Madden NFL 23 Reviews
After two years to forget, Madden NFL seems to have embarked on the path of redemption, with a playable tribute to the great John Madden.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Combined, Madden 23 – especially with Free Form Passing – is certainly different from Madden 22, but not necessarily all that better. It still struggles in being accessible to most, with the bar for control schemes and required knowledge of American football far too high. On-screen help is still minimal, AI generated assistance limited, and fun factor almost non-existent. It's obvious the Madden series made a sharp turn toward competitive gaming and Ultimate Team a few years back, with zero regrets.
Madden NFL 23 has given me hope in this franchise in moving forward. Although there are some issues that may be fixed with some patches, there are many other changes that led this installment to be the best Madden game in years. And, of course, with the introduction of the new fieldSENSE system that is becoming a revelation to the franchise, it’s no wonder why this is the case. Also, with the new NFL season coming soon, this will surely be an excellent year for the players.
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.
Madden 23 is still Madden, but little more. If you've been wanting an NFL game that offers something wholly new, or one that can match the NBA 2K series for production values, then this isn't the place to find it. However, there's some key incremental improvements happening here which make Madden 23 a tighter, more engaging experience for fans, and one which will happily see you through this year's NFL season.
I believe the problem is that the gameplay, at its core, just isn’t addictive. Can I have fun with Madden? Yes, and I probably will have some solid moments with the game this year, but not enough to make it elite.
Madden NFL 23 feels a lot like previous entries in the series, although it's a pretty good football game overall.
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.
If you are a seasonal fan of Madden, you will feel like Madden NFL 23 is a step in the right direction with new features to experience and updates to preexisting game modes and features. At the end of the day, this game is meant to appeal to football lovers who want to have the most realistic NFL experience.
Madden NFL 23 is the best entry in the franchise in the past 10 years, but with such a low bar to clear and EA effectively having no competition, it can feel too similar to prior games to warrant the hefty $69.99 price tag.
Madden NFL 23 is the best of the last several entries, but by lacking the overhaul it really needs, it only achieves so much.
Madden NFL 23 does some things right and delivers a good experience on the field. However, it is marked by problematic game modes and a number of bugs and technical issues that playing it is frustrating and disappointing, even for the most passionate fan of the sport.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Like a scratched record, then, we end our review of Madden NFL 23 like we have the last few releases. That’s by saying that with its numerous incremental improvements, it’s the best Madden yet. But as ever, unless you’re an ardent fan who knows the series like the back of their hand, it’s an inessential purchase if you have last year’s offering. Or perhaps even the one before that. In terms of what’s actually new here, there’s very little. And even less of monumental value.
Madden NFL 23 is a game that does quite a bit to make on-field play more fun than in years past. And even with its shortcomings, it’s finally starting to turn into the game fans have been hoping for some time.
Overall it's a step in the right direction that I hope carries the franchise back to its once great heights.
Stripping away the flash with a bigger focus on the core basics, Madden NFL 23 feels like a breath of fresh air. It's still a series lacking an identity right now, but this year's entry is the course correction the series has desperately needed.
EA has shown that it has listened to fans of the franchise after the bad feedback of the last two years and has brought small changes that give more options for how to play the classic American football simulator. The graphical improvements in the new generation are very sharp and the amount of bugs has decreased. The game modes are pretty much the same and the small changes don't sustain interest for long.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Madden NFL 23 has some good new ideas, but is mostly more of the same. The graphics and presentation are fine, but only just. The football appears to have a mind of its own sometimes, while commentators don’t always have a response to the on-field action that makes sense. If Franchise mode is where you spend your time, then you are likely to enjoy the changes. Outside of that, though, Madden 23 feels awfully familiar.
Some fun improvements make this playable – yet Madden still features too much carryover. Not just from last year, but the last decade.