Madden NFL 22

 Xbox Series X
User Score
0.6

Overwhelming dislike- based on 334 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 334
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 334
  3. Negative: 314 out of 334
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  1. MJR8989
    Aug 24, 2021
    0
    Madden is dead. EA has shown for the last decade+ it’s not interested in improving anything core to gameplay or Franchise which made the old versions like 04, 05, 06 so much fun, despite their graphical shortcomings.

    Everything is just canned animations, stuttering & clunky cutscenes and replays, it’s filled with bugs and unfinished modes, micro transactions, horrific commentary,    Madden is dead. EA has shown for the last decade+ it’s not interested in improving anything core to gameplay or Franchise which made the old versions like 04, 05, 06 so much fun, despite their graphical shortcomings.

    Everything is just canned animations, stuttering & clunky cutscenes and replays, it’s filled with bugs and unfinished modes, micro transactions, horrific commentary, amateur looking assets like fans, sidelines, etc. straight out of the PS2/3 era, and a hollow Franchise mode…and it’s been like this for years. Once it went to 360 consoles and beyond, it never made the jump to what we all had hoped for, and games from almost 15+ years ago are still superior (NFL 2K5, Madden 05, NCAA 06, APF 2K8).

    Something like 100 features have been removed since those old versions and either sold back to us as "NEW" or replaced with trash like MUT (gambling), The Yard, Championship Series, Superstar KO, FotF that appeal to the lowest common denominator and children… Modes that rely entirely on outright addictive gambling mechanics to hook you that should really be in their own standalone title/mobile releases, but would never survive if they couldn’t ride the coattails of the "E" rated Madden "sim" game. Is it any surprise that all the unlockable trash is bright, patterned, neon, etc. like toys for little kids? They are preying on children with these modes, flat out.

    This is why nothing core to the game has improved beyond what EA has had to reluctantly address to keep the greater Madden community from rioting. Ultimate Team *is* EA Sports now. It's the cash cow. That is their core mechanic, not the actual game. Play Now and Franchise couldn’t be effectively monetized so they added new modes that could be, then sabotaged literally everything else.

    The real painstaking efforts this year were made to integrate ALL these modes so they tie into their MUT (gambling) & the paid upgrades. These funnels and purchase loops within each mode - complete with shiny colors, exciting animations, and just enough of a tease to get you into the ecosystem - are so unabashedly in your face it's a bit sickening.

    You are prompted at almost every menu change and update to open a pack or buy points or reminded that new gear is just a pack (or COIN$) away. The real irony is that these modes are also full of bugs, so much so that it's upsetting even the most hardcore MUT shills - the same ones that get free copies from EA so they can promote it on their YouTube to their young and impressionable audiences.

    These micro transactions have single handedly accelerated the demise of Madden and most sports games. It has eroded everything that once made these enjoyable. I wouldn’t mind much if these modes were in the game if the core, fundamental pieces were locked in, but they aren’t. Instead, EA continues to saturate Madden and their games with this bloatware hoping it’ll distract enough people so they don't notice that the foundation is beyond saving and that they are being scammed. Some of these modes could be fun, but they are so pathetically implemented, broken, cringe, and cobbled together it’s laughable. It's entirely obvious their sole purpose is to promote and hook you into MUT.

    I’d say maybe I’m just too old for the game now, but considering Madden has become a casino simulator for adults, I don't think so. Like so many fans I’m tired of this **** garbage they churn out year after year. Gone are the days of waiting in line at Gamestop with your friends at a midnight release out of pure excitement for a new game.

    What’s taken its place is a marketing blitz of hype and lip service from one of the most powerful, wealthiest AAA developers in the world. They flood the online space with paid reviews, free codes, and celeb endorsements with lockstep "this is the year!" propaganda. What is the NFL doing allowing their brand to be abused like this? What is EA doing with this exclusive license? No real effort goes into this yet they have billions in resources, TV licenses, music contacts, historical highlights/audio/rosters, countless broadcast teams, access to anyone anywhere, etc.

    We’re 30 years in and by this time it should be the gold standard of sports games development, testing, deployment, and features but it's has always felt like it's doing just enough to eek out another release. Like so many others, I just want to play a fun football game again that I don’t have to shut off because it’s completely broken, stale, soulless, or monetizes my every action within it.

