Madden NFL 27 review for Xbox Series X, PS5, Switch 2, PC

The summer heat is starting to drop, the leaves are beginning to fall from the trees, and NFL so-called insiders are making questionable marital decisions… that means it’s nearly time for the kickoff of the NFL season! If you follow Gaming Age and my reviews then you already know, like death and taxes the only other guarantees in life are Paul’s Madden and WWE yearly reviews. Madden NFL 27 is here and I’ve got to say right off the bat, I’m disappointed in the cover athlete for a few reasons… 1—No problem with Caleb Williams at all and he had a good season last year, but I can think of at least 3-4 other players in the quarterback position alone that I would put on the cover before him (like MVP Matt Stafford or my homer pick; Bo Nix). And 2—Putting a Chicago Bear on the cover of Madden when you think the franchise is back on the rise is such a dangerous game for that fan base that has been through so much; don’t you dare say Madden curse in front of them this season.

So immediately upon booting up Madden NFL 27 it immediately feels very familiar. Menus and modes look like a copy paste of last year and you know how this usually goes with my reviews, especially with franchises with the; “not broke, don’t fix it” mentality. So I am happy to report Madden 27 kinda does enough to change my mind… at least for this season. Maybe I’m going soft in my old age, but the gameplay itself just really does it for me. I can’t remember the last time I felt like the gameplay was this complete in a Madden release. Hot take, but I feel like Madden gameplay hasn’t been this complete since the NFL 2K franchise was around and that was the most complete game when it came to offense, defense, and special teams. There’s been many years where it felt like one area of offense always worked better than the other. For example, running would get the most fixes and passing game would suffer or vice versa, or other years the defense would be so blistering that doing anything on offense would be a struggle. Madden 27 gives me none of those vibes and feels like the best simulation of an NFL game in 20 years.

Madden 27 introduces some new gameplay style options for the passing and kicking game. Generally I don’t usually play more than a series or two whenever EA introduces NEW REVOLUTIONARY ways to play and for kicking I definitely reverted back to the old style meter immediately (remember, I’m old), but for passing I surprisingly kept it on. There is a bit of a learning curve but I feel like it does deliver some better control and gives more accurate feels of playing the quarterback position (of course outside of street ball and some adult leagues, I’m no professional player). Madden 27 also gives all the options for passing from the past few franchise releases for those of you like the former me, clinging on to former glory. Defensive gameplay felt solid as well and was a strong point last year in my opinion as well, so there wasn’t much for them to innovate on that side of the ball. Lastly, there is a new coach recommendation option that pops up right as you’re getting to the line of scrimmage (which you can choose to take the advice and make an adjustment or just ignore it). This paragraph is nearly all of my reasoning why I am giving EA the pass on the déjà vu feels of the menus and modes. The gameplay is just too damn good to spite them elsewhere.

If you’re a frequent reader of my Madden reviews year in and year out, you know what else is important to me and what I’ve been shaking my fist at the clouds for years regarding, and that’s presentation. Last year saw a huge jump in presentation and while it’s still not where I would like it to be with the TV station licensed graphics and audio, EA has still slightly improved off what they built on last season. Some of the audio queues are there and the “following has been a presentation of the national football league” gives all the feels of watching a real football game, now we just need the ESPN, FOX or CBS branding on the scoreboard and replays. If we didn’t have this with the 2K franchise twenty years ago I wouldn’t harp on this year after year. EA it’s time, the gameplay is perfect now lets get the presentation over the hump. Also worth mentioning; the opening cinematic to each game is unique to each team and stadium which is fantastically done and adds to my praise of presentation.

Mode-wise, as I’ve mentioned it’s all the same as Madden NFL 26 with some tweaks here and there. There’s only so much they can do at this point with Madden Ultimate Team and Franchise. EA has given you so much control in Franchise mode it’s hard to add much more. Previous years they had some bonus modes that were more arcade in style and I’m sure I’ve mentioned this on a past review but why not bring back some NFL Street style gameplay, either as a new mode to Madden or as a separate game/DLC. The NFL fandom, in my opinion, is at an all time high with viewership recorders being broken every year it seems, so it’s crazy that the only NFL title we get every season is Madden. That’s not a jab at Madden but more so to say that competition brings the best out of everyone and more games would mean more ways and chances for fans to play with their favorite players (or legends, which I would really appreciate). Ok, getting off my soapbox now. Last year I rated Madden NFL 26 highly and now with Madden NFL 27 I can only say it’s even better and should not be skipped… highly recommended!

Note: EA provided us with a Madden NFL 27 code for review purposes.

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