avoided.
  5. nicktwum
    Sep 10, 2018
    4
    Longtime Madden fan and has been waiting for more than a decade waiting for an Actual customization option and they give us this copy and paste a piece of **** I'm disappointed in EA first you ruined star wars and Mass Effect (I platinumed all the 3 mass effect games on my ps3) games for me, then you ruin the franchise I love ever since I was a kid... You fill it with ****Longtime Madden fan and has been waiting for more than a decade waiting for an Actual customization option and they give us this copy and paste a piece of **** I'm disappointed in EA first you ruined star wars and Mass Effect (I platinumed all the 3 mass effect games on my ps3) games for me, then you ruin the franchise I love ever since I was a kid... You fill it with **** microtransactions as though it was a mobile game...Screw this game I'm done with you EA I'm done with your games, the only game I may give a chance is anthem..knowing you, you will probably flop the **** out of it like ME: A… Expand
  6. ThePeoplesVoice
    Oct 26, 2018
    4
    At this point it's all kind of the same. There is no real innovation anymore.
  7. HellraiserGames
    Aug 15, 2018
    4
    This Game Sucks. Franchise update is a fail, still no assistant coaches, no training staff, no stadium or facilty upgrades, stat tracking is out of date. Bugs and glitches everywhere. Create a player is the same garbage it has been. Mut is pay to win football for dummys. Its just a Roster update Don't be like me Don't buy this game.
  8. jaxsuperstar
    Aug 27, 2018
    4
    I am playing on PC. The PC controls suck so you have to use a controller but when i use my controller the buttons are a mess. The game frequently crashes and save files corrupt easily. The game was a slight improvement than 18 but it still has a long way to go.
  9. Connorcox1997
    Feb 16, 2019
    3
    Remember when EA used to be a good company during the PS2/Xbox days before they didn't bought the whole NFL exclusive license to destroy there competitor. I missed those times. Today EA is definitely the worst company in America. There hasn't been a great Madden game since Madden 12. Back when Madden 18 use the frostbit 3 engine I thought it was going to look way better, but apparently, IRemember when EA used to be a good company during the PS2/Xbox days before they didn't bought the whole NFL exclusive license to destroy there competitor. I missed those times. Today EA is definitely the worst company in America. There hasn't been a great Madden game since Madden 12. Back when Madden 18 use the frostbit 3 engine I thought it was going to look way better, but apparently, I wish EA didn't use the frostbit 3 on Madden. Madden 19 is even worse than last year, its the same thing as the previous madden. The sequel to the Longshot story mode is a bit better than last years game, but the story is so cheesy. The Longshot hasn't been that good, and I bet Madden 20 is going to have the same thing to the story mode, cutscenes, cheesy dialogue, and a little bit of gameplay. At least with Fifa's the Journey you get to play as many games instead of watching cutscenes, and the Journey as fun to play. Madden Ultimate Team mode has been fun to play if it didn't have any of those stupid microtransactions. The game is still fun to play with your friends. The franchise mode it better than last year with the addition of draft classes in the game. EA is nothing but a terrible company that doesn't listen to there fans, makes the game worst, and lastly ruins everything that made Madden great in the first place. If EA didn't have to buy the whole license in the first place, there still would have been NFL 2k vs. Madden today. Imaging if NBA 2k decides to obtain the entire NBA exclusive license to destroy there competitor NBA Live and NBA 2k would still be the exact same thing year after year, and people would hate the game even more. That what Madden is today. I think it's about time that EA finally gives up the whole NFL exclusive license so we can have NFL 2k vs. Madden again, and make sports games great again.… Expand
  10. LinkinAmsterdam
    May 18, 2019
    3
    I am going to be as objective as possible with this review. I was going to give this game a 0 but to be fair there are some aspects which are not that terrible, but let me explain.

    Franchise mode: - There is absolutely nothing new about Franchise mode as opposed to last years game. The only difference is that now you are able to choose what aspect of your player you want to upgrade    I am going to be as objective as possible with this review. I was going to give this game a 0 but to be fair there are some aspects which are not that terrible, but let me explain.