    It’s become nothing but a byproduct of corporate greed, complete with all the progressive tropes injected into it that you’d expect. I’d be happy with literally any other studio picking up a football game at this point because Madden has run its course and NCAA will be no better.    … Expand
  2. Ben15Izzy
    Aug 23, 2021
    0
    DO NOT BUY, embarrassing from EA, Gameplay is the worst I’ve ever seen, players run around like they have no brain, players shift and warp through each other and the ground, offensive line Is rubbish and don’t know how to play football, less detail and modes than games from 15 years ago and I don’t see a single reason to buy this rubbish excuse for an NFL simulation video game. PLEASE EA,DO NOT BUY, embarrassing from EA, Gameplay is the worst I’ve ever seen, players run around like they have no brain, players shift and warp through each other and the ground, offensive line Is rubbish and don’t know how to play football, less detail and modes than games from 15 years ago and I don’t see a single reason to buy this rubbish excuse for an NFL simulation video game. PLEASE EA, stop making madden games.… Expand
  3. Unbiasedgamer23
    Aug 23, 2021
    4
    Madden NFL 22 can be fun at times but a lot of times it can be annoying or very boring. They added a lot to franchise but Personally I can’t help but be bored still even with those upgrades. Face of the Franchise is okay but not great. Defense doesn’t seem to have awareness as they let the ball fly over their heads no matter what. Ultimate Team is still a very fun mode with your friendsMadden NFL 22 can be fun at times but a lot of times it can be annoying or very boring. They added a lot to franchise but Personally I can’t help but be bored still even with those upgrades. Face of the Franchise is okay but not great. Defense doesn’t seem to have awareness as they let the ball fly over their heads no matter what. Ultimate Team is still a very fun mode with your friends but other than that Madden doesn’t have much to offer. I rate this game a 4/10… Expand
  4. Mg_55
    Aug 23, 2021
    0
    Lo peor de lo peor.
    Dejemos a un lado que es exactamente el mismo juego del año pasado, el juego simplemente es basura nada que salvar, los mismo errores de años y comportamiento tonto de los jugadores.
    Simplemente no
  5. Fiendsofthecity
    Aug 23, 2021
    8
    My impressions are based off of a solid chunk of hours with the trial and now going into my second franchise game with the MVP release.

    I'll start with this. From T.V Sports Football, to 4th and inches, to all of the Maddens, NCAAs, Joe Montanas, NFL Gameday series, NFL2ks, Qb Clubs, you name it, I've put massive hours into each and have had good and bad times with them all. That    My impressions are based off of a solid chunk of hours with the trial and now going into my second franchise game with the MVP release.

    I'll start with this. From T.V Sports Football, to 4th and inches, to all of the Maddens, NCAAs, Joe Montanas, NFL Gameday series, NFL2ks, Qb Clubs, you name it, I've put massive hours into each and have had good and bad times with them all.

    That said, Madden 22 is better than every single one.

    Pros and Cons as follows:

    1. Player movement and Interaction

    (Pros): Player weight has been reintroduced, which factors heavily into your strategy as you now have to anticipate what your opponent is going to do and think about your pursuit angles before you fully commit. You can easily find yourself ineffective if you over or under pursue (strafe button is there for a reason, use it).
    (Cons): Gang tackling still needs work, not sure what happened to the "clean up" tackles that were introduced in next gen 21, they seem to have completely disappeared along with many of the "add on" tackles.

    2. Graphics and Equipment

    (Pros): Not too much to be said here, its next gen, it looks simply amazing.
    (Cons): Proportions of some of the facemasks are still off. They either stick out too far, or are too close to the face. Another small pet peeve of mine is the lack of tredcal thigh pads, huge oversight in my opinion.

    3. Presentation

    (Pros): Swipes/Transitions look great and are more in line with television broadcast. Camera cuts to the players as they're warming up before games is a nice touch. As well as in between plays.
    (Cons): Really need a halftime show at this point. Also, the situations in franchise are decent, but its deathly quiet and I think we could use some type of voice actors for that or atleast some camera clicks/flashes and some type of voice ambience in the room. I'm using my imagination as to what I think its supposed to sound like as the coach is answering questions lol. Face of the Franchise presentation should no doubt be integrated into franchise mode for one grand mode.

