Draft Day Sports: College Football 2023 Preview

The college football season is just about upon us, which means Wolverine Studios is ready to release its annual college football simulation, Draft Day Sports: College Football 2023. The genre welcomes a new title into the fold next year, with EA’s college football series returning. Still, there is always room for multiple titles in college football video gaming, especially when the two series offer something drastically different.

Although still in the early access phase, the good folks over at Wolverine Studios were kind enough to include me in the initial early access phase and also took some time to explain what improvements and additions have been included in the newest iteration of the long-running series.

What’s New (Or Improved) In Draft Day Sports: College Football 2023

According to the devs, here are some focus areas:

• Recruiting and Transfer System Updates – A new refined system that represents real-world transfer rates more realistically, additional recruiting periods, the points system changed to US dollars, and the ability for players to decommit to add immersion.
• Updated in-game logic to allow defensive players to better cover movement in motion plays
• New counter-strategy option to help mitigate new strategies from different opponents
• Updated depth chart packages
• Improved substitution logic
• All New Trophy Room – View all of your past bowl glories, awards, and accomplishments your teams have racked up over time
• Playoff options – Choose from no playoffs or a college football universe where 16 is the standard — and everything in between.

What I Like

Secondary Play

One improvement for this year’s game was evident from the start. That improvement is the logic and consistency of the secondary as the play unfolds.

Not only was it evident during motion plays, but improvements could be seen with almost all plays, as the secondary players now cover either zone or individuals with more precision and logic. As a veteran of the series, one of the few frustrations I had with the franchise was watching my defense act sporadic and inconsistent after my play calls. Now, with the logic improvements, my secondary played a tighter coverage style and broke up plays in a fashion that seemed realistic.

Again, the title is still in the early access phase, but the improvements in the defensive secondary have already created a more realistic and immersive gameplay experience on the field.

Recruiting

Although my time with the title wasn’t as extensive as during a review, the new recruiting elements were notable, and I can forecast how they could project over multiple seasons as a definite improvement.

The minor change to using dollars instead of points had an immediate impact. The strategy I had used in previous versions for recruiting still worked. That said, it was evident that amendments to that style would be necessary.

I could actually spend this entire preview on recruiting because it is that deep and immersive. In my short time with the early access version of DDS: CFB ’23, it has proven to be as deep as ever. I’m already locked in a battle for top recruits while having to be very cautious about how the money is allocated because once that money is gone, so is my ability to have a major impact beyond what has already been fulfilled.

The bottom line with recruiting in DDS: CFB ’23 is that it will feel very familiar to seasoned veterans of the series, but enough tweaks have been made to create a deeper experience, both in the short and long run. At the start, it may seem overwhelming for those who will be taking their first plunge into Wolverine’s expansive world of college football, but the community and tutorials are extremely helpful.

Customization

While not new to the series, the ability to customize DDS: CFB ’23 is simply one of the cornerstones of my enjoyment of the series. Whether it is the full-blown real-world mod that was already available to download and apply, which recreates the world of NCAA football, or a completely fictional world of college football of your making and design, the choice is yours.

It may not be a new or upgraded ability for DDS: CFB ’23, but the game allows you to rename and re-rate all of the coaches and players — and even tweak the associated photos. Although the customization of this series has been available for multiple titles now, I will always list it as one of the many positives associated with the series. It helps create a world that you want to play in and can be changed at your discretion.

Even better, the full customizable mods for the DDS: CFB series are always free, and the community is quick to answer any questions about how to install certain mods, modify the game, or create your own.

What’s Next

As stated before, the real world of college football is just around the corner, and now Wolverine Studios has decided to release its counterpart to coincide with the start of that real season. It’s easy to superficially glance at what is new with this year’s version and struggle to know whether or not skipping a year is worth it. I can say from my time with the game that even the logic improvements made on the field are worth the upgrade to me, and I will dive deeper into that in the full review later this month.

Again, this is just an early preview of DDS: CFB ’23, with the full release just days away. Some of the game’s minor issues are still being addressed, and the developers are eager to listen to real issues and will try and address those said issues before the full retail release.

You can pre-order the title right now by following this link. You can also bring up any issues, ask for help about this year’s title, or any general questions in their local community. As with any preview on Operation Sports, you can look forward to our full review of DDS: CFB ’23 closer to the full retail release date.