Madden NFL 25 Review - A Return to the Gridiron With Improved Mechanics

Written by Brandon Hofer on August 16, 2024

Reviews: EA Sports has made some welcome changes this year that improve the experience with the new Boom Tech.

Football season is almost upon us which means the newest iteration in EA’s popular football game has arrived. Madden NFL 25 packs some great features that football fans are sure to love whether you are new to the game for a franchise veteran. When you first boot up the game a number of different options are immediately available. For fans of the franchise you will see standard modes such as “Ultimate Team,” “Superstar,” “Franchise,” and much more. There is also a “Training Camp” where you can hone your skills and try to get the score in some mini games as well as the “Creation Center” where you can engage with the community and the custom squads someone else has built. Madden NFL 25 is a game that should keep football fans busy for quite a while.

The “Boom” technology that is utilized in Madden NFL 25 brings in some of the most authentic action yet. The ball carrier is balanced a bit better now and has a better chance at recovery when needed, there are physics-based tackles, and a hit stick that has been revamped. Each player has a “muscle strength” rating based on how they perform which can increase the variety of interactions on the field.

One mode that tends to be popular every year is “Ultimate Team” and I’m sure a lot of Madden fans will immediately go there once they boot up the game. For those you might not be familiar with this mode, Ultimate Team is where you can build your own fantasy football team full of legends from different eras. This is done in a variety of ways. There are challenges to complete on the field. Challenges have different categories such as “Training Camp,” “Team Builders,” “Ultimate Boom,” and more. In the Training Camp set of challenges you will do drills and play in a scrimmage to make sure you are ready for the upcoming season. Team Builders will highlight certain players from each division and once you reach a new tier, you will receive a fantasy pack that will improve your overall team. Ultimate Boom becomes available after completing all of the “Season of Boom” challenges. In Ultimate Boom you have to show your strength and take on a gauntlet. This is available for a limited time until October 16th so be sure to check it out if you have any interest in it. In addition to challenges there are solo seasons where you can take on the CPU in an event, Solo Battles where you get to take a shot at 29 opponents, Head 2 Head where you can take your skills and team online against other players, and more. For those who might not be quite ready for prime time, there is also a Practice mode where you can gameplan and see what works best on the field. Then of course there are the live events you can participate in, as well as the marketplace where you can buy and sell cards to try and improve your team.

As you complete challenges and meet other objectives you will earn experience points. These points will eventually get you card packs that you can open. If you get a player that will improve your team you can slot him into the lineup and replace someone who isn’t quite cutting it. If you get someone you have no interest in you can try and sell it on the marketplace where someone else might want that player. If you don’t want to deal with that hassle there is also the “Quicksell” option for you can sell your new card for training points. By wheeling and dealing in this fashion it should be a bit easier to try and build the team of your dreams. For those who want to try and get a jump start on things there is also the possibility of buying card packs to see what you can get. This could be a good way early on to try and get some game changing players, if you want to spend the money. This is by no means a requirement though and you can simply earn new players by completing objectives and gaining experience.

Franchise mode also makes its return and it has some changes this year. There are more than 70 new dynamic storylines this year which means that players will react to not only what happens on the field but events that happen throughout the season. To attain the ultimate level of success you will need to learn player quirks, likes, and dislikes to try and make sure your team is a long term success. In this mode fans can create and build their own team, and you can do it on the Team Builder website and then bring it over to your game. In addition you can share your creation with the community or go online and check out what others have to offer. The point of this mode is to develop your team into Super Bowl contenders and then ultimately take home the Lombardi trophy.

Diving in to Franchise mode you will see a number of options available to you to improve your team. There is Training Camp where you can play some mini games to improve your team. There are practices you can participate in as well as the ability to upgrade players. This is also where you can manage your team which includes the roster, the staff, and the overall team itself. You can check out news from around the league, check out what the NFL Standings are as well as League Transactions, and much more. If you want to bypass a lot of this and just jump in to the game that option is available as well. This mode is as deep as you want whether you want to really get into the details of running a team or just participate in the action on the field in pursuit of that Super Bowl championship.

The Superstar mode is where you can become an NFL Superstar. This is where you build your player and this year’s version features some nice updates. For starters there are new facial customization options and player archetypes that will let you develop him before he even reaches the gridiron. For those who have played College Football 25 you can also import your created character from there to continue their rise from college standout to NFL legend. In this mode you will experience the NFL Draft, the Combine, and a lot of other things that players experience as they go through their NFL career. For those who are creating an entirely new player you get the option of starting your career as a Quarterback, Halfback, Wide Receiver, Linebacker, or Cornerback. As you hone in on the type of player you want to be you will eventually get selected by a team and then it will be your chance to showcase what you have on the football field. There is also Superstar Showdown which allows you to team up with friends for 3-on-3 matchups with your created players. This can be a lot of fun to see who has the best player and to see who can back up their trash talk.

Of course if you don’t want to participate in any of these modes and you just want to play football, that option is available as well with Quick Play. This is where you can play exhibition games as your favorite team against the CPU, or jump online to test your skills against other Madden players. This is also where you can jump to the Pro Bowl and play in that as well as select “Superstar KO” where you can draft a team of Superstars to see who is the last man standing.

Madden NFL 25 also features reworked and expanded playbooks. These new playbooks allow playbooks that will focus more on a team’s identity instead of the “one size fits all” mentality. For example Houston’s playbook might focus on their variety of deep crossovers while Miami’s might focus on their “cheat” motions. The development will also be able to update these playbooks as the season goes on so it will be interesting to see them develop in almost real time depending on how the real world team is doing.

While spending time with this game, I appreciated the level of control that I had over the action. Being able to quickly switch to a new defender with the right stick before the ball is thrown, being able to change a custom route and also having a bit more control over catching the ball were all highlights for me. The new Boom tech I mentioned up above can really change how the game feels in the middle of a play and helps give everything a bit more variety. I look forward to seeing how Madden NFL 25 develops over the coming season but this is a really good start and a game football fans should enjoy.