    Franchise mode:
    - There is absolutely nothing new about Franchise mode as opposed to last years game. The only difference is that now you are able to choose what aspect of your player you want to upgrade after each game, that is, if they received enough points for improvement.
    - The draft class upload is the only feature that is really nice. You can upload draft classes from online all the way up to 2023, if enough people have created these draft classes online.
    - If you want to relocate your team or upgrade your stadium, there is no need because the stadiums, team names, and relocation cities have stayed the same since 2012.

    Let us move on to other things:

    Gameplay:

    The gameplay offline is alright, but the one thing I absolutely hate is the animations this year. What I mean by this is that if you have a receiver wide open and you tell your QB to throw high, the linebacker or whoever will jump about 10 feet high to intercept it. That is my review on offline gameplay, which is not that bad...

    Then I decided to try the online gameplay...holy **** a disgrace, let me explain:

    I don't know what it is about these animations this year but whenever you try to tackle somebody online with the hitstick they decide to spin off the tackle like a ballerina. I am not saying I am using a CB to tackle a FB, rather, I am using a DT to tackle a QB while he is running, and no it is not Michael Vick, it was Dan Marino. In addition, whenever you try to tackle someone online (MUT Squads against computer) the computer doesn't just spin off 1 tackle but off several.

    Anyway enough of that aspect...let us move towards MUT squads:

    MUT squads is not bad, but if you are not willing to spend the coins, then there will have to be countless hours put into the challenges if you want to get a team to compete against others online or even against the computer online. The standard you have to have in order to compete online is an average of an 88overall team. Even that may not be acceptable. But that is my benchmark and then most of the time, people will use "Money plays" every single time.

    "Money plays" are plays that work everytime because the computer (AI) is unable to actually respond to the same play that is being chosen. There used to be a time where Madden actually took skill to play such as Madden 1998-2013 (roughly) but now it is all dependent on "Money plays".

    Let me go back to gampelay for a second:

    - Pre-snap issues:
    - If you tell your defense to base align, they do the complete opposite. If you tell them to watch overtop, they will get beat overtop. So those pre-snap calls are absolutely useless.

    - Half-time show attempt:
    - Congratulations! Madden has ESPN or whoever now, but is unable to make anything of it because the halftime show during your game is just scores being recorded throughout the league by Jonathan Coachman. This is not needed as I can see this while playing the game.
    - God forbid you skip the halftime show, because then Madden personally attacks you with stupid phrases like: "well alright then, I guess I won't take a break"... so funny...maybe it is just because I heard it so often that it gets annoying when they keep saying sly sayings when you decided to skip the halftime show.

    The Story mode:
    - The story mode is not even worth playing because it is just a movie. It is a nice feature but all it is, is that is a mode for new people coming to madden or even football and just want to be interactive in a playable (partly) movie.
    - I did not even complete the story mode because it is not worth my time.

    Conclusion:
    - The same game as Madden 16 pretty much with updated rosters and a new story mode.
    - MUT squads is a decent mode if you actually invest time into it, however, do not expect to win much if you plan to go online. Also if you play MUT squads online against the computer with a friend, always go into a regular defense if the computer is on 4th and less than 10 yards. It is a guaranteed fake every time.

    - Franchise mode is nothing new, and I have played the entire 15 seasons, so trust me it just gets repetitive after the first 3 seasons as every team just get's the same generic stadium because they want to have the newest stadium. I literally played 9 teams in the same stadium in my 7th season.
    - Gameplay is terrible and needs a complete makeover to the point where it takes skill again and the animations aren't something out of a Michael Bay film. 10 feet jumps from the AI, while your player is having a seizure when you tell him to jump up for a ball.

    Save yourself and dont buy this game, although it is May so this review is probably not worthy to anyone. Anyway, Madden 20 won't be much different but I will buy it, cuz what else am i gonna play    … Expand
  11. Saintsday89
    Aug 8, 2019
    3
    It’s a minor update to 2019. It even has the same commentary. The superstar X factors are a terrible addition and the gameplay is actually worse this year. I am so disappointed. If I had bought a physical disc I would have already resold it.
  12. Sartagis
    May 19, 2019
    2
    I have played many versions of Madden NFL over the years. However, the version 4 years prior was the only one of the last decade other than 19.