    4. Gameplay

    (Pros): Teams appear to play to their strengths. Taller/faster WRs are DANGEROUS and the A.I. WILL USE them against you. If there's a mismatch, its getting exploited no doubt, you HAVE to game plan. This is the first Madden I've EVER seen this personally. I found myself keying in on one particular WR, like "ok mother@#$#, you're DONE, this stops NOW", dude was killing me lol. Running game and lineplay are more organic/visceral and tense, you can shoot through small gaps or get stuffed, and I'm seeing various yardage gains from 1, 2, 3, yards to big chunks, 8, 10 etc, it feels great.
    Cons: Keep working on that coverage. You'll still see the odd decision from defenders in man and zone coverage. Some you can attribute to a blown coverage but there are some that you can't.

    This is all I have off of the top of my head for now. I'm sure that I'm forgetting something so I'll come back with a few additions and edits. I'll also copy and paste portions of this in different threads or across the net when warranted.

    Also, is there a way I can refuse future updates, because I have a great slider set and I like the way the game is playing now.

    Loving this release. Bravo to the devs (and can I get my tredCALS in an update please and thanks a million).    … Expand
  6. aaroninho
    Aug 23, 2021
    0
    I’m not angry, I’m just sad. You know what, screw the new additions to franchise mode. I just want a game that doesn’t have release day glitches that make the game unplayable… I’m an offline franchise guy, simple as that. And now the game mode that I dearly love (the concept of it of course) is absolutely unplayable. Next-gen stats not working? Alright. Slow menus? Okay.. Playing 45I’m not angry, I’m just sad. You know what, screw the new additions to franchise mode. I just want a game that doesn’t have release day glitches that make the game unplayable… I’m an offline franchise guy, simple as that. And now the game mode that I dearly love (the concept of it of course) is absolutely unplayable. Next-gen stats not working? Alright. Slow menus? Okay.. Playing 45 minutes just to then have the score changed to zero for the home team because of a bug? F*** off… EA won’t care, sales are high enough for them not to.… Expand
  7. Canothegreat
    Aug 23, 2021
    0
    A new year another copy and paste. I tried real hard to like this game but there is no real game play once again. Just more micro transactions and yard crap I could care less about. I'd me happy to just play the online versus mode for 10 bucks.
  8. Dom007
    Aug 23, 2021
    0
    Why does EA exist? What purpose do they serve? Their one purpose is to keep releasing crap games in our faces and make a **** tonne of money in the process. They can't keep getting away with it. EA are one of the reasons the gaming industry is dying and leaning towards **** free to play rubbish aimed towards casuals.
  9. LastNameMoore
    Aug 22, 2021
    0
    The game is straight garbage. Imagine being able to keep your job after putting this product out yearly.
  10. dagansauceda
    Aug 22, 2021
    5
    Madden 21 on Xbox one was a major disappointment, and because of that, I was not going to buy madden 22. But since I got an Xbox series X, I decided to give next gen madden a chance. Below are things I like and dislike. Overall, the game is fine, but not all that special. I would say it is better than the past few iterations of madden, but certainly not where I feel it could be with a newMadden 21 on Xbox one was a major disappointment, and because of that, I was not going to buy madden 22. But since I got an Xbox series X, I decided to give next gen madden a chance. Below are things I like and dislike. Overall, the game is fine, but not all that special. I would say it is better than the past few iterations of madden, but certainly not where I feel it could be with a new engine and more creative development. Likes:
    1) The tackle and break tackle animations are newer and more realistic.
    2) More after play animations. Celebrating with the crowd after TD’s, fan cutscenes, sideline interaction when players run out of bounds, players picking up players after they get tackled.
    3) Overall graphical improvements.
    4) QB scrambling speed. In this madden, even a QB like Brady has just enough acceleration to evade a rusher and throw a quick pass. 5) Updates to franchise mode. Inclusion of offensive and defensive coordinators, more weekly strategy, halftime adjustments.
    6) Momentum factor.
    7) Improved pregame presentation. Dislikes:
    1) Animations completely dominate physics. Derrick Henry can still be driven backwards by a small corner due to a tackling animation. 2) Not enough face scans. I can understand COVID restrictions to an extent, but a company like EA should be able to have precautions in place to at least get most players a face scan.
    3) Create a player is the same. They added a few new faces, but they need to start adopting FIFA’s creating a player feature.
    4) Franchise is improved, but there is still tons of improvements that could be done.
    5) Terrible soundtrack. The last decent soundtrack was madden 18. The last good soundtrack was like madden 09.
    6) Same announcers since madden 17. It’s time for a change. Tony Romo and Al Michaels anyone? 7) Need a new broadcast. Pregame scenes are new and better, but it doesn’t feel like authentic professional football. Need a CBS, NBC, ESPN, or NFL network type broadcast.    … Expand
  11. Miles415
    Aug 22, 2021
    1
    On my first drive I was receiving a kick off. The other team was never placed on the field and the ball stayed on the tee. My team sprinted to the ball on the tee and it gave possession to the opposite team (who wasn’t on the field). I’ve been an active madden online franchise player for 4 years. I refused to buy this game it is so buggy and bad. EA needs to either pay the money to get aOn my first drive I was receiving a kick off. The other team was never placed on the field and the ball stayed on the tee. My team sprinted to the ball on the tee and it gave possession to the opposite team (who wasn’t on the field). I’ve been an active madden online franchise player for 4 years. I refused to buy this game it is so buggy and bad. EA needs to either pay the money to get a new team in there that is competent or give the game to 2K. You are running football games and reputation as a company more and more every year.… Expand
  12. Weskerfan
    Aug 22, 2021
    0
    Holy horrible!!! There's so many glitches in this game!!! Some are glitches that were in last years Madden (can someone say copy and paste?). The soccer ball glitch is back. I mean it's nice if you wanted to play FIFA instead of picking up the fumbled football to take it to the house for a TD. There's also the new untackleable player glitch. There's the ghost that trips you up glitch.Holy horrible!!! There's so many glitches in this game!!! Some are glitches that were in last years Madden (can someone say copy and paste?). The soccer ball glitch is back. I mean it's nice if you wanted to play FIFA instead of picking up the fumbled football to take it to the house for a TD. There's also the new untackleable player glitch. There's the ghost that trips you up glitch. There's so many glitches that I can't name them all right here. This game is a total embarrassment to the NFL shield, an embarrassment to the NFL players, and an embarrassment to it's fans… Expand
  13. iSmoke
    Aug 22, 2021
    1
    Trash , not realistic , players still go through other players , every pass is a TD(zone) , every hit stick is a fumble , no money spent MUT is trash this year (so far) , can only pick 2 plays all the rest are garbage, game crashes periodically

