Madden NFL 25 Reviews

While Madden 25 feels like a great improvement on last year's game, it still feels like much of its core is standing in place. While that leads to a feeling of "Maybe next year" that the series has fostered before, it's definitely a better game than last year's effort.

Always having class while still being humble, Madden NFL 25 continues the series' grand legacy. MVPs will have a blast, while newcomers can treat this as a good jumping on point.

Madden NFL 25 can officially claim the crown as the most authentic Madden game of all time. Despite some impressive content additions, you might get the impression that having much more would've sufficed.

Like an NFL team’s high new draft pick, Madden NFL 25 provides the franchise hope for the future with its great on-field gameplay, phenomenal presentation improvements, and streamlined gameplay modes, as long as it irons out the predatory microtransactions in the meantime.

In some ways, Madden 25 is a step forward from its predecessor, in others, it’s stuck at the line of scrimmage.

Madden has never played better on the field, but that attribute feels like a would-be elite QB stuck behind a shaky O-line.

Madden NFL 25 amps up the realism and presentation while disappointing in all other aspects.

Madden 25 is a triumphant return to form for the Madden franchise and is easily the best entry in years.

Madden NFL 25 makes some great strides forward in Madden Franchise Mode including breakout scenarios, updated draft scouting and draft day experience, and the addition of new male and female coaching options. Franchise Mode feels the most “alive” it has in a number of years. You can also transfer your College Football 25 Road to Glory player into Madden Superstar Mode to continue their journey to the pro level. While the game suffers from some QOL issues, sound balance issues, and small gameplay glitches; Madden NFL 25 is the best we’ve gotten in specific avenues in a while.

EA Sports Madden NFL 25 certainly feels like a step up in many ways, but its lack of atmosphere and realism and many of its modes make it feel like a hollow experience.

Football is played on the field and this is clearly where the development team focused with Madden NFL 25. The changes to the physics are meaningful and can create opportunities that weren't previously available in the series thanks to BOOM Tech. Getting a perfect hit with Hit Stick 2.0 can be satisfying thanks in part to sound of the pads and the visual cue. Receiver and defender interactions when going for the ball are engaging and the offensive line play is fantastic. The steps EA has taken to make Madden look and sound like Sunday are clear. The holdback comes down to the same experience with the modes in the game, albeit some surface level changes. The new broadcast options and the presentation updates help Madden NFL 25 to feel different.

Madden 25 isn’t a terrible game, but it falls massively short compared to College Football 25 and is nowhere near different enough from last year’s title to make it worthwhile.

“EA Tiburon successfully fields a touchdown play in 'Madden NFL 25,' with across the board improvements that overcome the shortcomings of last year's game.”

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And that's where Madden NFL 25 fails — it doesn't justify its existence. In fact, in a few spots it feels like a step backwards for the franchise, where some of the progress made in terms of defensive AI and players getting sucked into offensive lineman is lost. It's a shame that in the year we celebrate 25 years of Madden that the franchise is still running in place.

Madden NFL 25 is definitely an iteration year. EA’s fine-tuned and polished what was introduced last year, and it feels like one of the most complete packages for a Madden game in the last three or four years.