    Game is very scripted. I have played 5-6 seasons and had one where I lost 8 games in the final defense of a drive. I have a running back that has got worse each season as he almost never breaks tackles. First and second year he had about the    I have played many versions of Madden NFL over the years. However, the version 4 years prior was the only one of the last decade other than 19.

    Game is very scripted. I have played 5-6 seasons and had one where I lost 8 games in the final defense of a drive.

    I have a running back that has got worse each season as he almost never breaks tackles. First and second year he had about the same number and the third year was half the number, per run. He was rated about 80 average the first year, upper 80s the second, and about 94 the third.

    MUT (Ultimate Team)

    The solo battles which is equivalent to FIFA's squad battles requires an online subscription, while FIFA does not. Also, you have to wait days to get a new set of games. The rewards are also quite poor compared to other game modes. The solo challenges can be fun but can also be very frustrating as they seem to be far more scripted. I just played 7 of the training challenges and NEVER stopped a team on 3rd down in 9 (Played last one 3 times) challenges, except once. In that game I had a 3-point lead and the computer threw into double coverage. The deep man kept running deeper while the pass was angled to the sideline so he was too far from the receiver. The Front defender just dropped to a walking speed allowing the receiver to catch the ball for a first down and this was on 4th and long. They get a touch down later so I had to get one to win. I march down field and score a TD with 12 seconds left. No return on the kickoff so they start at their 25. I run a 3 man line with deep zone defense and they pass. Single defender can't make the tackle and the deep defenders let him get 30 yards more before he is taken down for a 58 yard gain with 2 seconds to go. They kick a field goal to tie the game. I win the toss and get to where I can kick a 44-yard field goal. I have not missed under 50, even in high wind with my kicker. I kick the field goal and it hits the bottom bar and bounces out. I eventually intercept the ball and stop a team for the first time in about 20 drives. Note, my defense is rated about 86 with the teams I played being 76-81 overall. I drive down field and kick a 26 yard field goal I thought I was going to miss because it barely cleared the bar.

    Some noteworthy issues with the game.
    1. Forward progress marking is terrible. I had a receiver catch a ball and get hit at the 1 and knocked back and a second defender drops him at the 4. He never moved forward after the first hit so it should have been at the 1. Next play, I run the ball and get hit at the 1 and they pile on pushing me back to the 11 where I finally hit the ground. Should have been marked at the 1 and it was marked at the 11. I have seen many dozens of bad marking like this and likely have not noticed most of those that happened to shave a yard or two off.

    2.Scripting. The other team seems to be pre-determined to play very well or very poorly. It seems very weighted to the former.

    3. Too many big plays. Plays of 15+ yards are the norm.

    4. Too pass dependent. Running is often much harder than passing. In hundreds of tackles when running between the ends of the offensive line I have never broken one made behind the line, even when not using the acceleration burst.

    5. MUT is too online focused. No solo option that I can see to fine tune your team like the leagues in FIFA.    … Expand
  13. kp70724
    Aug 7, 2018
    2
    PS4lover (quite a generic name, wouldn't you say?) gave Madden 18 a 10/10 rating last year too. Please don't tell me that EA is writing these user reviews?

    ps4lover Aug 22, 2017 Rating: 10 Amazing Graphic, good gameplay. good presentation.. Animations look good but need to be revamped.. Block Mechanic is great.. running game is pretty good. Edit: Porhawj gave WWE 2k16 and Madden    PS4lover (quite a generic name, wouldn't you say?) gave Madden 18 a 10/10 rating last year too. Please don't tell me that EA is writing these user reviews?

    ps4lover

    Aug 22, 2017
    Rating: 10
    Amazing Graphic, good gameplay. good presentation.. Animations look good but need to be revamped.. Block Mechanic is great.. running game is pretty good.

