Madden NFL 21 was one of the biggest releases of August, and though it outsold every game by a landslide that month, it doesn’t mean that gamers are happy with the outcome. Playing the game feels almost as if EA is intentionally trying to destroy the legendary status that the Madden series has.
However, while many players claim that this entry in the franchise is the last nail in the coffin, as not even the odd addition of Snoop Dogg can save it, there are still some moments where the game shines. Whether it's fun, new game modes or the stunning graphics, there are some small victories to be had.
10 Got Right: The Yard
The Yard is the newest game mode of the series and it pits superstar caliber players against each other. The mode is so silly and over the top and its the most fun Madden has been in a long time, with its great backyard style gameplay. There are no quarters or time limits to abide by and the field is much shorter, being only 80 yards long.
Though it’s jarring at first due to having to learn a variety of new things, It puts players old and new at a completely even keel. It looks cool too, as teammates aren’t wearing matching jerseys. However, though it is a good distraction from the other major game modes, it can still get repetitive.
9 Failed: Innovation
There are a lot of areas And game modes where NFL 21 is lacking, but overall, the entire game lacks innovation and it has become completely stagnant. This is all because there is no developer creating NFL games, which means there is no competing game on the market, so EA have no reason in their minds to make any positive changes or make this a game worth buying.
And because of this, the Madden franchise has massively fallen behind other EA Sports games that are making leaps and strides in making their respective sports feel as realistic and as fun as possible. And that’s why it could be argued that the newest entry is the worst game in the series.
8 Got Right: Ultimate Team
Ultimate Team has replaced the solo challenges that appeared in the previous games, but they work in a similar way in that the player co peters against the CPU. Just like last year’s entry, a lot of players’ ratings have changed, and assembling the team can be fun and works a lot like a management sim, which requires gamers to identify important information from the trivial. Though this might not be fun for some gamers, there is a lot of strategy involved in it, and its deep and filled with customization too.
7 Failed: Face Of The Franchise
With EA’s insistence on including a terribly written story mode with paper thin narratives into their sports games, Madden’s might be the worst of them all. In a game that allows the player to make choices that affects the narrative of the game, it seems like the same outcome would have happened despite choosing wildly different options, which adds to the list of things that don’t make sense in the game.
The performances from the voice actors are all phoned in and the animations of the characters are embarrassing. There are even some missing parts of the voice acting where characters are clearly talking but there’s no noise.
6 Got Right: Two New Moves
Though there is a lot of issues with some of the moves players can pull off, especially the maddening lag on the kick meter, there are a couple of neat additions that are exciting to pull off. These two new moves, the side hurl and dead leg, really help to combat the defense in a much better way than in previous games, and it increases the variety of ways to make the defender miss. Thanks to these moves, the gameplay is slightly less repetitive, which is something that the game desperately needed.
5 Failed: Franchise Mode
Franchise mode is completely neglected and it is identical to last year’s Madden, which was already very similar to the previous year. EA hasn’t even bothered to change the mode’s layout, so if this is a game mode that made players fell in love with last year’s Madden, there is no point in spending $60 on the updated version.
This is a part of the game that has been left almost completely unchanged for two years and it’s a slap in the face to people who purchase the game. It’s sneaky tactics like this that make a lot of EA sports games so bad.
4 Got Right: Better On-The-Field Gameplay
A lot of the series’ issues on the field have actually been ironed out really well, including run defense, where it had become too challenging to stop in last year’s entry, but it has improved tenfold here. And tackling in open field has better animation with less unrealistic tackles, which had the opponents leaping through the sky like superheroes. Basic moves can now be utilized with the right stick, so evading opponents feels much more intuitive than before, and it makes for much smoother running.
3 Failed: Bugs
This is the buggiest entry in the Madden series in recent years, and that is saying a lot, since the year had headless players running around and massive glitches were big lines would run across screen as if players were playing on an old plasma TV. What is most frustrating about the relentless amount of glitches is that it causes issues with the gameplay, because if a frame rate drops at a specific time, it’ll make players miss a catch or even a kick.
2 Got Right: Graphics
There is no doubt about it, be far and away the biggest improvement between NFL 21 and NFL 20 is the advancement of the graphics. If the camera is zoomed out, it’s almost as if players are watching a real game. And though characters on the side line look like PS2 NPCs and fans in the bleachers still look like cardboard cutouts, the character models are so detailed and almost cutting edge.
1 Failed: Microtransactions
Make no mistake, this is an EA game, and EA games will function exactly as they are expected. Seeing microtransactions in a game isn’t surprising anymore, but that doesn’t make it any less insulting when they are in players’ faces covering all of the menus. Without forking over a ton of money (after having already spent more than $70 for a game full of bugs,) playing the game becomes a slow, tedious, and irritating grind.