    Here is the list of positives however !
    No load times (not EA’S doing)
  14. santwanthomas
    Aug 22, 2021
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. the least negative thing that can be said is that it’s at the quality that i expected madden 21 to be… Expand
  15. Dhall573
    Aug 20, 2021
    0
    This game is horrible and i getting a refund now. This game is not great and EA needs to let 2k take over. I will start a protest or petition about this smh.
  16. ColtraneIII
    Aug 21, 2021
    0
    This has to be one of the worst sports game I have ever played. On series X, theres constant crashes in franchise mode, there's numerous gameplay glitches and technical issues which make the gameplay horrific. The AI and animation based gameplay gives us something that is far from simulation gameplay when we see such faulty defensive AI logic. Theres a number of legacy issues such asThis has to be one of the worst sports game I have ever played. On series X, theres constant crashes in franchise mode, there's numerous gameplay glitches and technical issues which make the gameplay horrific. The AI and animation based gameplay gives us something that is far from simulation gameplay when we see such faulty defensive AI logic. Theres a number of legacy issues such as missing editable player traits such as keep feet in bounds and dropped pass traits which means any pass catchers coming through the draft lack the ability to make sideline catches. The glitches like missing kick meters, invisible plays during play selection, etc. make the game unplayable. If CD Projekt Red had to give out refunds for Cyberpunk, then EA Sports should so the same with Madden 22. Its that bad.… Expand
  17. Czach2112
    Aug 21, 2021
    0
    There are way to many bugs. Its like the developers never play the game before it comes out. NFL should be ashamed they let EA do this to the community. Plus you had 1 year to put out the new scouting system and you cant even do that at launch.
  18. SIPPIO
    Aug 21, 2021
    0
    I honestly don't know what to say anymore about EA..
    Google this name "Ian Cummings"..
    He was the lead developer for EA/Tiburon during the Golden Era of Madden all the way until EA bounced him for wanting franchise to have impact.. ~This years Next Gen is NOT the same quality we got when we went from PS1~to~PS2.. it's more in-line with Xbxo360 to XboxOne & ps3~to~PS4.. I would feel    I honestly don't know what to say anymore about EA..
    Google this name "Ian Cummings"..
    He was the lead developer for EA/Tiburon during the Golden Era of Madden
    all the way until EA bounced him for wanting franchise to have impact..