    Edit: Porhawj gave WWE 2k16 and Madden 19 a (10) rating…… and NHL 16 a (9) rating. Seriously guys, watch out for these paid reviews

    Dontsniffpaint, did you even read my review last year? Because it was the highest rated one on this site. Last’s year’s game was a 2/10. It was awful. The game was scripted, player motions were awful…ratings didn’t matter. Dontsniffpaint has indeed sniffed way too much paint.    … Expand
  14. CodeAmino
    Aug 25, 2018
    2
    I'll state this right off the bat: I'm someone who essentially only plays franchise mode. Just not into MUT like a lot of people are nowadays. I understand why EA would cater to their most popular mode that just so happens to rake in the $$$. But as a longtime fan of Madden? I'm offended EA continues to consistently give us a completely stale Franchise Mode. It's the same, and it's lazy.I'll state this right off the bat: I'm someone who essentially only plays franchise mode. Just not into MUT like a lot of people are nowadays. I understand why EA would cater to their most popular mode that just so happens to rake in the $$$. But as a longtime fan of Madden? I'm offended EA continues to consistently give us a completely stale Franchise Mode. It's the same, and it's lazy.

    The rest of this review is going to be me simply ranting about a few specific things I don't like about the game.

    Team Re-Branding:
    How many years in a row have the options for team re-branding stayed exactly the same? Just embarrassing at this point. Re-branding and design is an area that NBA 2K absolutely blows Madden out of the park in. Which is yet another sad reminder of the type of game we'd have if 2K could still make NFL games...but I digress.

    Fantasy Drafting:
    Something I always love doing in Madden is starting up franchise mode, making myself the owner/coach of every team, and doing a huge fantasy draft where I make the picks for every team. In past versions, there was a ticker on the left hand side of the screen showing which picks have already been made and which teams were coming up. This year, it's gone! It makes no sense to me why they would take that away. This may sound like a pointless complaint, but that's the sort of weird crap I do with this Madden every year, and having that taken away is a big deal to me.

    Customized Draft Classes:
    Draft classes you can upload to franchise mode? That's awesome. I love that. That's one thing I can easily applaud them for. But it might be the only thing.

    Soundtrack is Generic and Terrible:
    Does anyone remember a time when the Madden soundtrack was actually legit? Feels like it's been getting progressively worse since the early 2000s. I remember how exciting it used to be hearing a new Madden soundtrack for the first time and getting all of those sweet jams stuck in my head. Heck, even to this day almost 15 years later I still have Yellowcard's "Way Away" playing in my head on loop... all thanks to Madden 2004. But Madden 19? I simply have no words for this abomination of a "soundtrack." It's a generic disgrace. I can only assume they're going this route now in order to save money on song royalties. That's so incredibly weak on their part.

    Thoughts on Actual Gameplay:
    I know they've improved a few things here and there...but I promise you that I literally couldn't tell a single difference in gameplay between 18 and 19. I'll admit that I don't have the keenest memory of what 18 was like (it's been awhile) and that I also didn't play 19 for very long. Would I have noticed some differences if I had played a lot longer? Probably. But if I didn't notice anything different within the first 5 or so minutes of playing both defense and offense? That's all the time I needed in order to realize it's simply not worth the 60 bucks.

