Praise
In Madden 23 this game has brought a lot of improvements from a very disappointing year in Madden 22. I would first start by talking about the gameplay where last year the gameplay was strictly for offense and there was absolutely no defense in the game and no skills gap. In this year’s game there is a new passing system where it has a meter that can dictate the passing accuracy and passing power which gives a skills gap into the game. Another improvement seen in this year’s Madden is the new cutting mechanic for runners where they can hard cut into holes smoother and not lose a lot of speed. The defense has seen a big improvement from last year where people are not putting up big numbers and defensive players react in their defensive assignments and pass rushing. For example, in zone coverages defensive players will stay and play in their respective zones better than than the prior years. Another example includes, flat zones actually jump to pick the pass off this year instead of standing there and watching their assignment catch the ball. Man to Man coverage has seen improvement as well where cornerbacks are not getting beat off the line every play if they press their man. Pass rushing has better animations this year and is better where you can see more defensive linemen get off their blockers more frequently. Quarterback containment is better this year too where opponents cannot run out of the pocket every play and run for a lot of yards.
Overview
Madden 23 is a football video game that is composed of all 32 NFL teams with all of the players in the league on their respective teams that you use to go against CPU opponents, random online opponents or even your friends. This game has a variety of modes such as play now, face of the franchise, ultimate team, the yard, superstar KO and franchise. Play now is a mode where you can choose any team in the NFL and play against CPU opponents, a random online person or your friends. Face of the franchise is a story mode where you can be a quarterback, wide receiver, running back, linebacker and a cornerback playing through the story. Ultimate team is a mode where you build your own team by getting players that are cards from packs, auction house, trade block or challenges. The yard is a mode where you can create your own character and play a 7 on 7 football game with your friends, random people or by yourself against CPU opponents, your friends or random people. Superstar KO is a mode where you can draft a couple of great players on an already built team to play against other online opponents with your friends or even by yourself. Lastly, franchise is a mode where you can be a head coach, player or even a GM and go through multiple NFL seasons getting the most realistic experience of what is done during the season and even the off-season.
Issues
In Madden 23 as there has been a lot of improvements to the game there are still some issues that are glaring. For example, in the face of the franchise the story in this mode is rather boring and some of the features in the modes that made the game a bit more exciting are taken out like playing in high school and college. Another example includes the lack of customization in the game where you are very limited in customizing your player and also cannot make any custom teams, stadiums and uniforms. The offensive line has been an issue and has looked a little bit worse from the previous game where the linemen do not recognize blitzes and even let people walk in on a regular pass rush. Lastly, the commentary has been the same in the game for years now and is getting very boring where I feel as though they should add new commentators in the game or at least change the lines up in the script.
Strategy
Improvements for the game should start with better AI detection for the offensive linemen so that blitzes get picked up better and that they do not let someone run right past them. Other improvements include, as I said in the last paragraph, changing the script up for the commentary announcers in the game to make it more exciting to listen to. The face of the franchise can see a better story and can add more features such as playing in college again. Lastly, there should be more to the customization of a player feature such as more hairstyles and even adding a face scan feature like NBA 2k and NBA Live has done before.
Encouragement
Even with the glaring issues in the game, Madden 23 is still an improvement from the previous Madden 22 game. I really like how the gameplay is played a lot including the new passing system. The defense took a really big step this year which I am really proud of about the game. Man to man and zone coverage is played how it is supposed to be played where the players are more reactive now. Like I have said before, pass rushing saw a great improvement as well which I loved as in the previous game it was tough for pass rushers to get to the quarterback. Overall the game has seen great improvements and is on the right track for being a great football game. I can not wait to see what more fixes they will make over time.
Kylen Dilligard 