    ~This years Next Gen is NOT the same quality we got
    when we went from PS1~to~PS2.. it's more in-line with Xbxo360 to XboxOne &
    ps3~to~PS4.. I would feel bad for the current gen Madden fans who
    pre ordered only to find the game really struggling..
    But then again PRE-ORDERS are what's ruined Madden and why they release without features..
    Stop pre ordering and you wont get burned!!!
    If you woulda waited 1 day you woulda seen the ocmplaints about players invisible..
    Leading the Reciever is still mediocre and not even as good as 2008..

    Im not gonna list my laundry list, instead i'll remind everyone
    that EA paid 7 BILLION for 6 years ofl exclusivity..
    Think about that......
    *Then think about how much money they make on the Whales in Ultimate Team.
    And this is why Franchise is still mediocre dispite EA bragging how
    "franchise mode is back".. Yeah owkay!!
    This new layout is just weird and i honestly don't know how it got approved..
    **The NFL ignored the 200,000 protesting fans dead set against EA exlusivity.
    Why don't the NFL realize that if Madden and a 2K game becomes popular this only means
    The NFL becomes more popular.. Madden hasn't ever seen numbers close to 2000-2008..
    I don't know the numbers i do know the populairty and todays lack of and how epic it was back n the day.
    And even then it was stale. But atleast we had a free in-game card game to play with in-game coins..
    ***The biggest joke is the cards in MUT don't carry over.. this confuses me why players vcalue it at
    all...
    Thank god i was able to play this for free for 5 hours..
    Yet Again year after year im forced to go back to older Maddens.
    NHL is messy too but 100X's better then Madden. and this was the exact opposite back n day..
    And im barley into hockey....
    Demand better everyone!!!    … Expand
  19. chrisgisler
    Aug 21, 2021
    0
    No improvement on the ps5. Pay to play on MUT. No new innovation on MUT. Cash grab for EA.
  20. Bngstew
    Aug 21, 2021
    0
    I made a metacritic account just to post this. Do not buy this game it’s terrible. The tackling is broken the play while the ball is in the air makes no sense. They kinda fixed the play style as individual teams go. But I honestly thing that’s the only game play improvement. The game is so beyond frustrating. WR don’t make any attempts for the ball. Blocking is terrible especially leadI made a metacritic account just to post this. Do not buy this game it’s terrible. The tackling is broken the play while the ball is in the air makes no sense. They kinda fixed the play style as individual teams go. But I honestly thing that’s the only game play improvement. The game is so beyond frustrating. WR don’t make any attempts for the ball. Blocking is terrible especially lead blocking the on edge. Do not buy this game.… Expand
  21. Jrstocker86
    Aug 21, 2021
    0
    As a big Franchise mode player in all sports games, I was foolish enough to get my hopes up for this year's Madden. EA had committed to revamping and improving Franchise mode after years and years of ignoring the mode entirely. I was at the very least hoping for a step in theright direction. Upon starting my new Franchise mode however, it took very little time to realize that EA greatlyAs a big Franchise mode player in all sports games, I was foolish enough to get my hopes up for this year's Madden. EA had committed to revamping and improving Franchise mode after years and years of ignoring the mode entirely. I was at the very least hoping for a step in theright direction. Upon starting my new Franchise mode however, it took very little time to realize that EA greatly exaggerated the "amazing" new features. Franchise mode has a new layout, which essentially just moves last years layout around and paints over it with different colors. Then they added the highly touted Coaching trees adding OC and DC as well as a generic personnel department positions. They are not actual NFL OC and DC names or likenesses and EA didn't add any way to edit these things, which to me seems just lazy and overlooked. When you actually look at the talent tree you will find tons of holdovers from the previous editions of Madden coaching upgrades.Granted