    I'm glad I played it safe by renting it at Red Box first before opening up the copy I had just received from Amazon. Now I can return it with peace of mind knowing I only wasted a few bucks instead of 50. I wholeheartedly recommend renting first to anyone else who purchases annual sports games. I can't believe this is the first time I every thought to do that...but I'm sure glad I did.    … Expand
  15. djh11001
    Sep 7, 2018
    2
    Where to begin,,,Well, I gave it a (2) purely because graphically it looks nice. But honestly, the past 5 versions of Madden that have come out, have gotten progressively impossible to play. The real player motion would be ok if it applied to every player on the field, but it doesn't. It only applies to the human controlled ball carriers. This alone has destroyed any fun in running theWhere to begin,,,Well, I gave it a (2) purely because graphically it looks nice. But honestly, the past 5 versions of Madden that have come out, have gotten progressively impossible to play. The real player motion would be ok if it applied to every player on the field, but it doesn't. It only applies to the human controlled ball carriers. This alone has destroyed any fun in running the ball in this game. I remember a time when you snapped the ball and had amazing responsiveness and control of your players and it was FUN and yet still challenging enough. But now, to have any chance at a realistic experience, you have to let the CPU control your ball carrier until at least the line of scrimmage is reached or else you get buried for a 5 yard loss. Don't get me started on the stupid double tapping for turbo. We have reached a point where it feels as though EA keeps slapping a new coat of paint on an old beat-up truck. If the NFL refuses to extend licensing to create competition here, then please EA, take a look back at your roots. Look back at Madden '04, '05 etc. These games were fun they were not bogged down with overly complicated control schemes. You just picked them up and played. If Madden '19 played like Madden '05, but with these updated graphics, then you would be looking at a 9.5 out of 10 title. One last thing.....Real time physics engine please!! This physics based animation nonsense has got to stop. EA if you need help on this, contact the BackBreaker development team. Too bad you guys couldn't team up....or could you???… Expand
  16. ThuleNord88
    Sep 30, 2018
    2
    Like the nfl in general, this game needs to get on its knees and admit its inferior garbage. Micro transactions and copy paste gameplay. It just never ends.
  17. RomeGoLARGE
    Mar 26, 2019
    2
    Game sales are stellar yet the community complains about the game. The game will never get better until we stop buying it. The game is mediocre with a beautiful presentation. Not many features and worst of all the scripted gameplay.
  18. verygrumpygreg
    Aug 17, 2018
    2
    the only reason i bought this is so i can make my own roster updates and draft classes. So i can play this game for years now. other then that is madden 16 but shinny.
  19. FinkPloyd
    Aug 18, 2018
    2
    I've been a Madden Player for a few years and i think this is the last one i will buy. My favorite mode to play is franchise and no matter what difficulty you play on, its impossible. Running the ball is simply not an option as right when you get handed the ball, you barely have any time to move and the RB is so slowwww. No matter who you use, they're incredibly slow. Passing is alwaysI've been a Madden Player for a few years and i think this is the last one i will buy. My favorite mode to play is franchise and no matter what difficulty you play on, its impossible. Running the ball is simply not an option as right when you get handed the ball, you barely have any time to move and the RB is so slowwww. No matter who you use, they're incredibly slow. Passing is always inaccurate no matter how easy the rout is and wide receivers drop almost every pass I dont use MUT or even bother with the so called "story mode" which has atrocious acting and just a boring plot overall. Extremely disappointed in the cash grab company that is EA.… Expand
  20. CC5277
    Sep 11, 2018
    2
    After playing 10 hours worth of Franchise mode, Madden 19 revealed its same issues that have plagued the game the previous 3 years.
    Issues:
    1. Run Game/Tackling - Offensive linemen cannot hold blocks and are not intelligent with blocking assignments Many times they run past defenders without engaging. Often times, if you run next to a lineman who is blocking a defender, 9/10 times the    After playing 10 hours worth of Franchise mode, Madden 19 revealed its same issues that have plagued the game the previous 3 years.
    Issues:
    1. Run Game/Tackling - Offensive linemen cannot hold blocks and are not intelligent with blocking assignments Many times they run past defenders without engaging. Often times, if you run next to a lineman who is blocking a defender, 9/10 times the defender will successfully disengage the block and make the tackle. Far too high. When the defender is within ~3-4 yards or so, the game predetermines that the defender will make a tackle. You can see during replays that defenders will change direction in a fraction of a second, sometimes moving faster than a ball carrier is running forward. Running also feels "chunky" in that you're player can only run in four directions, north, south, east, or west. There is no room for making fine cuts and taking precise angles. to hit a hole. Its either you run right into the back of your lineman, or you bust it out too wide, causing a defender to catch up to make the tackle. The new "Run Player Motion" is an absolute disaster. Why is a running back hitting a hole standing straight up?

