Madden NFL 26 Review – Feels Like the Playoffs

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College Football 26 initially didn’t capture my attention as much as its football counterpart. I enjoy the band music, find the events more vibrant, and the variety of teams and venues simply appeals to me more. However, despite some initial issues with slow loading times and confusing menus, it has surpassed my expectations. Madden 26, on the other hand, brings an ideal blend of prime-time flair to its gameplay experience, and manages to differentiate itself from College Football 26. This is impressive given my initial inclination towards the latter. As expected, this year’s version of Madden still has some lingering issues that I look forward to addressing. Let’s delve deeper and examine further.

In simpler terms, my initial encounter with the latest Madden game wasn’t perfect. Upon completing a 60GB installation, I launched the game and was met with an extensive Ultimate Team Pass tutorial, which may not be relevant to some players. However, settings from Madden 25 that I preferred, such as team selection and difficulty level, were carried over, making adjustments minimal for me. On the other hand, newcomers can customize their experience extensively with a variety of sliders, including playbooks, team balance, passing styles, and more, catering to various skill levels.

After crafting my personal playlist to enhance my football viewing, I stumbled upon the menu movie, featuring genuine highlights from our previous season’s superstars. To my frustration, it seemed that this video couldn’t be tailored or deactivated for a more streamlined visual experience. At first, I thought I was merely being picky, but then, all of a sudden, my game froze and crashed. Fingers crossed that my PS5 data remains intact as I hope for a smoother gameplay ahead.

You can’t personalize the movie menu at all, nor can you disable it for a less distracting background graphic.”

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“There’s no option to modify the movie menu in any way, and you can’t hide the display for a less busy visual experience.

As an avid gamer, I was eager to dive back into the game, so I decided to engage in some offensive training after restarting it. To my dismay, upon revisiting the menu, I encountered another frustrating crash – the second one during my playtime, and both occurred early on while watching the opening movie. It’s peculiar that these issues happened at this particular point. Now, I can’t fathom why Electronic Arts would repeatedly subject Giants fans to an endless loop of Eagles footage when we already have our preferred teams to choose from in the game. Why not showcase the chosen team’s visuals instead? The situation becomes even more perplexing as certain menus are so opaque that you can see the movie playing through them, causing visual chaos.

Moving on, let me share my thoughts about the first game mode I explored: Dynasty. This year, they’ve packed in numerous features for this coach-focused Dynasty mode. However, most of the issues I encountered last time persist, but in slightly altered forms. A primary concern with Dynasty is its cumbersome interface and navigation. At its heart, Dynasty provides a tremendous amount of control for players to mold their team. Unfortunately, this degree of control comes with a great deal of menu navigation, resulting in lengthy loading periods.

In one particularly problematic instance, I’d like to highlight an issue. When enhancing players with skill points, you encounter no less than four separate loading screens – three for the individual player upgrades and one for entering the Player Upgrade menu itself. Unfortunately, there’s a convenient option to upgrade all players simultaneously, but this removes control from the player, automating the process. Manually assigning skill points should not necessitate navigating through three loading screens per player. This level of delay is unacceptable in a 2025 video game. Fortunately, navigating rosters now feels less laggy than before, but upgrading players and coaches remains incredibly frustrating.

The disappointment of positional struggles is admittedly minor, but I had hoped my second-string HalfBack would secure the starting role. He was asked to demonstrate his abilities over the three pre-season games, and if he could deliver, the spot would be his. Unfortunately, during the final pre-season game, he sustained an injury that sidelined him for a brief period. This temporary setback eliminated him from contention for the starting position. As the head coach, I still have the option to make him the starter via the depth chart. However, it seems unfair when considering positional battles within Franchise or Superstar mode, where you personally fight for the starting role. It’s unfortunate that single-game injuries are not taken into account during these position battles.

Despite issues with load times and positioning, the revamped coach features and playbooks in the game have given Franchise an RPG-like upgrade that feels rewarding. Each ability has multiple levels, which you can unlock by accomplishing related objectives. This allows for strategic team customization through these abilities. For instance, concentrating on top-tier defensive abilities and playsheets increases your likelihood of turnovers and stopping teams on third down. It’s enjoyable to adapt abilities depending on the opponent, as it introduces a new layer of strategy, making players feel more in command of weekly matches than before.

“It’s fun to switch up abilities based on the team you’re playing against”

In Madden 26, I can’t help but feel a sense of joy when I step onto the virtual field for regular season games. This year, there seems to have been an extraordinary amount of work put into making the game’s broadcast presentation as vibrant and lifelike as possible. Each team now has its unique pre-game rituals, and though it was odd seeing Gronk striking the bell at every home game (a curious post-retirement role), the overall increase in ceremony and introduction of mascots is impressive. Some teams even have catchy chants that play when you transition from the matchup menu into the game. Furthermore, Thursday and Sunday games offer distinct presentations and commentary to mimic their real-life counterparts.

The enhanced half-time show seems to offer a greater depth as well, featuring recent scores and game highlights of the day’s matches. I appreciate the weekly summary program greatly, as it serves a similar purpose but in a more comprehensive way. These weekly summaries save me from constantly checking the league standings and match menus every week, providing a more engaging and detailed overview instead.

Let’s delve into the action-packed gameplay shortly, but let’s take a moment to explore Superstar mode briefly. Unlike its previous version, it presents a fresh structure in the form of chapters. Although you still engage in similar activities such as getting drafted, competing for starting positions, and striving for playoff spots, these activities are now structured around chapter objectives. To build influence with coaches, fans, medical staff, and more, you’ll need to complete several early objectives that involve accumulating influence points on the Sphere of Influence map, which shows the amount of experience points required to boost your influence level with staff. This year, the system is more clearly communicated compared to last year’s simpler chemistry system.

“The big difference from last year’s iteration is the new chapter structure.”

In this iteration, we’re not calling them ‘storylines’, but the off-the-field player moments are similar to last year, yet improved in presentation. Interactions with your agent or coordinator now seem more authentic, with a wider variety of settings. However, they still don’t include voice acting. Despite being minor adjustments, these improvements make Superstar mode more alluring.

During my inaugural season as a halfback receiver, I began to sense a refined quality in the gameplay compared to last year’s edition. The overall structure seems more coherent, and running feels smoother and less prone to unexpected tackles. It appears that the impact and pain inflicted during collisions have been minimized, making for a better gaming experience.

There are evidently advanced animations and physics models at work beneath the surface, but they don’t represent a complete overhaul. To put it simply, it’s an improvement with a subtle touch. I’ve also observed that receivers tend to drop passes less frequently when their morale is low or they’re disoriented, although such instances still occur more than expected.

It’s striking how EA has managed to create touchdown dives, throwing arm movements, and tackles that feel varied and lifelike. I’ve even witnessed extraordinary spin dives and hurdle flips in the game, which are quite unusual for a football title.

Lastly, we have EA’s continuous service model known as Ultimate Team. Navigating through the menus in this mode can feel lengthy, as each sub-menu requires around 3 to 5 seconds to load. This mode is largely the same version of Ultimate Team that players have been accustomed to for quite some time, with minimal innovations or new additions.

It’s clear that EA has skillfully created a wide range of realistic moves such as touchdown dives, throwing motions, and tackling techniques.

In summary, Madden NFL 26 offers a solid football simulation experience that caters to various preferences. You can manage a team as a coach, engage in online leagues, or even play casual exhibition games. While it doesn’t bring significant new innovations, the enhanced visual presentation, improved gameplay animations, and abundance of options make it an admirable update from last year’s version.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

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2025-08-15 00:32