there are many new ones. The only issue is there is really no tangible evidence or reward for unlocking these talents and upgrades. A 4% increase in draft pick trade value? Is that even remotely worthwhile with the completely broken trade logic Madden has had (and continues to have in this edition) for years? Then you have the season moments and cutaway scenes which look like they are taken straight out of a PS3/Xbox 360 build and again, have no real impact other than minor stat boosts or dev trait boosts. When you watch these cut scenes, it is absolutely infuriating to see how terrible and broken they look. This company makes billions off of these games yearly and this is what they can provide with all of that money? Disgusting. Contracts and Salary cap are still completely unrealistic and broken. The draft is copy past job from the last few years. Moving past that, well no. There is nothing after that. Yep. That's the grand Franchise refresh as of release day. Don't forget though, Scouting system refresh is coming in a month or two. That would be comforting if anything else in this game had actually significantly changed. Face of the Franchise I just can't even really describe in detail. It is simply the worst story mode in any sports game by a large margin. Laughably bad. MUT is copy and paste job, same with Superstar KO and The Yard. The Yard is still absolutely pointless and only rewards you with meaningless apparel for the equally meaningless avatar you create when you first load the game up. Moving us to gameplay. Players make more realistic cuts, and they have added some new animations to smooth different things up. That said, players still run very unrealistically, example I caught a pass with Gronk and his legs were moving faster than any human being is capable of, and this went against his actual movement on the field. Imagine walking up the wrong side of an escalator. Sadly this was not the only example of this. I'd like to say it was a glitch but it happens often enough that I believe EA just didn't care enough to make it look more realistic. Blocking is still hopelessly broken. 0 improvements. Don't expect to run Zone heavy defensive schemes unless you want to get burned every down because as always, Zone logic is still broken. Players still miraculously move 5-10 yards to make tackles or Interceptions. Stat cast is still entirely pointless just throwing out random useless play stats. Yes. Thank you for telling me that was an 80 Yard TD. There is no other way to know that without stat cast Madden. Players still roam aimlessly during plays when not user controlled. There simply is not much to praise here. Wrapping this up.... This would be an OK game if EA had said "Hey, the game is broken in many areas, we are going to rebuild everything over the next few years and give you guys a roster update and small improvements every year for the next couple years for a discounted price". Instead they lie to players everywhere by saying they are adding all these groundbreaking features which either A. contribute next to nothing in depth or gameplay impact, or B. Are taken from decades older titles or copied from other sports titles with poor execution. I don't want to hate Madden. I want more than anything for EA to release an amazing Football game. I have for nearly a decade now. But every year they seem to make the game worse with unfulfilled promises and general carelessness with little to no attention to detail. If EA had any integrity they would end there simulation exclusivity contract and allow others to compete. They have shown time and again they are incapable of giving a realistic simulation style football game. My biggest worry now is how broken the next NCAA Football game will be in a couple years. With how they treat Madden currently, that's a scary thought.… Expand
  22. Girottomt
    Aug 21, 2021
    1
    The gameplay is terrible. No attention to The details. The game is animation dependent and the animations are terribles. They kind improve The franchise mode, but they still don't adjust easy things like contracts lenght and trade systen.
  23. Blades935
    Aug 21, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. BROKEN, actually that's not a spoiler as it's been like that for years now.