    2. Passing Offense/Running Physics - In an attempt to make the game have cooler plays, it sacrifices the fluidity of a pass play. For instance, the moment that the ball is released by the QB, you can see the the defender make an unrealistic change in their direction to make a play, usually an interception (because all defenders seem to have 99 catching and 99 route running). Defenders who are in coverage of other receivers, and who are 15+ yards away from your intended receiver, change their direction immediately when the QB begins his arm in motion. No person can react that quickly to make a break on a ball. DB's/LB's are able to change direction on a dime to make a play on the ball. It is completely unrealistic.

    3. Option - The option again this year is still insanely nerfed from when it was first introduced into Madden. Many times, when a read is made to hand the ball off because the DE/LB stays at home, and "handoff" button is pressed, the game will not hand off the ball, even though the QB and RB are still in mesh.

    4. Player conditioning - For the situations of scrambling QBs (for a mobile QB) and DBs on interceptions, they get tired way too soon to be effective. My QB was below 20% stamina before he got 10 yards downfield. The same thing goes for DBs right after a pick, they have severely low stamina, and their speed gets cut in half. This is unacceptable.

    5. Interception Issues - Another issue that goes back 3+ years. When your defender has intercepted the ball, and the screen turns to take control and the player holds forward on the joystick, the game does not understand that the field has been reversed. So when you hold forward, with the screen turning to have you run forward, your player tries to run backward, and losing running momentum, making most pick 6 opportunities impossible.

    Conclusion - Clunky and same game play continue for yet another year of Madden. They try to have beautiful graphics, at the massive expense of mechanics. EA has been incompetent in providing a quality game for its fan base. Classic EA.    … Expand
  21. Drizzy14
    Sep 18, 2018
    2
    Made an account just to say how trash this game is. Online mode still riddled with cheating/broken mechanics. Deflected passes go 10 yards and get caught by players. Gang tackles miss. Same old crap every year, don't know why I buy it. Passing anywhere but vertical or over the middle works. Anything to the outside has a LB jump 10 ft in the air to pick the ball. CBs still warp... its justMade an account just to say how trash this game is. Online mode still riddled with cheating/broken mechanics. Deflected passes go 10 yards and get caught by players. Gang tackles miss. Same old crap every year, don't know why I buy it. Passing anywhere but vertical or over the middle works. Anything to the outside has a LB jump 10 ft in the air to pick the ball. CBs still warp... its just frustrating thay EA has nobody to compete against.… Expand
  22. njjones214
    Sep 19, 2018
    2
    Created an account just to post this review. DO NOT buy this game if you are an offline franchise guy. The hyped 'improvements' like the franchise mode stuff are all cosmetic, while the mode itself is still heartless, soulless, and boring. There's no player resign/free agent logic, players simply resign if you pay them, or go. Presentation is LITERALLY the same since madden 15, with thereCreated an account just to post this review. DO NOT buy this game if you are an offline franchise guy. The hyped 'improvements' like the franchise mode stuff are all cosmetic, while the mode itself is still heartless, soulless, and boring. There's no player resign/free agent logic, players simply resign if you pay them, or go. Presentation is LITERALLY the same since madden 15, with there being few cutscenes, and they repeat OVER AND OVER again each game, like the nfl films behind the head coach view, or the dreaded coach fist pump that triggers so often. Commentary was so bad and generic that I muted it.

    The constant mut messages(a mode I rarely play) are constant and annoying...they obviously want even more of my money. They don't care about anything but mut, so they slapped on another yearly gimmick to try to mask that, this time being 'rpm' system, but it's HEAVILY FLAWED. One, it ONLY effects the ballcarrier, forcing you to pace yourself before accelerating, while the defense runs full speed at all times, so it's not balanced. Secondly, the system itself is glitchy, causing ballcarriers to run goofy, or even worse, sometimes JOG even when I hold the sprint button. The worst and most unrealistic part of it is that defenders are coded to shed their blocks AS SOON AS YOU HOLD THE SPRINT BUTTON! The ai can't run the ball at all, and I've had several games where I've held them to negative yards rushing. Physics have taken a step back, and every LB in this game is super alert at all times. Screen passes DON'T work since your dumb rb often runs into the back of his blockers, and the defenders are right in your face as soon as you hike the ball.

