When John Madden was originally approached by EA about consulting with them on a new 7-on-7 football video game, he insisted that the game be "simulation football". He wanted authentic, 11-on-11 gameplay that could potentially be used as a tool for teaching the sport of football. It was the only way that he was willing to put his name on the product, and EA held fairly true to the philosophy of "simulation football" through the 90's and into the 2000's.
I think John Madden's last major contributions to the video game were around 2008, when he provided commentary and narration for the "Madden IQ" Skill Trainer. It wasn't long after this that EA's dedication to "simulation football" began to wane. A few years later, Ultimate Team was added to the game, Franchise Mode was gutted and replaced with a stripped down "My Careers" mode, and Madden himself stopped providing commentary for the game. Franchise Mode and core gameplay have been largely neglected in the years since, in favor of introducing terrible story modes, expanding the arcadey Ultimate Team mode, and adding even more arcadey game modes like SuperStar KO and 5-on-5 The Yard. The Madden video game series has fallen far from the goals and priorities of its namesake -- a fall that is made even more tragic and frustrating by an exclusivity deal with the NFL that bars any other company from producing an NFL-licensed "simulation" football game.
Madden 23 starts off with a tribute to the life of John Madden, who passed away this past December.
It's fitting that, with John Madden himself having passed away this past year, EA Sports and Tiburon seems to be trying to honor him by taking the video game back to basics and finally, after years of neglect, trying to address long-standing issues with the on-field gameplay, physics, and A.I.. Is it enough to satisfy the "simulation" expectations of John Madden, himself? Spoiler alert: NO.
Back to Simulation Football?
Madden 23 starts off well enough. The very first thing that the game asks the user to do is play through a tutorial of the new charge-up passing mechanics (largely ripped-off from Legend Bowl). Madden doesn't simply throw the user into a live game situation and expect new players to just know how to play -- though, expecting users to already know how to play the game from last year was always a sad testament to how little had changed in Madden from year to year.
After finishing the tutorial and deciding how difficult I want the passing mechanic to be, Madden 23 threw me directly into a demo "Legend Game". It's a Pro Bowl of All-Madden players from throughout NFL history, with 2 versions of John Madden coaching each respective team. The entire game is largely an excuse to let the commentary team of Charles Davis and Brandon Gaudin give a history lesson about John Madden's career and celebrate his accomplishments. My partner commented that I'd been playing for 15 minutes and she was already sick of listening to the game flagellate John Madden. Personally, I was more annoyed that the game defaulted to Pro difficulty, so scoring was relatively easy for me, and the CPU Tom Brady threw 3 interceptions. Each score and turnover interrupted the commentary about Madden's career, preventing me from hearing the unique dialogue, which the commentary team would not return to if an interruption occurred.
Madden 23 tutorializes its new mechanics before throwing users into a game situation.
Whatever. The game itself is mildly entertaining. It uses clips and graphics from older Madden games as part of its presentation, some NFL Films music, and it includes old commentary clips of Madden himself introducing some of his favorite players, from Brett Favre to Tom Brady to Tony Gonzalez. It's as good and fitting a tribute to the ol' coach and commentator as I would have expected to see in a video game, short of playing through some kind of story mode and re-living moments from his actual career.
But that's just the tutorial and demo game. Is the rest of the actual game as fitting a tribute to the man who demanded "simulation football" from video games bearing his likeness?
Momentum swing
Well, like with so many Madden releases of the last 15 or so years, the changes for this year are very hit or miss. A lot of the big, back-of-the-box, advertised features are misses, but this year's Madden does have some seemingly genuine improvements under the hood -- at least for the "next-gen" version.
Fighting for extra yards exposes a runner to big hits and fumbles.
In general, I've felt like player movement and locomotion is much smoother and cleaner than it has been in years past. Players don't feel as heavy as they did the past couple of years, so there's less inertia preventing runners from making crazy cuts. But the movement feels very precise. In past years, my attempts to juke or cut to hit a hole in the line would often result in the runner overcompensating and running right into the back of the offensive lineman on the other side of the hole I wanted to cut into. This year, however, my runners and defenders are going exactly where I want them to go. Patiently following lead blockers through the gaps and breaking into the open field has never felt this good, and I'm able to be more patient because CPU defenders aren't instantly converging on my position.
