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Madden 26 justifies its price with 4 big upgrades — but its dragged down by 1 flaw
EA’s Madden 26 has arrived, and the biggest question, as always with annual sports games, is does the latest entry justify spending $70 for what often feels like little more than a roster update in a slightly shinier package
Right off the bat, if you’re happy with last year’s Madden 25, then you don’t need to spend the money to upgrade. The classic flaws are still there. Blocking gets finicky, and the game occasionally makes insane decisions, especially when simulating games.
I’ve seen reports from some day-one players of game-breaking bugs or poor AI (not unusual in this series). Fortunately, I’ve not experienced anything so bad that I hung up my controller in Madden 26. This isn’t a Madden 24 situation.
That said, Madden 26 does bring some things to the table that made me excited as a long-time player. I’ve picked out four additions to the Madden formula that I love and one annoying flaw that makes me want to play College Football 26 instead.
Madden 26: The Pros
Superstar mode feels like a true sports RPG
EA has never figured out what to do with its single-player career mode. Last year’s Madden featured bizarre storyline choices and a general misunderstanding of team dynamics. But in this year’s effort, EA has struck a better balance.
Madden 26 feels closer to a proper sports RPG with chapters, goals and relationships to manage. Look, this isn’t an Obsidian-style RPG experience with dialogue choices out the wazoo, but building your sphere of influence with other players on your team, coaches, and off-field characters like agents and stylists makes for interesting scenarios.
Plus, boosting your relationships unlocks things like player skills and cosmetic items. The leveling system and character traits do just enough to get you chasing upgrades.
Lastly, there are career chapters that help give your career a bit of a story without the awkward cut scenes and forced interactions that previous Maddens have tried. Again, it’s not much, but it’s enough to make your career story feel slightly more organic.
I may be alone in this, but I truly enjoy playing the career mode in most sports games from Madden to EA FC and beyond, and a bit of care in this mode will always shine for me.
Skills Trainer teaches you the game
Madden has always had a Skills Trainer that lets you learn the basics or take on specific challenges. This year’s version has been overhauled, and it’s impressive.
There are more drills than ever, and the tutorials really do explain the intricacies of playing Madden. I’ve legitimately mastered mechanics that were in the game for years because of this new system.
EA has also added a section that specifically highlights the new mechanics that have been introduced this year. It’s amazing that I can’t think of a previous version with a similar teaching mode. It’s long overdue.
One of my biggest gripes with the revived College Football series is a lack of skills trainer, and this version in Madden 26 is one I hope the younger brother series steals next season.
Speaking of College Football 26, Madden 26 steals the wear-and-tear system and the coordinator system from its sister series on college football. They’re welcome additions, especially in Franchise mode.
If you’re unfamiliar, wear-and-tear tracks the stamina and health of your players and can affect various parts of their bodies. For example, a running back may lose speed or power as their legs take on more wear. Let it go long enough, and you risk injuring the player.
In a cool twist on CFB’s formula, Madden lets you choose practice intensity for each player, which can help them rest or give development time to backups. It also forces you to make decisions in-game if you’re overusing your star running back. Maybe you sub him out for the backup or alter your game plan to give him some rest.
Like the college game, the new coordinator system has you consider who to hire as your DC or OC and what kinds of skill trees they feature under their archetypes. Building your coach up affects your players all season long, so it’s worth investing the time.
With some competition, even if it’s in-house, I hope that Madden and College Football continue to steal from one another, and hopefully, this friendly rivalry pushes both franchises to improve year over year.
Presentation and gameplay shine bright
A complaint I had last year was that the presentation and gameplay in Madden 25 felt excessively cartoony. I’m not one of those Madden players seeking gritty realism, but I do want it to feel like football.
This year’s edition has a definite sheen to the presentation that is quite welcome. Even small touches like sideline conversations between the coach and players add immersion.
Graphically, everything from more realistic jersey movement to the addition of severe weather makes the game more fun to look at. Updated graphics packages when you’re actually in the game make primetime showdowns feel bigger and your average Sunday afternoon snoozer a little more interesting.
As mentioned, I haven’t really noticed the “my offensive line” doesn’t block issues others have reported. Instead, I’ve found that player animations and reactions to plays are smoother and snappier this year.
The addition of “QB DNA,” which is supposed to make quarterbacks play more like their real-life counterparts, adds additional authenticity. Plus, EA added little touches like showing gap assignments in pre-play art when on defense that help you better understand how a play might work out.
Madden 26: Cons
The big flaw: Loading times
Despite featuring a cleaner UI and menus compared to Madden 25, Madden 26 chugs when you’re not playing an actual game. Loading times feel like a dial-up modem struggling to life, and it sucks.
EA did release some optimization patches for Madden 25 that sped up menu load times and hopefully, something similar happens for Madden 26. But at launch, this is a slow game.
I timed loading while messing around in Ultimate Team, a mode I rarely venture into, and just trying to examine a player card took between 5 and 10 seconds. When you’re opening up packs of cards, that slow load takes any enjoyment out of even the loot box-rush of card packs, though perhaps that’s a good thing in this specific instance.
Once you’re in a menu, like the Superstar character page, things are a bit quicker, but move away from it or load into a new section and things slow to a crawl.
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