    Rehash, not a spoiler again sorry. Same game as last year.

    EA are disrespectful of the fans, the players and the whole community.    … Expand
  24. 1999john420
    Aug 21, 2021
    0
    Unrealistic football trash game it not even worth what they want for it.....
  25. drinksandstream
    Aug 21, 2021
    0
    Never have I seen such a buggy video game, even by EA Sports Madden's standards, launch, especially a few weeks later than it has sometimes released.

    Franchise Mode is still bare bones, and many of the new features are incomplete, plagued by bugs, or create more issues than before. It's controversial, but I honestly think Madden 21's franchise mode is somehow better, at least without    Never have I seen such a buggy video game, even by EA Sports Madden's standards, launch, especially a few weeks later than it has sometimes released.

    Franchise Mode is still bare bones, and many of the new features are incomplete, plagued by bugs, or create more issues than before. It's controversial, but I honestly think Madden 21's franchise mode is somehow better, at least without the September scouting update.

    Staffing Tree -- This is "a good start," but when there has been so little done to this mode in so long, I'm not interested in handing out participation points here. No real coordinators despite the exclusive NFL license and billions in revenue. Many of the things you can spend points on are tailored to offline franchise only. My largest problem here, however, is the offseason. Hiring/firing is not very competitive between teams. You cannot see the full pool of who's available to hire at any point in the offseason. I have no idea how this will work in CFM, since you just "hit A" to hire someone, and it seems to be first come, first served. I won the Super Bowl back to back years and had maxed out coordinators and somehow neither got hired by other teams as a head coach, either, so we now have another mode with poor AI logic when it comes to managing teams.

    Momentum -- This is the coolest addition to me and one that has the most potential. However, at least in franchise mode, the momentum swings seem to be very random and in many cases broken.
    I have on multiple occasions converted 3rd downs late in the game in enemy territory to inexplicably see my opponent gain momentum.

    Updated scenario engine: The cinematic scenes added to franchise mode are maybe the worst I've ever seen from a developer of this size. The beta was absolutely atrocious, and they clearly scrambled to start over with some. Maybe this will improve next year, but as for now there's inexplicable bugs like a cell phone floating in and out of a coaches hand, no nameplates on players that wouldn't be wearing their actual jerseys in the locker room in the first place, etc. Really, a lot of the work they put into face of the franchise should've been borrowed or put to better use in franchise mode. Lastly, many of the new scenarios already feel redundant 4 days after early release. I don't want to talk about the weather 4 times a year with 5 of my best players and some randoms in the locker room, especially when EA has done zero to make the weather more dynamic. It either rains or doesn't, snows or doesn't. It never tapers off at halftime or picks up. Battlefield 2042 is introducing tornados in the middle of massive battles and Madden can't even figure out how to add different intensity levels of snow, rain, and wind? How playing in the heat could have an affect on players?

    Gameplanning -- This is probably the ONLY thing I think Madden has mostly right in franchise as far as new additions. However, the halftime adjustments you can make have the same power as what you gameplanned for the week, which doesn't strike the correct balance. Fatigue also doesn't seem to affect any players not touching the ball during gameplay, an obviously major oversight.

    Ultimate Team -- I often hear people say Madden's team only cares about MUT, but if that were true, they'd actually improve this mode. Despite the computing power of next gen consoles, there's still terrible load times, and way too many barriers navigating your sets, collection, and packs. A prime example is the 21 gold team packs that come with the Dynasty Edition...you have to individually select the gold team pack each time, then go to your team of choice (have fun if your team is not one of the first few), and then start the process all over again. Adding cards to sets is somehow still not something you can multi-select, so time is lost on that. The auction house is still the same buildout as when MUT was launched years ago. If I wasn't well-versed in Madden, you would have a hard time convincing me this mode makes anywhere near as much money as it does. I will say the two positives are: they finally added player stats (which are currently an issue they're working out), and the home navigation is nice with missions broken out and overall, more aesthetically pleasing menu screens...but these are small improvements when large ones are left undone.

