NCAA College Football 25 Review - A Welcome Return to the College Gridiron

Written by Brandon Hofer on July 19, 2024

Reviews: The time has finally arrived where college football fans have a modern NCAA game to play and enjoy alongside the college football season.

After waiting for more than a decade, college football fans can rejoice due to the release of NCAA College Football 25. This new iteration of the NCAA College Football brings the pageantry of the experience to consoles like never before. The last title before this release arrived on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and consoles have taken a pretty big leap since that generation. College players are also finally getting paid for their likeness and appearance in the game so instead of there just being a generic number on the back of a jersey, you will also see the name of your favorite player.

For those who have played the Madden games over the years, NCAA College Football 25’s menu system and overall modes will look familiar. Exhibition remains at the top as soon as the game is launched for those who want to jump into the action quickly. Then of course there is the Ultimate Team mode, Road to the College Football Playoffs, Dynasty, Road to Glory, and more. For those who might not be familiar these these types of games (or it has been many years since you last played one) there will also be a practice mode and some mini game modes that will allow you to hone your skills on the gridiron.

For those who like to build their ultimate college team, the Ultimate Team mode will be the way to go. This is the spot for college football aficionados to build their ultimate lineup. It doesn’t have to be just today’s stars either, with football players from past years also being available. This mode includes packs of cards you can earn (or buy) to see who you get, similar to buying a card pack in a store. The game also has some digital currency that can be used to various items. Some of the ways fans can earn these rewards is by completing challenges and objectives. Ultimate Team features daily challenges for fans to complete, in addition to “ICYMI” challenges for players you might have missed, as well as “Ultimate Alumni.” For those who might be a bit confused about “ICYMI” players, these can include players such as Joey Bosa, Tim Tebow, Bradley Chubb, Von Miller, and much more. Conference Stories also comes with its unique set of challenges in addition to the “Legends” section. Some of these challenges in the different modes range from simply getting a certain number of first downs to recording interceptions with a “Legends” player and everything in between. For those who enjoy the grind and the process of putting together their Ultimate team, this mode will keep you busy for quite a while. There is also the marketplace where you can wheel and deal trying to find that perfect player, in addition to “Live Events” where players have certain objectives to complete.

For those who are all about taking their team to the playoffs and a potential championship, Road to the College Football Playoffs might be for you. In this mode you can play short, three minute games to try and carve a path for your favorite university to the playoffs in online head to head matches. You will have to take out tougher opponents to climb the rankings which will help you capture some poll votes necessary for your team to get to the next division. Much like in real life, the more wins you get here, the better your chances of getting selected for the playoffs when that time comes. It is a really cool idea but for those gamers who just prefer to play single player you can probably skip this mode entirely.

Another mode that everyone should try out is the Road to Glory mode. This mode revolves around the life of a student athlete. Fans get to experience what it is like to juggle the demands of college as a student athlete. In addition to performing on the football field, players must also manage their GPA and develop their own personal brand. You have to earn trust to get on that field, which also involves off field activities. Players need to decide when to push themselves and when to take a break. There also needs to be some balance or one aspect of your journey might not advance at the rate you want. This is a mode where every decision matters as you take things week by week. I appreciate the level of control that I have here in developing my player. It is up to me to decide to how successful he is as I try to make my mark. For fans who just want to get on the field and not really worry about anything else, this mode isn’t for them. If you like to get the full experience though, definitely before to spend some time with Road to Glory.

The Dynasty mode is basically the career mode in this game. Here you will be responsible for building your coach and then building your program to meet expectations so you don’t get shown the door. Your coach will progress by playing games and reaching goals. As more experience gets earned, the coach will level up and earn Coach Points. There are four different categories including Draft, Game, Recruiting, and Stats. During a game, a goal might be to have your running back run for 100 yards or you might have a weekly goal of having your team be in the top five. You will want to meet as many goals as you can to allow your program to perform up to its potential. After advancing each week an XP summary is shown detailing your progression and how much more you need to reach that next level. Once your contract ends the school will evaluate whether or not you did a good job. If you were able to meet (or exceed) their expectations, they will most likely offer a contract extension. If however you did a really bad job and the overall program suffered as a result, they probably won’t offer you a new contract and it will be time to search for another job. It won’t be a complete surprise though as you can check out what your current job security is like at any time.

In addition to all of these different modes, NCAA College Football 25 has a strong community presence which I really liked. You can create and edit playbooks to share online. You can also create your own school. There is also the aforementioned marketplace where you can wheel and deal trying to get rid of players you don’t want or need while also trying to secure the best possible option to build your team.

NCAA College Football 25 allows you to be in control from the time you launch the game. Your favorite team can be set so you are greeted with it when you start the game. You can choose what playbooks will be the default selection, your skill level, quarter length, and much more. There are accessibility options such as enlarging on field graphics, a color blind mode, being able to adjust different volumes, and more. You can also adjust how penalties work, adjust the CPU skill, change the visual feedback, and much more. There is a lot to go through here to tailor your experience to your liking or you can simply use the default settings and immediately start playing football.

Overall NCAA College Football 25 is a really well done game and a welcome turn to the college game. Fans have waited many years for this day to arrive and EA Sports has not disappointed them. It is a great effort by the development that will continue to evolve and update once the college football season starts.