So... little bit of context: despite living in the Netherlands (Europe?) I love watching NFL football, courtesy of my NFL (international) gamepass (powered by Dazn; enjoying the Eagles taking on the Commanders at the time of writing). And as you can probably guess: I also enjoy some awesome football gaming moments, courtesy of Madden. I've been playing Madden since '22 and I usually had a really good time. Except for last year (Madden '25): so many bugs and issues plagued that game, it was just bad; really bad....

As you can imagine I wasn't planning on buying Madden this year, but the Steam winter sale got to me and honestly? I'm glad it did!

The presentation is awesome (as always)!
Look, if you enjoy watching football and never played a Madden game before then I don't think you can go wrong with this one. The presentation, the audio, the commentators, the game highlights (and quick replays) not to mention the stadium announcers... it truly feels as if you're out there on the field yourself. If you enjoy watching NFL and you want more out of the experience then you'll feel right at home, I'm sure of that.

If you're a returning player then I can happily announce that all of the crappy bugs from last year are gone. That's not saying the game is without flaws, but I am honestly having a great time so far.

They added some serious improvements to the game, and it really shows!

• Improved loading times => The game responds and behaves a lot faster than last year, and it shows. I think this is noteworthy because so many gaming studios take the easy ("lazy") way out by just assuming (or worse: demanding!) than you use an SSD vs. a harddrive.
  
• Better skills trainer => It's no longer a mini challenge inside the game; either you pass a challenge or you don't. I also appreciate the clear presentation: offense, defense, special teams or 'featured'. They'll even specifically help you to become more familiar with all the new features in the game.
  
• Settings are easier to access => Whether you love it or hate it, you cannot deny the fact that Madden has always provided a ton of options for us to customize and finetune. From the chances of a false start right to injuries, foul play or just your QB messing up his passes. This season it's even easier to customize the in-game music.
  
• OMG that stadium announcer!

Once again... I'm not trying to make it sound as if Madden has suddenly become the perfect game; because it's not. But even so, they really managed to move away from the - in my opinion (!) - => total disaster from last year.

Also... even though you'd "step in" in the middle of the season (we're nearing the NFL playoffs?) you don't have to worry about "having missed out" on things. For example: Ultimate Team is one of my favorite game modes because I love collecting those virtual cards and the Madden community never just gives up. I already managed to make some really cool trades.

Summing up: if you enjoy watching football and you'd like to get something "more" out of the whole experience... then this can become the perfect addition.

Two thumbs up from me, this game is a lot of fun!