    Presentation -- EA championed the new pre-game presentation, super fans, and more in trailers, but this all falls very short. There are some minor details to like, like in bad weather fans have ponchos, but like everything else, fans are glitchy as well, often holding the wrong team's signs. The graphics of these fans looks very unpolished, like PS2 graphics honestly.    … Expand
  26. Mkrd
    Aug 21, 2021
    0
    Worst Madden game ever created deleted before my 10 hour trial was even halfway complete.
  27. Boat69
    Aug 21, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Madden has been on a spiraling doom for years. It's clear that EA saw this, said they were gonna make changes, and lied. The only thing that is different is franchise mode, yet it's so bland and crowded that it drives out the fun. In my opinion the first 2 longshot stories and the past 2 face of the franchise modes were better than this years face of the franchise mode.The fof mode makes you want to skip every scene because of how bland it is. Every year I expect nothing yet I am still disappointed.… Expand
  28. base_d
    Aug 21, 2021
    0
    Anyone writing a good review for this game is either an EA shill or a little tardy. Save your money people and do not buy this.
  29. RonL1ve24
    Aug 21, 2021
    0
    Literally the same game from the past few years, just a roster update. Same animations, same glitches, same dumb AI logic. Franchise mode is embarrassing. And whatever that other game mode is called, the one that nobody asked for, is so cringy and uninteresting. It’s sickening that EA is the only company allowed to make an NFL simulation game. I feel sorry for the people who continue toLiterally the same game from the past few years, just a roster update. Same animations, same glitches, same dumb AI logic. Franchise mode is embarrassing. And whatever that other game mode is called, the one that nobody asked for, is so cringy and uninteresting. It’s sickening that EA is the only company allowed to make an NFL simulation game. I feel sorry for the people who continue to buy this garbage year after year… Expand
  30. NateD13
    Aug 21, 2021
    0
    I was actually looking forward to this year and that’s where the good news ends. They promised a lot of things and delivered it in fractions for example, when they were talking about Presentation I was assuming there would be multiple announcers and broadcast networks maybe a pregame or half time show but we got none of that. The only thing they did was change the intros that show theI was actually looking forward to this year and that’s where the good news ends. They promised a lot of things and delivered it in fractions for example, when they were talking about Presentation I was assuming there would be multiple announcers and broadcast networks maybe a pregame or half time show but we got none of that. The only thing they did was change the intros that show the players getting ready for the game and from what I’ve seen there isn’t many different intros you can get. Player likeness is terrible and all of the new coaches are running on default faces even on launch day which reminds me that they said there was going to be a ton of new faces for all the players that they don’t have face scans for because only 10% of all players in the game actually have a face scan and they gave us like 5 new faces for every skin tone. The faces in the game are straight out of my nightmares if you don’t believe me look at Kamren Curl and ask yourself if that looks like it’s on next gen and the sad thing is that there are other players with even bigger names with heads like that. Some players have two different skin tones between their face and body and of course no one has their tattoos but 2k and EA’s other trash game UFC has tats for everyone. Guess how many players out of this years draft got scanned because the answer is 6 but that’s probably cause the other 200 didn’t wanna be apart of this train wreck. I can’t believe they seriously used them adding assistant coaches as a feature to promote their game, they should’ve also told you that the assistant coaches ARE NOT REAL coaches. Franchise was another thing they promised change to but besides the menu there is really not much that was done and we have to wait till next month to get the next update to it. I paid 20 bucks extra to play the game early but of course the game isn’t even finished, surprise! The game still doesn’t play like real football because the AI and animations are still what ultimately makes the game unplayable if you are not 10 years old. When I saw Mahomes getting carried by his Oline in the trailer I thought that we’re finally getting cool celebrations for a game ending score and the answer is no, every time you enter the end zone your player does the same animation of raising one of his arms until you click a corny dance. I hate the fact I’m about to compliment 2k but EA leaves me no option because when you hit either a late game shot or a buzzer beater you will watch every player on the court experiencing different emotions and reacting how you would expect which is miles beyond what EA has done. Instead of watching your team go crazy over a timely play you are gifted the same animations as if you scored when your team was down by 50 and if your lucky you will get to see your team do the same dab on the sideline for probably the 2nd time that game. It’s hard to have fun playing a game when your team on the field has the same amount of enthusiasm as EA has effort when it comes to making a simulation Football game.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

64
#64 Best Xbox Series X Game of 2021
9
#9 Most Discussed Xbox Series X Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Xbox Tavern
    Sep 20, 2021
    63
    Madden 22 is the next year’s instalment on the franchise and I feel it’s gone back a step. Yes, it looks graphically better, but otherwise it’s really not that much different to previous instalments. The career mode is a roll-forward from previous years, as are the achievements. EA could do so much more with the Madden franchise and it’s a shame they haven’t executed it as well as I’d hope.
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  2. Generación Xbox
    Sep 15, 2021
    77
    With new features and additions to existing game modes Madden 22 can be a wonderful touchdown for the IP veterans.
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  3. Everyeye.it
    Sep 13, 2021
    70
    For those who have not played Madden NFL for a few years, the new episode may be the right opportunity to start over. The Franchise mode has been rearranged and the direction taken seems to be the right one, while the gameplay, waiting for the adjustments in the secondary, is appreciated for a renewed physics in the inertia of the players' movements and for an AI that in more than one opportunity surprised us positively. The magic of the new generation has been little seen for now: Madden NFL 22 is still a good game to watch even if it was legitimate to expect something more. In general, our advice is to wait for EA Tiburon to fix bugs and glitches: time is up and the season has just started.
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