Runners also stay upright and fight for extra yards a bit more, but at the risk of allowing additional defenders to come in and make big hits or strip the football. This adds extra value to the old "stand-up / wrap tackle" button (the X button on a PlayStation controller), and gives a defensive user a good reason to resist using the hit stick for every single tackle.
Tackle Battle returns, but is dramatically improved.
The "Tackle Battle" also returns, except it's been completely redesigned. Instead of both the defender and tackler racing to push a random button prompt, the runner has the ability to mash the "stiff arm" button to fight and possibly break the tackle. But breaking a tackle doesn't come without risk, as the runner may get turned around and actually lose ground after breaking free, and fighting for extra yards gives other defenders the opportunity to swipe at the ball and force a fumble. The defender doesn't have any counter to this, other than the type of tackle that the defender has already committed to. Instead, the defender's only response is to hope reinforcing defenders show up to help bring the runner down. I'm actually surprised by how much I don't hate this mechanic, since the Tackle Battle is one of my most despised features of recent Madden games. But the risk/reward element for the runner, and the use of a dedicated button instead of a random QTE really represents a genuine improvement on the concept.
Rushers can dodge blockers to fill gaps or create pressure.
I always want to give Tiburon and EA credit whenever they iterate on an old mechanic and improve it, rather than simply ignore it or drop it entirely. Too many good ideas (like the QB Vision Cone) have been axed when simple revisions could have made the mechanic easier to use and more viable to play, and it's genuinely nice to see a legit "bad" mechanic be turned into something passable or good.
The smoother locomotion is working on the defensive side of the ball too, as I've seen much fewer suction blocks and invisible forcefields preventing my blitzing defenders from breaking through the line. There's even a new "evade" move for defenders, which is basically a defensive juke that allows the defender to avoid a blocker.
The improved precision of locomotion is even apparent on special teams, as I'm noticing more seams forming in kickoff and punt coverages. Yes, a lot of kick returns still result in a wall of defenders tackling me at the 20 yard line, but every now and then, there will be a little seam, and if I hit the after-burners through that gap, it can be a big return and even a score! I haven't felt this engaged with the return game in Madden for years.
Kick return blockers are better at creating seams.
But then there's the glut of new and returning problems.
The biggest problems is the excessive frequency of interceptions. People on forums and Reddit are suggesting that we turn off the "Ball Hawk" assist function in order to reduce the frequency of interceptions, but that didn't work for me. Even with Ball Hawk disabled, and the "Interception" slider set to zero for both human and CPU teams, QBs are still combining for 6, 7, 8, or more interceptions almost every game. And that's on top of the few fumbles and strip sacks that I'm seeing almost every game as well.
Even with the Interception slider at 0, defenders are exceedingly good at intercepting throws.
There are multiple reasons for this problem. First and foremost is that defenders in Madden 23 have better hands than the best wide receivers in the game. If they are able to step in front of the ball, they won't simply swat the pass for an incompletion, they will intercept it. To compound this problem, a long-standing issue in Madden is that receivers don't attack the ball in the air, while defenders are hyper-aggressive at jumping routes. Ball-placement and relative player positioning seems largely irrelevant, since even if my receiver has a step or two on the defender, and I lead the receiver with the throw, the defender will get a speed boost to cross the receiver's body and cut underneath to make an interception. And that's when the defender isn't catching the interceptions literally through the receiver's body. But ball-placement is also an issue. QB's aren't putting enough air under passes, which allows defenders (especially those in zones) to undercut the routes and make interceptions, even when throwing a "touch" pass.
And when they aren't throwing interceptions, CPU quarterbacks are taking ridiculous amounts of sacks. CPU QBs still like to backpedal and take sacks for huge losses, instead of stepping up into the pocket or throwing the ball away. It doesn't help that offensive tackles are really struggling to block edge rushers this year, which leads to lots of edge rushers going untouched straight to the QB.
