First off, kudos to EAs marketing team for taking advantage of the passing of Madden and putting him on the cover. They’ll definitely sell a ton of copies because of that. It’s the main reason I bought the game….
As for the game, IT IS better than prior years. But it has some SERIOUS issues! I can only comment on the actual gameplay because I don’t really mess with the franchise mode and I despise the absolute cash grab that is MUT!! I’ve now played a handful of games and feel that I can give an honest impression….
The gameplay is smooth. That’s the high point of this years Madden. Smooth and fluid. Running can actually be done in 23 and you don’t feel like you’re running through mud! Passing…. well, that’s a completely different story….
Passing in 23 is utter garbage. The new passing mechanics are cool to play with in drills. But in actual games, they don’t matter. You’re supposed to be able to put “touch” on a pass to get it passed an underneath defender.
Yeah, NOPE! Doesn’t happen! The CPU defenders in 23 are absolute gods even on PRO difficulty and unless your WR is WIDE open, like 10 yards of space open, don’t even bother throwing it…. It’ll get swatted or picked! Pretty much guaranteed! I throw 2-3 picks EVERY game because of this BS!! You pretty much have to know who you’re going to pre-snap by reading the scheme and if you misread it, it’ll most likely get picked! Even using Aaron Rodgers with his crazy good touch passes(in real life), throw over 30 yards and your chance of a completion is basically 10% or less EVEN IF your WR has a massive gap between defenders! By the time the ball gets to the WR even with a leading pass, BOTH defenders are there to pick it or swat it! It’s absolutely rage inducing! Meanwhile, playing the CPU even on PRO difficulty, the CPU receivers not only catch everything but will also break several tackles.
The CPU running backs will easily break 2-3 tackles per run. Meanwhile, I’m lucky to break ONE tackle if I run the ball…. This probably seems like a lot of complaining, and I’m sure Madden vets will just say “git gud bruh!” But it’s more than that! If you’re actually going to have fun with Madden 23, you’ll want to either put the game on Rookie difficulty or play on Pro and adjust the sliders.
I honestly don’t see the game being fair otherwise. Which is f’ing insane!!! Also, the game has numerous issues right now…. It had a 5GB update at launch and I’m guessing that was just to make it playable….
Playing the skills trainer trying to get used to the new gameplay, the game will tell me frequently that I wasn’t “in the zone” when I clearly was! I’ve also had my kick meter literally NOT show up at all! Yes, meaning I could NOT see what I was doing while kicking! I almost broke my controller over that! The new animations on defense are definitely an improvement over prior years.
The game is clearly still animation based vs physics, but it’s definitely better! The game feels better with the new system! Overall, the devs have a LOT of work to do! Having Madden on the cover, you’d think they would’ve put more effort into the game, doesn’t seem so….
Yes, the animations are better, but passing STILL has glaring issues. And the bugs even after the 5GB launch update are simply unacceptable!! This isn’t a football game worthy of Madden gracing the cover… but I’m sure EA couldn’t care less and their marketing team will probably get raises for the idea.
All they care about is MUT! Which shows, when they offer you a MUT pack just to try and bait you to share your info for marketing at the start of the game!! CAN the game be fun? Yes. Are there numerous unacceptable issues? Of course, it’s Madden! Does EA care? Lmao….
Would Madden enjoy this game? Maybe, but he’d be furious he’s on the cover of such a currently mediocre product! Should YOU buy it?? Give it a few months at least so maybe EA can work out the bugs…. Or buy it in the bargain bin because the legendary Coach is on the cover….
I mainly bought 23 because Madden’s on the cover and I miss playing football and unfortunately 2K doesn’t have a current football game out….