Madden NFL 23

After playing Madden NFL 23 I finally have a little optimism that the series is on the right path - maybe not an emphatic "Boom!", but clear forward progress for a series that so desperately needs it.

On the field, Madden 23 is the best the series has been in a long time, but several of the surrounding pieces feel like they're on injured reserve.

Big plays in past Maddens often felt like a lucky (or unlucky) dice roll. If you focus on the 10 yards in front of you, Madden NFL 23 plays almost flawlessly. It’s, again, the bigger picture where the game most often stumbles.

Some fun improvements make this playable – yet Madden still features too much carryover. Not just from last year, but the last decade.

The Madden NFL series has long had a solid gameplay foundation, maintained by small improvements year over year. Madden NFL 23 is the first iteration in a long time that rebuilds that foundation, and that’s where this year's greatest success lies. Some slippery collisions aside, the more physics-based action is a good change, and the control over ball placement from Skill-Based passing is a welcome addition. This comes at the cost of only minor updates to the core gameplay modes, but it was ultimately the right call to make, and Madden is a better game for it.

Coach Madden spent years meeting with the game’s developers to ensure the authenticity of a product that bears his name. As they honor his legacy in “Madden 23” and the games to come, they’d do well to remember: If it’s in the game, it’s in the game. If it’s not, get it out.

Madden NFL 23 is the best gridiron game on PS5 to date, but the series is taking toe-taps forward rather than big, confident strides. There's no doubt that both Franchise and Face of the Franchise are better this year, and we like the improvements to the run game and the addition of precision passing. But is this enough for a series that's been accused of stagnation over the past decade? It feels like EA Sports is settling for the easy five-yard gains, rather than the deep ball down the field.

At the end of the day, Madden NFL 23 is a poor pro football simulator. It isn't even a fun arcade-style game. It feels somewhat aimless with the development team pulling the game in many different directions at the same time. The changes from Madden NFL 22 are minimal and the PS5/Xbox Series X/S exclusive features still do not address core gameplay problems.

Madden NFL 23 is an improved game when compared to Madden NFL 22, but that isn't enough to make it good.

Madden NFL 23 feels a lot like previous entries in the series, although it's a pretty good football game overall.