    Speaking of hiking the ball, you have no control over your qb until he does his backpedal...NO USER CONTROL! The pass rushing mechanics are so generic and need to be fixed badly(they are saving this for the future to sell newer madden games). A LOT of the player models look off, or flat out wrong, unless they are superstar/notable players, inexcusable lack of effort. The challenge system STILL doesn't work right, injuries are everywhere too. I had a game where all 3 of my RBs got injured, so since the game isn't smart enough to put in a WR, they put in my starting RB who was 'hurt' and not supposed to return, so he literally can't run, and just stood there will he got the ball! This is a bad game, I wish I didn't cave in and buy this.

    Menus are slow, the soundtrack sucks and has no variety, the mut reminders are constant and everywhere, hardly any bad weather games in franchise mode, presentation is horrible. Shame that nfl 2k5 is STILL the best football game out, and look at how long it's been.

    I'm going to cut my losses and get a meal out of selling it back to gamestop...at least then that would be the first good thing madden 19 has done for me.    … Expand
  23. thad121
    Jan 15, 2019
    2
    I usually dont review games but you guys forced my hand on this one. I love football and because I do, I talk myself into buying Madden every year. The game is usually bad but this year is absolutely disappointing. Scripted gameplay and game altering glitches take every ounce of fun out of this game. The real player motion made player movement choppier than ever. Graphics are fine but theI usually dont review games but you guys forced my hand on this one. I love football and because I do, I talk myself into buying Madden every year. The game is usually bad but this year is absolutely disappointing. Scripted gameplay and game altering glitches take every ounce of fun out of this game. The real player motion made player movement choppier than ever. Graphics are fine but the gameplay is an absolute nightmare.… Expand
  24. hitpoint0213
    Feb 10, 2019
    2
    This game received a facelift over previous Madden games, that is all. It looks nicer, and yet seems to play worse than ever, EA has only added shovel fulls of bugs onto the mountain. It's still just a game of animations and game scripting rather than actual mechanics and realistic gameplay, and again, this issue only feels worse than ever. Franchise mode got a new progression system,This game received a facelift over previous Madden games, that is all. It looks nicer, and yet seems to play worse than ever, EA has only added shovel fulls of bugs onto the mountain. It's still just a game of animations and game scripting rather than actual mechanics and realistic gameplay, and again, this issue only feels worse than ever. Franchise mode got a new progression system, which makes it much more playable (1 point) and giving us the ability to make custom draft classes is nice (1 point), yet both of these don't matter when gameplay, both in-game and in-sim, are eye-gougingly, aneurysm-inducingly, TERRIBLE.… Expand
  25. raidernation
    Mar 25, 2019
    2
    I made an account because I feel so strongly my need to share how trash EA and this game are. It's just a sham. There's always a predetermined script that acts as god and manipulates that certain things happen in the game.
  26. Nsimdon1999
    Aug 16, 2019
    2
    This game is flat out horrible with its terrible gameplay and unresponsive controls. There are so many bugs in this game and it feel like the game wants you to lose. Here’s my scenario it’s 20-22 I’m losing after a QB scramble on 2nd down I get the ball down to the 5 yard line and there are 19 seconds left on the clock. At this point I am out of timeouts so I spam circle to run up andThis game is flat out horrible with its terrible gameplay and unresponsive controls. There are so many bugs in this game and it feel like the game wants you to lose. Here’s my scenario it’s 20-22 I’m losing after a QB scramble on 2nd down I get the ball down to the 5 yard line and there are 19 seconds left on the clock. At this point I am out of timeouts so I spam circle to run up and spike the ball before time runs out. But instead it sends me to super sim assuming the coach is bringing out the kicking team but next thing I know the game ends and we lose. This has been a problem with the last 3 madden games. EA continues to ruin this once loved gaming franchise. So tired of the same garbage every year from this game despite longshot which did not interest me at all and the new face of the franchise which was way overhyped there has been no major changes to this game which it desperately needs. I don’t think EA will change ever there is no competition for football games and the market is basically just Madden. They will continue to make money and make 0 changes and it’s just sad.… Expand
  27. ReviewMachine
    Aug 3, 2020
    2
    There charging AAA prices for a crap game. Madden died 15 years ago. The mindless idiots that keep voting with there wallets on buying junk like this game just keep promoting lazy,incompetent, trash developers to keep making games like this.
  28. Hscoa
    Sep 1, 2020
    2
    Unpopular opinion: I liked Longshot. But that's it. Franchise mode was still the same, and the game had the least features of probably any sports game. Only Play Now, Franchise, Longshot, and stupid Ultimate Team.
  29. Fishersam
    Aug 10, 2018
    1
    I pre-ordered Madden and played it day 1. After loading into the main menu, the FIRST thing i noticed was that the only menu tile that had any color or distinction was MUT mode. This is EA/Madden's microtransaction mode where you can buy players to build an imaginary team to play against AI versions of other people's imaginary teams. On the main menu, every other game mode tile was greyI pre-ordered Madden and played it day 1. After loading into the main menu, the FIRST thing i noticed was that the only menu tile that had any color or distinction was MUT mode. This is EA/Madden's microtransaction mode where you can buy players to build an imaginary team to play against AI versions of other people's imaginary teams. On the main menu, every other game mode tile was grey with with simple black text. This should tell you all you need to know about what game modes EA and Madden prioritized.

