Madden NFL 24 Impressions | PS5, XBOX Series X/S, PC

[CM Hooe]

I've only put significant time into the mini-games in Franchise mode this evening, so a short impression. Playing on All Madden difficulty.

The Outnumbered passing skeleton drill is so so frustratingly possible, but the difficulty curve might as well be a brick wall.

You're at the mercy of getting good plays from the random play call, you must anticipate receivers breaking open, nearly any contested catch is a knock-out, and if you get to the front of the goal line odds are the randomized play call will screw you over.

My advice is to drill it over and over. Learn to stack completions and build up the multiplier. If you can get gold on this one, I'd like to shake your hand. The other drills are much more enjoyable.

[squaremarker]

Played 2 games, Lions (me) vs Browns and Lions (me) vs Bears, SIM, All-Pro, 75 Threshold, no other changes.

I enjoyed 23 a lot, fieldSENSE really does make a difference in my opinion.

Passing

Overall, I like where the passing game is at. I feel the CPU pass rush is about right. Goff isn't very mobile but I was able to step up in the pocket on numerous occasions to buy time. I use coaching suggestions of play calling and I don't really hot route, just try and go through the progressions. I had decent success and had a few miss throws (ratings dependant I am assuming?).

Running

Good lord does this game shine here. On the defensive side of the ball, Nick Chubb ate me up the entire game. I think he had about 130, averaging around 5.5 a carry. I definitely missed a few gaps and contributed to a few of his break-off 20 yarders, but I like it this way. I found that he rarely went down on the first contact which is highly realistic in my opinion.

On the offensive side of things, I enjoyed myself thoroughly. Patience and correct reads really make the difference here. I was able to anticipate what my offensive linemen were going to do and play off them nicely. I had a large amount of cutback opportunities and some interesting second-level play.

Defense

I tried to mix up my play calling to the best of my abilities with difference looks of zone, man, and blitz. There were times my defense seemed like it couldn't keep up with any of the Browns or Bears wideouts (I am the Lions, so maybe this is realistic?) but I didn't notice any of my guys completely out of place or doing something dumb (per coding).

The tackling in the game is amazing. I often use the wrap tackle more than any other and I am seeing great animations here. The second and third defenders in can really impact the momentum of the ball-carrier, something I've been asking about for a long time. I wasn't able to do much with any of my defensive line, but that could've just been user error. I would have thought it would've been a little easier to get some pressure with Hutchinson but I do like the challenge.

Sound

This is where the game is bad for me. The hits, impacts, crowd, everything feels muffled and muted. I know they mentioned this was a fix from the beta to retail, so I am hoping the day 1 patch addresses this. For me, it is EXACTLY the same as the beta sound.



I suppose my only gripe is the sound currently. I haven't looked into any of the elements of the game outside of those 2 play now games. From a gameplay standpoint, I think we are back to where we should've been if we just pretend the PS3 and PS4 eras never exited. The last madden gameplay I recall enjoying was 2006 on the PS2. I boycotted Madden from Madden 17 - 22, randomly playing a game or 2 at a friends house, confirming that I hated it. Last year and this year in particular are very very positive steps in the right direction. Hopefully they can continue to build off of the gameplay and flesh-out all of the quality of life interactions post-play. It's starting to look like real football fellas, the future is bright.

[Mr.Brownstone]

Quote: Originally Posted by COMMISSIONERHBK9

So another impression i saw there was cross play i dont think that was something that was mention or if it was I didn’t know of. Sucks the ea servers are down it says my progression wont be counted

Yes, there is crossplay between PC, PS5 and X/S for H2H, MUT, Superstar KO and Showdown.

[MizzouRah]

Definitely would like to see more penalties, but it's been an issue for years now.

[Cowboyjones20]

Quote: Originally Posted by IrOnKoBe

Why the clock so small this year ?

I noticed this as well. Hard to keep an eye on it. Hope they change it.


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[JayInSaratoga]

Playing on PS5, All-Pro, haven't touched sliders yet.

Completed the preseason last night. Did training camp drills and played the games (100% with the 1s in to get a feel for my team and then just the moments with backups). Playing 12 minute quarters with accelerated clock (18).

Gameplay

Player movement and interaction (tackling and blocking) just look so much more real. The pocket looked real and not just 5 guys slightly fanned out stonewalling the defense for 2 seconds. But real chaos where the shape of the pocket was different play to play and you could actually sense where the pressure was going to come from.

Broken/Missed tackle animations also seem more varied and realistic. Running as the giants with Barkley, I had cases where he "slipped" out of a tackle. I had never seen that in 2023.

Trades

With trade difficulty on normal I found trading to be more realistic. Definitely saves me from myself where I can't fathom not maximizing a trade when dumping a vet for a pick, but then somewhat guilty when I manage to scam a 1st round pick out of 2 lower 80s vets in their 30s. The expanded trade slots make it easier to build some cool packages of multiple assets for one key player type trades. I didn't go wild, but I did pry Isiah Simmons (who was on the trade block) away from the Cardinals to move back to LB and plug the gaping hole I had next to Bobby Okereke.

Bugs

The one bug I encountered, and I've seen this in past years, was where I threw a deep ball that I am almost 100% certain was caught out of bounds. The announcers described it as out of bounds and the ref made the hand motion confirming it, but then I had the ball 1st down at where the non-catch happened. I feel like maybe this was supposed to trigger a "bad call" where the other team would have to challenge, but the presentation was triggered incorrectly?

Overall

It's early, but this feels like a decent, iterative improvement on 2023. I might not have to play with sliders too much this year as things seem pretty balanced on All-Pro so far.

[toodles2you90]

Playin Jags vs Texans on PS5, everything default All-Madden, simulation style except speed threshold to 95.

First offensive drive was pretty cool. Had a holding penalty which is good. Running seems good but not overpowered so far. Ran a slot screen pass on 3rd and 17 and picked up a first down. Screen plays may be good this year. Tried to QB sneak on 2nd and goal from the 1 and got stuffed. Last year that was basically automatic. Overall the passing game was good. Trevor missed a throw and had one knockout. 16 play drive to start my Madden 24 career.

Defensive drive. Well the CPU running game seems back. Run blitzing is probably going to have to happen or you will get shredded. CJ stroud had a missed throw but was perfect other than that. They scored on a 3rd down out route against man coverage. Didn't seem cheated and glad that maybe I won't lead the league in defense every season.

Obviously that is just one drive. I'll post some more once I get a few games in.

[toodles2you90]

Tackle button mash seems gone most of the time but does come up occasionally.