REVIEW: ‘Madden NFL 26’ Is A Promising Start

With the success of the EA Sports College Football series, EA knew it needed to mix things up in its Madden franchise now that more eyes are on the world of football video games. Madden 26 attempts to jolt new life into the long-running franchise without losing the core of what keeps bringing fans back for more.

The most noticeable update for Madden 26 is the gameplay overhaul. EA touts what it calls an “AI-powered machine learning system” to take real play calls and decisions from decades of NFL history and put them into the game to make the experience as close to the real thing as possible.

This isn’t necessarily a new concept; sports games have been using real-life data to mold their game designs for years. But with the rise of AI, this appears to be the start of a more intentional approach. This change isn’t outwardly noticeable, but there is something about the gameplay that feels more refined than previous iterations.

Madden 26’s gameplay feels more refined than previous iterations thanks to QB DNA and more.

Part of that is the speed and fluidity of the on-field movement. Players move faster than usual, more closely matching the gameplay from the CFB series. The new wear and tear system helps decrease the differences between the two franchises, making it easier than ever for fans of one to cross over to the other.

These changes are most apparent when choosing passing plays. Quarterbacks have been revamped with a new QB DNA system that makes each starting QB feel distinct, letting players take control of their favorite gunslinger en route to yet another touchdown. I also noticed my defenders were making smarter moves when I wasn’t directly controlling them. Tackling the offensive player is intuitive, which makes playing defense fun.

Weather is also much more impactful in Madden 26. Playing a snowed-out game in Buffalo turns into a chaotic run-fest, while playing in the rain in Miami makes it difficult to get anything going without slipping around. These changes also affect the visual presentation, helping break up the monotony of the game.

Madden 26 brings the biggest franchise mode update in years.

The overall presentation received a bit of a facelift as well. There is a new weekly recap featuring Scott Hanson, the host of NFL Redzone, that gives players an in-game highlight reel of the previous week’s most important games. It doesn’t touch on every big moment, and I did notice some visual stuttering that was mildly annoying, but the feature itself is a cool addition. There is also a new halftime show that updates players on what is happening around the league.

Franchise mode has received its biggest update in years, making much-needed improvements to the popular mode. Franchise mode allows players to take the hot seat as the coach of the team of their choice, making important decisions along the way to hopefully win the Super Bowl. With this comes new mechanics that give players more control over their team than ever.

Every coach in Madden 26 fits under one of three archetypes: Offensive Guru, Defensive Genius, or Development Wizard. These paths allow players to unlock new abilities that change how their coach operates. There are 46 abilities available at launch, as well as four tiers to progress through as you grow your coaching prestige.

The new coaching tree creates the most in-depth coaching experience franchise mode has ever had.

I was skeptical about the coaching tree updates at first, but playing around with it in-game alleviated any doubts I might have had. For anyone worried this is a superficial change, know that it is easily the most in-depth franchise mode has ever allowed players to get with their coaching preferences. It makes a significant difference in the playing experience.

Another major change is the week-to-week management of your team. You can choose how to manage player training, keeping key players fresh or pushing them to develop faster. Weekly gameplay strategies let players plan around a specific game, handling how your coaching staff, trainers, and players all prepare for the game ahead. EA’s goal was to try to mimic the “chess match” feeling of weekly football games, and they definitely delivered.

Superstar mode has a few changes as well, letting players try to take the field as their own player and create a Hall of Fame career. Career chapters have been introduced to help players track progress toward their goal. Each chapter is harder to complete, bringing new challenges to be met along the way. It’s a cool way of bringing to life the individual stories players create for themselves.

The off-field moments are still not great, but this is a hard concept to nail. Conversation choices and goals met can impact relationships, but there is no real depth to this. Semblances of story modes have been tried in sports games for ages and are typically hollow and stale, so it is at least nice that these decisions have an impact on the gameplay experience by improving the players around you if you build the relationships up the right way.

Menus in Madden 26 are still slow and laggy.

One of the changes that EA wanted to draw attention to in Madden 26 was updated menus, but the experience is certainly not what they were hoping for. Menus are slow and laggy, and the game can crash. Some menus attempt to use a liquid glass design, too, but it makes it impossible to read the players’ names when trying to select them.

Menus are the type of thing that you typically want people not to notice. They should be smooth and fluid. If it becomes a talking point, that’s not usually a good thing. Menus in Madden have been a mess for a while, and sadly, they aren’t any better in Madden 26. 

Overall, there is enough depth to Madden 26 that makes it an experience worth the update. It still is not as strong as the CFB franchise, but it is making strides in the right direction. Hopefully, some minor tweaks once the game is out can bring it up to the standard players expect, but the foundation is a solid start for a promising future.

Madden NFL 26 is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.