During each NFL offseason, front offices work to add the pieces necessary to field a better team than the year before. Sometimes, despite making all the right moves on paper, things just don’t come together the way they had hoped. Similarly, the Madden NFL franchise looked to have a terrific offseason, adding several exciting features to its long-running formula, but sadly, despite various important improvements, Madden NFL 26 falls well short of being championship caliber.
On the field, Madden NFL 26 plays as authentic as ever, particularly thanks to improved superstar behavior. Lamar Jackson tucks and runs more than other QBs, Patrick Mahomes exudes confidence in high-pressure situations, and TJ Watt will go for the strip whenever he can. Players like Watt also benefit from improved defensive adjustments, which allow you to change your rush type pre-play, as well as gamble on guessing the route type in coverage. When combined with more true-to-life player performance and expanded playbooks, Madden NFL 26 offers a strong on-the-field product.
Off the field, players have a bevy of options. Card-collection mode Ultimate Team gives you plenty of compelling online and offline opportunities to earn packs and in-game currency en route to creating the team of your dreams, but long-form modes like Franchise and Superstar continue to be my destinations. Franchise effectively captures the thrill of taking the reins of your favorite team in hopes of turning their fortunes around, crafting the next dynasty, or maybe even relocating them. Coaching plays a bigger role this year, with new archetypes to choose from and skill trees to develop, plus better tools for scouting your opponents, new gameplan options, player wear and tear management, and increased coordinator importance.
Superstar continues to build on the exciting premise of creating a custom athlete and guiding them through their career. I’m still enamored by my annual tradition of pushing my player up the depth chart to become the franchise QB, and the new Sphere of Influence mechanic adds free-time decisions that impact your relationships with teammates, coaches, and other people.
For example, choosing to go on a podcast instead of getting in an extra training session will please your agent, but upset your strength coach. I love how improving my relationship with my agent gets me access to more sponsorships, while getting in on the good graces of my head coach adds more selectable plays on the field. I enjoy the time-management aspect, but I was frustrated when a wire apparently got crossed and my selection had the inverse impact on the two parties involved, an immersion-breaking mistake that is indicative of Madden 26’s biggest problem.
Unfortunately, this year’s gains are fumbled thanks to a pervasive lack of polish. Certain textures sometimes fail to populate, creating gaps in player’s bodies, and some animations fail to load. This combines with glitchy menus to highlight how unpolished this game is at launch. However, the most egregious problem comes from the game failing to grasp important football strategy and rules, costing me multiple close games in Superstar.
In one instance, I drove my team down the field in a tie game and got inside the five-yard line with 10 seconds left and one timeout remaining before handing it to the simulation. Even a novice football fan would know this is when you drain the clock, call a timeout, and bring your kicker on for a chip-shot. Much to my surprise, we went to overtime. I thought maybe the kicker missed the extremely easy kick, but when I checked the stats in OT, no kick was ever attempted; the simulation just let the clock run out. In another instance, I scored a touchdown as the clock hit zero, bringing me an extra point away from tying the game, but instead, the game just ended, leaving me speechless after a heroic comeback.
This all removed me from feeling immersed in the game’s beautiful visuals and excellent atmosphere, but even when things are working properly, the inconsistent commentary also broke the illusion. I love the idea of multiple commentary teams, but the gulf in quality between the teams is apparent. In that aforementioned heroic drive down the field, I was about to snap the ball, down seven, with two seconds remaining, but rather than acknowledging the moment, the commentary acted like it was just another 2nd and 2 play.
And all these shortcomings are made even more unfortunate by the clear care that went into the rest of the broadcast package. Presentation is a big emphasis in this year’s Madden, with improved in-game weather, better likenesses, authentic celebrations, improved broadcast overlays, the best soundtrack in years, and in-stadium traditions that truly make the atmosphere feel more genuine. These improvements go a long way to helping me feel like I’m in the middle of a high-energy stadium full of screaming fans, but the air in that ball completely deflates each time one of these frustrating issues rip me out of my immersion.
Despite a disappointing launch, Madden NFL 26 isn’t unsalvageable. I would imagine many of these problems will be fixed through post-launch patches, but that doesn’t change the fact that despite how strong its fundamentals appeared to be prior to stepping onto the field, much like a nervous rookie, this entry just wasn’t quite ready for primetime.