CPU QBs will backpedal against a pass rush, turning a 5-yard sack into a 12-yard sack.
And if you want to rely on screen passes out of the backfield to try to avoid throwing an interception or taking a sack, then too bad, because this is one of the Madden years in which screen passes don't work at all. Running backs like to run into the back of their blockers when trying to run a route for a screen pass. Either that, or they'll stand in the backfield blocking air, and not even leaving for their route until the QB already has a defensive tackle in his face.
Because Madden is so reliant on outcome-scripting and rubber-banding, if a CPU QB manages to not get sacked and doesn't throw an interception, they're completing 80 or 90% of their passes for 15 or 20 yards every play. It's all feast or famine, and it leads to stupidly-unrealistic outcomes.
The passing game is basically broken in almost every conceivable way.
When I try running the ball in order to avoid the awful passing, I find that fumbles also happen too frequently. Fumbling players still get stuck in animations and won't attempt to recover their own fumble, and the ball will still teleport into the hands of a scooping defenders from a couple yards away, through the bodies of other players. QBs fumble way too frequently, even on designed QB runs with QBs who commonly run the ball, which makes QB Draws and Read Options way riskier than they should be. I can't run the Ravens' offense with Lamar Jackson because he fumbles almost every possession on an option keeper.
Defenders will suck fumbles into their hands for easy scoop-and-run opportunities.
Instant replays are frequently only recording the last few seconds of a play. I had one play in which I explicitly assigned my defense to play inside shade against receivers because I expected the CPU to run some in-breaking routes. My DB got beat on a simple in route for a first down, and when I went to watch the replay to find out how he got beat, the replay started at a point after the receiver had already been tackled! The replay was nothing but the players getting up off the ground after the tackle. This is a problem that has come and gone in Madden over the course of the years, but it's never before been so bad that the replay doesn't start till after the play is over.
And the "no huddle" mechanic that skips to the line of scrimmage and automatically runs a predetermined amount of time off the clock is still complete bullshit. No huddle rarely gives the defense enough time to call a timeout before the run-off, and it doesn't leave the dense enough time to call a new play or make any pre-snap adjustments. Basically, I always pick a generic Cover 2 Man defense with Dime personnel for no-huddle situations, because I don't want to have to try to audible out of some more exotic coverage or blitz and get caught with my pants down. The ridiculously fast pace of running a no-huddle is just such an awful mechanic, and I cannot believe that it has lasted this long.
I'm also still seeing a lot of stuttering on the kick meter, even in single-player Franchise games against the CPU, on a PS5 running in 60-fps "performance mode". This has been yet another problem that has been going on for years and hasn't been fixed. Why is this still a problem on the more advanced hardware that has a dedicated "performance" mode?!
Copying Legend Bowl's homework
All the problems with the passing game are especially frustrating because passing is supposed to have been heavily overhauled this year. EA and Tiburon decided to steal a mechanic from Legend Bowl. Quarterbacks now have a charge meter that affects the strength and accuracy of their throws. The longer the player charges the pass, the harder the throw will be, and at the end of the charge meter is an accuracy meter. Since the same meter is used for both power and accuracy, it means that accuracy is only relevant for bullet passes. Even then, you can't overcharge a bullet pass. Unlike Legend Bowl, which has the accuracy meter swing back if the button is held too long, holding down the button in Madden just throws a fully-charged bullet pass, which is accurate.
Bullet passes must be charged up.
Honestly, the charge mechanic isn't much different than the previous method of passing in Madden: tap the button for a lob pass, press it for a moment to throw a touch pass, and hold the button for a bullet. The only difference is that the amount of time required for throwing touch and bullet passes has been extended slightly. So while this mechanic doesn't affect the accuracy of throws to nearly the extent of Legend Bowl's equivalent charge mechanic, the fact that it takes slightly longer to charge a pass means that timing passes is trickier than it used to be.
Users can't just press a button at the last moment to avoid a sack, since the extra moment required to charge a pass gives the defender just enough time to get to the QB and force a bad throw. I do like how this creates some more organic throw-out-of-sack situations, since the defender is actually hitting the QB while he's in the process of charging the throw.
