Another year, another Madden… or so it would seem. Whereas last year, when Madden NFL 21 made its way to the PS5 and Xbox Series X months after releasing on the last generation of consoles, this year’s Madden was in a great position to have all of the EA Sports team’s time and effort dedicated into making this year’s release a truly next-gen experience. And it is, for the most part. But, that’s also really all there is to it. More realistic action happens between the pylons thanks to Next-Gen Stats and improved player movements, but there’s nothing in Madden 22 that screams “breath of fresh air” to me.
Let me be clear that that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There’s a reason why so many players flock to each new edition of the annual release – myself having been part of that loyal community since roughly 2003. They come for the new additions to their favorite NFL football team, whether they’re playing head-to-head against an online opponent, fantasy drafting their own roster in Franchise mode, paving their path to legendary status in Face of the Franchise, battling it out in more arcadey modes such as Superstar K.O. and The Yard, or managing their career in Madden Ultimate Team. Every player has their favorite game mode that they come back to year after year, with EA Sports adding new ways to play every few years or so.
All of that is here again in Madden 22, but it all comes with a noticeable facelift thanks to the technology of next-gen hardware. Madden 22’s Dynamic Gameplay makes its presence known through the use of ever-evolving Next-Gen Stats which drive CPU player-controlled A.I. in terms of player tendencies as well as situational play-calling. Player movements and collisions are also more realistic thanks to Next-Gen Stats, with tackling feeling more impactful than in previous releases. As a ball carrier, knowing how to outsmart an oncoming defender adds another layer of strategy, which makes a successful juke or spin that much more satisfying.
Related: I Wish More Of My Friends Played MaddenGameday atmosphere provides a far better in-stadium experience thanks to new crowd animations, new (and less redundant) player reactions and animations on the sidelines, and home field noise advantages – the latter of which is impressive in terms of its effectiveness on visiting teams (including when that team is controlled by me).
Home field advantage gets an even greater boost thanks to Gameday Momentum. Similar to individual player X-Factors, Momentum Factors (or, M-Factors) give an environmental boost to a team who has in-game momentum – whether that comes from a pick-six or a successful deep pass down field. Each stadium has its own team advantage as well, such as the home team gaining momentum and recovering from fatigue faster as long as they are in the lead.
The home field M-Factors are wildly advantageous. The one that gets me the most is when you pull up the preview of your play pre-snap, but instead of your receiver routes being laid out nicely, all of the routes are moving, squiggly lines that make it difficult to know who is going where. This example alone makes it all the more important to know exactly what plays you’re picking, giving a much deeper and richer immersive experience.
The improvements extend into Franchise mode as well, with long-requested features having been added to the game mode earlier this year. Things like player progression, draft logic, and scenario-based decisions that reward (or hinder) your team make Franchise mode a lot more manageable than it used to be.
While all of the minor improvements add up to a fun Madden experience, Madden 22 also offers up a typical Madden experience. There are consistency issues that still occur in game, ranging from player movements to penalties. For example, a wide receiver might be too far from a catch in one situation, but then perform a superhuman catch in another similar situation that no one would have expected him to catch. Similarly, I’ve noticed that there are a lot of defensive pass interference calls when there really shouldn’t be any call at all. While playing a few head-to-head online games, I felt bad for one player in particular who apparently forgot his mic was on and sounded like he was about to cry after he got called for a defensive pass interference call when he definitely shouldn’t have been. (I don’t REALLY feel bad though because he ended up beating me.)
It’s these kinds of inconsistencies that make the Madden franchise frustrating. You’d think they’d be a bit more ironed out at this point.
To be honest, even though I gave the PS5 version of Madden 21 a slightly better score than the PS4 review, I don’t believe that it was a necessary release. Was it a good way to proactively prepare for the next-gen technology and features in Madden 22? Of course it was. But couldn’t that time have also been spent by addressing even more of the long-lingering community requests and ideas for improving the elements in the game that are already available? I’m not a developer, nor have I ever pretended to be, but it’s absolutely wild to me that I have cornerbacks that continue to backpedal long after a speedy wide receiver zooms right past them – a single frustrating mechanic that has plagued Madden for as long as I can remember. It’s one thing for a cornerback to be beat on a play. It’s quite another for a cornerback to not even turn around in an attempt to catch up to the receiver.
With those yearly grievances aired, Madden NFL 22 is still a worthwhile pickup if you were on the fence. There's nothing that's painstakingly new in this year's release. However, next-gen technology elevates gameplay with more realistic player movements, while home field advantage is, finally, exactly that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go draft Tim Tebow as my starting tight end.
A PS5 review code was provided to TheGamer for this review. Madden NFL 22 is available now on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC via Origin and Steam, and Google Stadia.