Madden NFL 22 Impressions Thread (PS5 / Xbox Series X|S)

[IndianSummer]

So much for the “fix Madden franchise” movement.
EA just nodded and smiled and told everyone what they wanted to hear.
If you really want to impact EA on the fix Madden franchise movement, quit buying the game…..nothing will make more noise than a loss of revenue.

[KSUowls]

Quote: Originally Posted by KSUowls

Pulled the trigger on this with the game basically half off and also finally getting my hands on a PS5. Spoiler My god...this game is awful. My first experience was that I couldn't download any rosters/draft classes because I was unable to connect to community servers. This is a common problem from what I've read. I remember seeing people have this problem when the game first released 4 1/2 months ago too. So, things kind of started off on the wrong foot there. The pre-snap UI seems like it was designed by a kid with a Crayola box. The home field advantage pop ups are an eye sore, and it's just completely inane that you can't turn them off. There seems to be some major gameplay tuning that needs to happen. There are no 50/50 balls on offense. Every deep pass that I throw with 1 on 1 coverage gets intercepted, this was after lowering CPU interception sliders. Maybe it was observation bias, but there seemed to be a lot of broken coverages in zone schemes. I know that this has plagued the EA football franchises going back to the NCAA years, but it seemed particularly bad in my time with it. I wish that you could turn Home Field Advantage cheats off. I don't hate them being in the game, and I do appreciate the attempt to differentiate game to game experiences. They seem a bit arcade-like though, and I just want the ability to turn them off. If for no other reason than to just de-clutter the UI. Scouting is...weird. I don't really know how to feel about it. I'm glad that the old system is gone, but this new scouting system didn't really hook me. Maybe I just haven't spent enough time with it to really understand it, but it just doesn't feel as deep as I was hoping after EA finally overhauled the legacy system. There are other legacy issues that I have with Madden that have kept me from buying this in recent years. I expected those going into it, but I hoped to at least get a passable football experience. I do like the next-gen stats though. Those were kind of neat to see.

Spoiler

After spending a pretty decent amount of time with it now though, and with this being my first time buying Madden in a few years, I have to update this. I can unequivocally and confidently state that this is the worst Madden game that I have ever played, and I started with Madden going back to the ps1 days.

The only redeeming aspect of this game is that if you want to play a modern football game in 2022, it exists.

Gameplay is just...it's atrocious. The DB's controlled by the AI make me miss the days of super linebackers in Maddens of old. Robo-QB is alive and well. Zone coverages don't work like they are supposed to, far too often.

Player ratings are almost universally bad. Not only is it silly to see some players rated where they are in certain attributes, but it's also just game universe breaking because the AI will target/use players in positions that they have no business being in and release others that should be in their long term plans.

Momentum & HFA mechanics are childish arcade features that you can't turn off. Which is a real problem when the game markets itself as being the exclusive "simulation" football game. Going to the line and pulling up the play art, only to see graphics for a run play when you know you called a pass, just because the other team just made a big play...that doesn't seem very much like "simulation".

I stand by my comment that the UI was developed by putting a 5 year old in a room with white walls and a crayola box.

The new scouting system that should have been an improvement over the legacy system simply by default, is actually worse. Don't even bother having scouting in the game if this is how it is going to be implemented.

I would love a system where coaches matter for more than their play art, that they could have individualized impacts on their teams and players. But I'd also rather just not bother with a coaching staff in game if it's going to simply be a generic line of cheat code attribute addons and baseline contract discounts. The system that EA has used for coaches, for a while now, it isn't interesting, it isn't engaging, and most importantly it's just not fun.

Presentation is...I don't know how a AAA studio in a game that has been around for over 20 years can have in game commentary that is this bad. I might actually be shocked if someone told me that Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis had more than 2 dozen lines of commentary to repeat built into the game. If they do, then that commentary definitely isn't being given at the appropriate time. I frequently hear them make comments that make absolutely no sense in the context of what just happened. This doesn't even touch on the bland menu music or the automatic skip treatment that the half time report has earned.

Technical issues - Not sure if the roster share problem was ever fixed, but I know it was down for at least a month, and I remember seeing mentions of it when the game first released though. That's inexcusable. Beyond that, I've had multiple game freezes occur.

I have had issues with Madden, and other sports games, in recent years for lack of innovation for offline players. But usually there are some redeeming qualities and/or solid enough core mechanics that even if they deserve criticism for ignoring franchise players and general lack of updates, at least the core game is there if you want to suspend all other expectations. I can't believe how much this game fails from every angle that I can think of to measure it though.

[Artman22]

I know this may sound silly but is there a way to play simulation mode online as opposed to the default competitive? And is simulation mode only available in leagues online?


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[CM Hooe]

Quote: Originally Posted by Artman22

I know this may sound silly but is there a way to play simulation mode online as opposed to the default competitive? And is simulation mode only available in leagues online? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Unfortunately, the Simulation game style is not available in online Head To Head, Ultimate Team, or The Yard.

It may occasionally pop up as a House Rule in MUT? Generally though, you have to stick to Play Now or Franchise.

[Cusefan]

Haven't played Madden in a couple years, so I downloaded it from Gamepass, and I like it. Obviously some problems, but it's a fun game. Far from perfect, but also far from the worst game I have played this year. Solid 7/10.

[PhillyPhanatic14]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cusefan

Haven't played Madden in a couple years, so I downloaded it from Gamepass, and I like it. Obviously some problems, but it's a fun game. Far from perfect, but also far from the worst game I have played this year. Solid 7/10.

I think that's a real fair assessment. I might give it an 8 if they hadn't promised so much ahead of time. If they just released the game and said we might add more later if there's time, then I would've been pumped for scouting and decently satisfied with the game. Expectations not being met drop it to a 6 for me, but the game is fun. I've played much more this year than last year that's for sure.

[SincerelYourz]

https://youtu.be/jEWudzFwdPQ

[jmarcguy]

Quote: Originally Posted by SincerelYourz

https://youtu.be/jEWudzFwdPQ

Wow! The atmosphere in 25 is much better!


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