Madden NFL 21 Reviews
Madden NFL 21 isn’t necessarily a bad game; it will improve over time with updates. Yet the product at launch is riddled with deficiencies and the incremental additions aren’t significant enough to warrant a purchase recommendation from me.
Madden 21 is the first time I have found it hard to recommend upgrading. It truly does feel like a roster update in a lot of areas.
For Madden NFL 21, the only one that's going to be affected by any sort of Madden Curse is EA themselves. While it can initially get by with some fun gameplay, there's little here to justify playing this for an entire year until Madden NFL 22. For a game that's supposed to be the start of a new-generation of Madden, it lacks severely.
Marked more by its technical problems than by the improvements made this year, Madden NFL 21 is a clear step back in the franchise. Its news seems empty or just corrections of bad changes made in the past, while its qualities are essentially things that were already present in the previous game.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Madden NFL 21 is a strange beast. It is the same fun football experience that millions of players have come to love, yet I still expected a little more from it. While it features refined gameplay and fun game modes, its lackluster story mode and plethora of graphical glitches don’t reflect what a game releasing this year should look like. The online modes will keep you playing through various simulation and customizable options, but most of this is just more of the same in comparison to what has already been delivered.
The first and more notable introduction to the game series is The Yard. When you were a kid, you probably had a nice summer evening or two where you and a group of friends would go outside and play a round of flag football. The rules are different and the way you play is almost more unique, but the heart and soul of the game is very much the same. That is what The Yard is trying to tackle here. You play 6 vs. 6 and depending on where you play, the rules can be pretty different. Like the backyard football I played as a kid, once the play starts, defenders have to call out Mississippis before they can rush the QB. Depending on how you customize your team makes a big difference as well. Honestly, this mode is the saving grace that Madden 2021 has going for it.
While the gameplay is in as good of a spot as it’s been for a while, Madden 21 is dragged down but neglected features, stagnant and/or underdeveloped concepts.
Despite the fact that Madden NFL 21 features arguably the best core gameplay the series has ever seen and the introduction of a fun, albeit novel, new mode in The Yard, the continued neglect shown to classic Franchise mode, lack of innovation across the board, and technical issues leave this gridiron mismatch coming up short.
The series' most stylish entry ever thanks to The Yard and player customization, but these new features come without the substance required to contend for football glory.
Madden NFL 21 has an excellent new game mode that's great for short spurts, but the series staples don't move the needle.
Madden 21's gameplay takes some appreciable steps forward as the generation comes to a close, with The Yard providing some casual fun. The experience is marred by an abnormal number of bugs though, and the single-player modes remain a major sore point. Ultimately, it's able to pick up a few yards on the way to the next generation of consoles, but just a few.
Madden 21 has the components to be a solid, if utterly by-the-numbers entry in the franchise. However, a raft of bugs and glitches serve to undo the game's atmosphere at every turn.
Although Madden NFL 21 sees some improvements to its gameplay, and the enjoyable The Yard Mode makes an impressive debut, there's far too much that has been ignored. It feels more like an update than a fully blown follow-up, and it sucks that Franchise Mode has been left in the dirt.
Madden NFL 21 offers some fun new modes and significant fixes, but bugs and lack of care to many of the games core modes prevents it from elevating itself amongst the greats.
The football is good and The Yard makes a welcome addition, but issues elsewhere are hard to ignore in EA's latest gridiron sim
Madden NFL 21 is stagnant, and while football fans will find things to enjoy, it's not like there's an alternative option available. The Yard is a genuinely promising addition, and we're looking forward to seeing how it evolves over the course of this season – and future games. But an embarrassing story and an untouched Franchise mode mean that it's the only real reason to upgrade. And while Madden Ultimate Team continues to be a time sink, the stale state of the on-field simulation means that this year's game fails to find its intended receiver.
Madden NFL 21 has all the same problems as its PS4 predecessor, because it's basically the same game. The presentation has taken a half-step forward owing to the increase of hardware power, but it's many yards behind the standard now set by FIFA 21 and NBA 2K21. The increased loading times improve the flow of modes like Ultimate Team, and the gameplay is marginally more authentic thanks to the implementation Next Gen Stats, but an ageing Franchise mode and some tired animations mean this is hardly the improvement fans anticipated.
Madden 21 is fine and serviceable but other than The Yard (and that’s a stretch), there’s almost nothing that is worth getting excited over this year.
Madden NFL 21 is as enjoyable as it has ever been on the field, but a litany of off-field issues make this one of the weaker efforts in recent years.
Next-gen upgrades will hopefully sort the loading times a bit but the problem is that’s just a part of Madden 21’s issues. Unfortunately, there are so many small things that build up to make Madden 21 an experience that, at times, feels like a step backward.