Madden NFL 22

With Franchise making the moments between these games more engaging, it's relatively easy to sink hours into building a team to challenge for the Super Bowl. It's just unfortunate that this comes with the caveat that technical problems might prove to be the biggest obstacle standing in your way.

Madden NFL looks and plays better than ever, but the quality of game modes continues to regress, and buggy gameplay make for an often-frustrating experience.

Franchise Mode and Face of the Franchise Mode are the best that they’ve been in some time by adding new options and ways to play. The gameplay is still far from perfect, and I’d be interested to see how FIFA develops its machine-learning AI and if that would be accessible for Madden in the future. Hits can be brutally nasty using the Hit Stick and seeing different tackles, catches or sack-evading animations will leave you impressed.

Madden NFL 22 is a grab bag of decent – if frequently underwhelming – ideas hurt by poor execution. Face of the Franchise, to put it mildly, is a mess. Homefield advantage is a solid addition, but it doesn’t quite capture the true extent of real on-field momentum swings. The new interface is an eyesore, and the new presentation is cast in a strange and unflattering shade of sickly green.

Madden NFL 22 features a revamped franchise mode, minor gameplay improvements and a successful story mode, but the NFL simulation is still growing stale.

With Franchise making the moments between these games more engaging, it's relatively easy to sink hours into building a team to challenge for the Super Bowl. It's just unfortunate that this comes with the caveat that technical problems might prove to be the biggest obstacle standing in your way.