    On day one, i fired Madden up and played as much MUT as i could before i realized I wasn't having fun and i wasn't willing to pay the money required to have fun. I'd already spent $60 for the game!! I then tried the other modes and there is NO improvement from past years. It almost seemed like an afterthought to EA. Even the online head to head mode seems barebones. I refunded on day 1 and will be putting my $60 towards something else.    … Expand
  30. Djwoods23
    Sep 7, 2019
    1
    Awful game. I only play madden for franchise mode and this years franchise mode is a JOKE. I have the first pick in the draft and I can't trade for the 2nd pick, future first and another pick. Real NFL trades involving top first rounders go for 2, 3, 4 extra firsts and a couple seconds.... not with this madden. You can't trade the first pick the the draft for the second pick and anythingAwful game. I only play madden for franchise mode and this years franchise mode is a JOKE. I have the first pick in the draft and I can't trade for the 2nd pick, future first and another pick. Real NFL trades involving top first rounders go for 2, 3, 4 extra firsts and a couple seconds.... not with this madden. You can't trade the first pick the the draft for the second pick and anything more that a future 6th. Want to trade for a player? Best of luck because you aren't doing it unless the computer is the CLEAR cut winner. Want to improve a player? Best of luck. At the end of the season you will get 1 token to pick a "package to upgrade your player and the computer picks what comes out of the package. They could pick to upgrade 2 things. They could pick to upgrade 8. Usually they upgrade 2 things in the package and your layer doesn't even improve. Franchise mode is a COMPLETE JOKE. EA only cares about MUT because they make extra money on it. Hence why they ONLY focus on improvements to that mode.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

65
#65 Best PS4 Game of 2018
30
#30 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018
27
#27 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 30
  3. Negative: 0 out of 30
  1. IGN Italia
    Oct 8, 2018
    80
    Madden 19 does not redefine the series but it's a great game nevertheless.
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  2. Cubed3
    Oct 1, 2018
    80
    Madden NFL 19 is a sublime example of what can be achieved with a sports title. The Real Player Motions generates that feeling of not 'controlling' players, but rather living as the players instead. Seeing how lifelike all the players are within a match, and how they communicate with each other before and during plays, and then watching them seamlessly get into the next play, is freakishly uncanny.
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  3. GameSpace
    Sep 15, 2018
    70
    Madden 19 is much like Madden 18 before it.
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