Madden NFL 27 Review

From the first pregame animation I watched, Madden NFL 27 had a presence I haven't felt in this series a while. The expressions of the players, the roar of the crowd, and even the coaching staff on the sidelines felt right, as if I was watching Week 1 six weeks early. That good first impression only grew as I dug into each mode, finding tweaks to the passing game and an improved Franchise mode that make it a noticeable improvement on its predecessor. It's not at Hall of Fame status yet, with some noticeable technical hiccups and an Ultimate Team in need of a shakeup, but Madden 27 is definitely trending in the right direction. EA Sports may be on to something here.

For starters, the reworked passing game is instantly impactful thanks to a new Timing-Based Catch mechanic. After passing the ball to a receiver, when I hold down the catch button, a meter will appear over my receiver's head. If I release the button in the meter's green zone, the receiver gains an advantage over the defender, which usually results in a completed pass. Conversely, if I hold the button too long or release it too quickly, I run the risk of dropping the pass, or worse, deflecting it to a defender.

What we said about Madden NFL 26

When EA showed off what Madden NFL 26 would be this year, I wasn’t sure I believed it. Not because I didn’t want to, or because I thought I was being lied to. But because it almost felt too good to be true. It promised improvements and changes I have wanted for years, and, well… they are all here. EA pulled it off. This is simply a straight up better game than Madden 25, both on the field and off of it. There’s still room for improvement – there always is – but it’s hard to overstate what a leap this feels like in terms of presentation, the in-game action, and Franchise as a mode. There’s more to do for Superstar, and MUT is MUT, but this is a big step forward for Madden overall. As for the other stuff, well… there’s always next year, right? Turns out, sometimes you just gotta believe. - Will Borger, August 14, 2025

Score: 8

Read the full Madden NFL 26 review.

This is an ingenious system that emphasizes how the quarterback and receiver should work in tandem on every pass play. I've been able to aim my passes and adjust the strength of the throw, but now I can also give my receiver the chance to make a spectacular play with clear and direct inputs, which makes it feel more like I was the one who brought the big catch to fruition. When that meter turns green, and the pass is completed, it's a genuine rush.

However, this new system takes a minute to lock down, as the timing can be very precise. Bullet passes are difficult to land with this method, simply because the ball is coming at the receiver quickly and my window for holding the catch button is smaller. Additionally, in modes like Quick Play where I control both the quarterback throwing the pass and the receiver catching it, it starts to feel like I'm entering fighting game move sequences with all of the button presses and directions that are required.

The new Timing-Based Catch mechanic is an ingenious system.

Thank goodness for the Skills Trainer, then, which returns from last year's game and once again conveniently groups all of Madden 27's changes into one tutorial mode on the main menu, which I can try as many times as I need. This is a great place to work out the timing on both the throws and the catches, along with other changes like a new tackling system that adds Conservative and Dive tackles to the mix, as well as new pass rush moves designed to get past the offensive line and into the quarterback's face.

This year's Madden looks as impressive as ever, with players, coaches, and fans that are closer to the real thing with each passing year. There are still immersion-breaking issues, however, like the time Devonta Smith celebrated a touchdown and the camera was placed inside of his body, or another time when an entire celebration was blocked by what I assume to be a fan's brown pants. Moments like this mostly just made me laugh and immediately moved on, but they still break the authentic NFL feel Madden strives for.

The in-game menus, meanwhile, are some of Madden 27's biggest struggles. Loading times cripple the experience, with even something as simple as "pressing X to proceed" resulting in a noticeable delay. God help you if you press the wrong button in Ultimate Team, especially after opening a pack, as you'll have time for a full sip of your coffee before you can get back to looking at the cards you pulled. The menus are an unavoidable, and highly noticeable, nuisance, and they will inevitably get in the way of your experience at some point.

The marquee change to Madden 27 is the Persona Engine, a new approach to Franchise mode that gives every player on your team motivations, goals, and desires. Pay your top stars well, and they'll be happy; neglect them, and you'll begin to hear words like "trade" and "holdout." Zack Baun, a starting linebacker for my beloved Philadelphia Eagles, was the first to start talking about a new contract, followed by Jalen Carter, and negotiating both was so stressful, I delegated both tasks. It ended up working out, even if the cap hit was more than I expected.

The marquee change to Madden 27 is the Persona Engine.

Another major factor in Franchise mode is training; I can work with individual players in minigames in order to raise their stats. These minigames range from "hey, this is fun," to "hey, this is total BS." Each position offers a range of minigames designed to focus on a particular skill, which makes sense; a lineman will have different priorities than, say, a free safety. This means the team has to cook up six or seven minigames per position, and the strain of that challenge becomes apparent pretty quickly.

Take the Wide Receiver position, for example: one minigame asks me to run around for as long as I can without getting tackled, using padded walls and a rotating obstacle positioned around the field. This is a really fun time, as trying to avoid three defenders barreling down on me by forcing them to get wrecked by the rotating obstacle got some genuine laughs.

But another requires me to evade a defender and catch passes in marked zones, in an attempt to score as many points as possible. This defender is, apparently, the greatest cornerback to ever play the game of football, because he stuck to me like glue and either broke up or straight up picked off the majority of my reps. I get that these are supposed to be challenging, but there's a fine line between "challenge" and "hair-ripping frustration," and some of these minigames inch toward making me more bald than I already am.

I ran into a similar, albeit isolated, incident in Superstar mode. As Jason Fanelli, the standout Temple Owl running back, was participating in the Combine, I was dropped into a few passing drills in order to gauge my performance. I was supposed to catch a pass in the intended zone, but more often than not, the quarterback didn't throw the ball any where near the zone. When I made the catch outside that zone, it counted negatively toward my performance, and I don't quite understand what I could have done better.

That said, once I was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round, Superstar mode became the same fun option I've enjoyed in years past. I like slowly getting mo re playing time as the season progresses, becoming a bigger part of the offense as I improve, and eventually turning into one of the top players on the team. The little vignettes in between, where I speak at press conferences or meet with my agent about sponsorship deals with brands like Oakley (product placement!), are fine enough, but the important part, the on-field stuff, is fun.

Ultimate Team continues to follow a simple pattern: open packs, complete challenges, get more packs, repeat.

Madden Ultimate Team also returns for another season, and of course it would as one of Madden's most popular modes. My Philadelphia Cream Cheeses have become a juggernaut thanks to some choice pack openings, welcoming legendary defender Luke Kuechley, current Eagles star Cooper DeJean, and Madden cover star Caleb Williams to the squad. Williams is even my backup quarterback, so I know I'm doing alright.

However, the MUT experience continues to be distilled into a simple pattern: open packs, complete challenges, get more packs, repeat. I can take my team online against other MUTers, but other than the unique roster I've fostered, it's just the core Madden 27 gameplay again. Granted, "don't fix what isn't broken" certainly applies to a mode that many people enjoy, but after opening pack after pack, it just doesn't stand out from previous years. I'm not sure how you improve on MUT, but it needs something to breathe some fresh air into it.

To its credit, however, the controversial microtransaction push that caused a stir in the College Football 27 community doesn’t make it to the big leagues. I see ads for new MUT packs, of course, but the Cream Cheeses squad I've built so far has been constructed without me spending a single extra dollar, and I'm happy with the results.