There doesn't seem to be any "overcharge" penalty for bullet passes.
QB's also have to be more precise about timing the pass into narrow windows. This slight delay means that the user has to hit the button a tiny bit earlier in order to hit a passing window. If you wait until the receiver is already in the hole in the coverage, then by the time the throw is charged and released, the receiver is likely to have run through the hole and back into the coverage.
In addition to the charge meter, Tiburon brought back the targeted passing mechanic from Madden 18. Between this and the return and revision of the Tackle Battle, Madden 23 almost feels like a do-over of Madden 18. Much of what I said about the benefits of Targeted Passing from Madden 18 still applies here. It allows the user to more explicitly hit gaps in zone coverage or attempt to lead a receiver away from a defender in coverage. Personally, my favorite use for it is to throw the ball away without risking an Intentional Grounding penalty.
Tiburon also found ways to eliminate or mitigate most of the problems with the old Targeted Passing mechanic. The biggest difference between this aimed passing and Madden 18's implementation is that there's now the ability to slow down time in order to more precisely aim the pass. Users can also alter the sensitivity of the aiming cursor, which is also a huge boon. Unfortunately, because of the crazy aggressiveness of the defense at going for interceptions, aiming the passes feels largely moot. It doesn't matter where I put the ball if DBs are able to get speed bursts or catch interceptions through the receiver's body.
The split second extra it takes to charge a pass gives defenses more time to reach the QB.
The added difficulty of the passing game and the longer adjustment period for the new passing meter and aiming wouldn't be so bad if not for the fact that Madden 23 is exceedingly punishing of small mistakes. I've always been bad at throwing interceptions, but the punishing nature of interceptions in Madden 23 is just so extreme. I highly recommend setting the "Max Reticle Distance" setting to "Far". The default "near" setting just doesn't lead the receivers far enough, and will make it even easier for the CPU defenders to jump routes or making leaping interceptions against downfield passes. Even a lob or touch pass thrown at the maximum "near" distance ahead of a receiver with 5 yards of vertical separation from the defender is not lead sufficiently far to prevent the defender from making a leaping interception on the throw. With the "Far" setting, you'll likely overthrow the receiver more, but at least it won't be picked, and you'll live to fight another day.
Even so, defenders need to be tuned to swat down more passes or drop their interception attempt. As it stands, defensive players are better at catching footballs than the best wide receivers in the league, and the passing game feels completely broken because of it.
Madden 23 is exceedingly punishing of small mistakes in the passing game.
Motivated agents
I will say that this is the most fun that I've had with Madden's Franchise Mode in years. Typically, the on-field gameplay is passable, but the Franchise is boring and doesn't give me anything to do or any meaningful choices to make. This year, I felt much more actively involved in Franchise Mode, and it's the on-field gameplay that is making me want to give up on the game.
This is a rebuilding year for the Bears, so I'm actually more engaged with Franchise mode than usual
But before you think I'm praising Madden 23's Franchise Mode, let me say that I firmly believe that this extra level of enjoyment is entirely to do with my team's circumstances than with the actual quality or merits of the game mode. The Bears are in a rebuilding phase. They have a new coaching staff. They have a lot of young talent in need of developmental coaching. They've lost a lot of veterans to free agency. They're switching from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 defense, which requires completely re-evaluating every player on defense to find out where they fit best -- if they fit at all. And so on.
All this combined to cause me to be more active on the trade menu and in free agency. I've re-arranged my depth chart several times in the first half of the season (including editing some players' positions to get better scheme fits). And the glut of young players means that I have a lot of backups and reserve players with very similar overall ratings who I rotate in and out of games more often to see if any of them have a break-out performance.
Players have specific desires that affect whether they'll sign a contract with a given team.
