![]() “Madden 21 was like the complete opposite,” Joke said. The pendulum swung wildly in the other direction in Madden 21, albeit for the better - but also in a way that demonstrates these games are not carbon copies from one year to the next. “I think many people in the pro scene would agree Madden 20 was an abysmal game because every single belt winner was running like 99% of the time,” Ace said. While, to Joke’s credit, it was a genius move - to make a long story short, he observed a left-handed QB was better for handoffs, and Way was the cheapest punter who was also a lefty - it exposed a serious flaw in the game. Nobody understood that better than Joke, who famously defeated DCroft for the 2020 Madden Bowl championship with punter Tress Way under center. That’s how every single major tournament was won in Madden 20.” “You could literally win a game without a quarterback. The issue was the competitive scene was, for lack of a better word, absolutely horrific.” “I guess for the average fan, it did really well. “Last year’s game was miles better than Madden 20,” said Daniel “DCroft” Mycroft, currently ranked No. In the eyes of hardcore Madden junkies, however, Madden 20 was an abomination. Madden 21 received “mixed or average reviews” and a combined score of 63, while Madden 22 for the PS5 earned the same “mixed” label and a 69. If one was to go off the critics, then Madden 20 looks like the high-water mark for the franchise in the last three years, with the PlayStation 4 version receiving “generally favorable reviews” and a cumulative score of 76, according to Metacritic. The reason I’m starting to like it now is, in my opinion, it takes more skill,” Joke said. 4 in the world in the Madden Championship Series (MCS) standings and has been a player since Madden 07 (my personal favorite in the series). “The player movement is completely different from anything I've ever played in Madden,” said XSET’s Raidel “Joke” Brito. Whether you think these are good games or not, though, to argue Madden 22 plays very similarly to Madden 21 is patently false, bordering on absurd, as pros would tell it. Now, any year the devs don’t reinvent the wheel - and, let’s be honest, Madden has had the same core presentation for more than two decades - it’s easy to make the claim the agreement is behind any perceived lack of innovation. The term “glorified roster update” has been the go-to knock on sports sims since the ‘90s, but it’s always hit closest to home with Madden since the exclusivity deal between the NFL and EA began in 2005. “They look at it as a glorified roster update, and that’s where a lot of bad reviews come from.” “I think people who say, ‘It’s the same game,’ are somewhat misguided,” said Chris “Ace” Lincoln, founder of, which offers tips and coaching from some of the best Madden players in the world. Yet, Madden pros who sink far more hours into the game than the average person or journalist and play it at the highest possible level describe an experience that - while admittedly imperfect - is a step forward for the series in many respects. If subpar reviews are preventing you from buying Madden NFL 22, you may want to hear what players in the competitive scene are saying about the game first.įor the second year in a row, the latest edition of EA Sports’ football sim was met with mediocre scores from critics and review bombs from so-called fans.
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