None of this involves any of the new or revised features in Madden 23's Franchise Mode. In fact, the fun started to wear off after a season or 2, when it became apparent that the CPU's free agency logic is simply not up to the task of managing the new motivations mechanic. Each player now has a set of 3 "motivations" that affect his willingness to sign with a team in free agency. These motivations range from wanting money, to being the starter, to fitting the team's scheme, to being on a championship contender, to being in a big city, and so forth. It's nice to see the players in this game being treated a little bit more like human beings or characters, but the CPU just does not know how to work with these motivations. The result is a large number of marquee players ending up un-signed during each off-season because none of the teams are able to get them signed.
Tags are supposed to improve CPU team-building.
The other new Franchise feature is player tags, which is supposed to help with CPU team-building, but doesn't seem to do much. Players will be tagged with qualifiers such as "Franchise QB", or "mentor", or "bridge player" (a veteran stand-in who is expected to play for a year or 2 while the team drafts a replacement), and so forth. These tags are supposed to influence how CPU teams treat these players, and give human users an idea of how the game expects the user to treat a player. A QB with a "Franchise QB" tag, for example should not be traded or cut, and the team is supposed to avoid drafting another QB in the early rounds of the draft. Players with "trade target" tags will also be more likely to show up on the trade block, and will be easier to acquire from other teams via trade. This is all well and good, but it doesn't prevent the CPU teams from doing stupid things.
Most of the tags are kind of superficial and don't have much effect on their own, but some tags are a bit more directly impactful. I think my favorite tag is veteran player with the "Mentor", tag, which grants bonus practice experience to young players in the same position group as the veteran mentor. This adds a lot of value to signing a grizzled, older veteran as a backup or bridge player while you develop one or more younger players. It also provides a more interesting decision for who to assign practice reps to. If you mentor is the starter, do you give him all the practice reps in order to maximize his rating boost for the upcoming game? Or do you split the reps with the younger backups to give them more experience to go along with the bonus mentorship experience, and speed up their development even further? Along with the hidden development trait mechanic and the practice squad, "Mentor" players might be the best, most under-appreciated idea that EA and Tiburon have put into the game in the recent decade or so.
Thankfully, the scouting has been cleaned up a little bit. The regional breakdown is more informative, and setting focus positions is easier and less buggy than it was in previous years. However, the fundamental problem remains: the scouting is just too passive. There's very little for the user to actually do, since most players in each position group get almost the exact same scouting reports. You just set your scouts at the beginning of the season and then sit and wait for ratings to be uncovered, then go into the draft and hope that the players you want are on the board when your pick comes up.
Regional scouting has been cleaned up a bit, but is still exceedingly passive.
One micro-step forward; two steps way back
As usual, Madden 23 is an utter disappointment. After some promising previews highlighting new passing mechanics, more robust animations and physics, and supposedly smarter and more reactive A.I., I was all ready to say that Madden 23 is the best Madden release since Madden 17. It looked that way on paper. But then I actually played the game and found that the new mechanics just aren't all that impressive or game-changing, and so much of the supporting mechanics are completely broken and un-balanced.
It's hard to say that this is the "worst Madden ever" because every year the game is broken in different ways. But I can say that this is the most rage-inducing version of Madden that I have played in years, due almost entirely to the overwhelming frequency of interceptions.
The issue remains that, at fundamental levels, Madden just seems un-interested in accurately modeling the sport of NFL football. It's still designed and balanced around short, pick-up, 20-minute online matches. As a result, it's too easy to force the ball downfield and score touchdowns, and almost every match turns into shootout -- especially on longer quarter lengths. The only recourse that the defense has against these knife-through-butter passing attacks is to force unbelievable interceptions and rack up sacks that should be 5-yard losses, but which turn into 12-yard losses because the CPU QBs backpedal deeper into the pocket instead of stepping up. Both QBs can be sacked 6 times, throw 4 interceptions, but still end a 15-minute quarter match with over 300 passing yards and 4 or 5 TDs. The frequency of interceptions (including pick-sixes) also wreaks havoc with the momentum feature, which swings wildly and further punishes the victim of these unfair interceptions.
It's just so bad.
Madden is still fundamental designed and balanced for short, online pick-up matches,
leading to issues with robo QBs, excessive turnovers, and bloated stats and scores.