Madden NFL 25 got its hype campaign back up today with the release of a gameplay deep dive video and blog. Let’s jump into some of our thoughts as we head towards the August 16 release date.
Madden NFL 25 Gameplay Deep Dive Impressions
I would think the first question most will ask coming off a huge EA Sports College Football 25 release is how different will Madden’s gameplay be in comparison? EA seems to be thinking the same thing as they started their video with Boom Tech. Beyond the buzzword, I do think the overarching point being made with a lot of the gameplay in Madden is the idea of branching animations being taken into consideration in more parts of the game overall.
A lot of people have wanted “physics-driven” gameplay throughout the years, but I think what Madden is pushing towards is animation-driven gameplay delivered via “physics inputs” if you will. I think ultimately their belief is you can get the same thing that people want — “organic” gameplay where tackles don’t all feel the same/scripted and so on — while maintaining some control over the animations themselves to hopefully avoid some of the chaos and visual bugs that come along with gameplay wholly driven by physics interactions.
Boom Tech
With that in mind, Boom Tech is being summed up as happening three parts: pre-impact, impact, post-impact. It’s not going to effect every sort of tackle, and this means stuff like better gang tackling and so forth isn’t really in the cards based on what we’ve seen. That said, this feels like the first step for one-on-one interactions to reach a new level.
This system is not organic physics, or ragdoll, but rather dynamic animation selection informed by real-world physics. While not every tackle-type in the game is driven by physics, BOOM Tech will make Hit Sticks, Cut Sticks, and Dive Tackles more authentic and more unpredictable.
I’ll be talking about this a little more when we get to the catching section, but I think this “tech” is a really big step for the series, and the “pre-impact” is what I’m most intrigued by overall:
Prior to impact, ball carriers will now anticipate and brace for impact from an oncoming tackler, making them look more intelligent and aware while also giving players the control to change direction, perform a special move, or simply stay in locomotion all the way up until contact is made without feeling any sort of suction and pre-animation alignment.
“Bracing for impact” is not only a really cool visual to tap into, it’s a realistic one to have come into play. Not only will you see the player waiting to be hit now, you being able to have more control in those final moments and hopefully avoid the “suction” of the tackler is a huge deal. That “suction” is the basis for a lot of what we complained about for years with blocking and interactions between offensive/defensive line playing out.
And while that O-Line/D-Line interaction is not used as the example here, I would hope in the future this same sort of tech can be used to clean up more parts of the “pre-impact” part of the game.
Timing Your Hit Sticks
EA also pointed out its the 20-year anniversary of the Hit Stick, and it seems kind of wild it has taken 20 years to do something like make the mechanic more timing-based. Technically it has always been timing based because you can whiff on Hit Sticks if you time them wrong or do it from too far away, but now they’re finally tying more outcomes into the actual Hit Sticks you deliver.
Hit Sticks will now be determined by the timing of the hit and angle of approach by the defender, in addition to player ratings and muscle-strength tuning. If the tackle is too early, too late, or a bad angle is taken, the hit power at the point of impact will be reduced.
I understand the fear people will have about there being even more Hit Sticks and fewer actual tackles, and that’s valid, but this is a logical upgrade to a long-running mechanic. They can’t abandon normal tackling in the process, but fumbles have sort of become a non-factor at times in these games in recent years, and there does need to be more risk-reward to ball-carrier moves so you think about whether it’s worth doing them right before you potentially get drilled. If this mechanic leads to more people deciding to “cover the ball” while running to avoid a costly turnover, it’s a net-positive in the end to me.
Yes, Give Us All The Signature Authenticity
Another topic folks at OS have been banging the drum about for years and years is signature authenticity. We’ve seen a couple signature running animations, some real QB cadences during pre-play aided by grabbing real NFL audio, and even a couple signature juke animations, but it’s never really taken off in Madden. It finally seems like EA is trying to tap into that signature style more here with Madden 25.
I always say it’s much easier to mimic things from the NBA versus the NFL because the gameplay mechanics like dribbling and shooting are much easier to mimic and get across to users versus the football equivalents like running and juking. That said, it also feels like NBA 2K based almost everything gameplay-wise around signature style while Madden mostly tried to pretend it didn’t exist.
We’re also not supposed to talk about the Madden 25 beta, but I will say — hypothetically — one of the best parts about this seems like it would be the pre-play authenticity being introduced.
Authenticity additions don’t stop there. We’ve added over 200 new signature pre-play behaviors to increase the anticipation and action that happens at the line before the ball is snapped. You’ll see 16 unique, signature QB sets that include approach to the line, QB stance and a variety of mannerisms. You’ll recognize Jalen Hurts’ low stance, Dak Prescott’s road-game leg kick and cadence and more. We’ve also added dozens of signature wide receiver approaches and setups, including those of CeeDee Lamb and Tyreek Hill.
And it goes beyond just having more signature style as even the non-signature stuff happening on defense during pre-play would also (hypothetically) be some of the best stuff they’ve added not just for the gameplay itself but the feel of the presentation. And the same goes for highlighting some of the pre-play changes an offensive line is going through.
When you see an offensive lineman make a hand signal before settling into his stance, or a linebacker signal to a defensive back, or the defensive alignment change to match a motion, these will no longer be random fidgets – now these real-life football adjustments will be shown with contextually appropriate animations out of nearly every position on the field. As the easiest example, when the offensive line is dynamically changing its protection to a ‘5-0’ call vs. 5 rushers on the line, you’ll see the center put his 5 fingers in the air to alert the rest of the offense of this blocking change.
Stop Being A Coward
Getting back to the idea of branching animations, their next example is the “Setup State” when a ball carrier is about to do a skill move. In essence, it does seem like just a tweak of the stutter step/hesi from the past, but they’re implying it’s also a “don’t be a coward” mechanic.
Pressing down RT/R2 and flicking down on RS enters Setup State. This move has a chance to send oncoming downfield defenders into a breakdown, meaning the ball carrier’s next move has a chance of faking that defender out. The power of the new Setup State is being able to set defenders up, chain a move combo together and blow right by them. This will discourage your opponent from clicking off their defender in the hopes that an AI defender has a better chance to tackle you.
They’re not wrong to mention this tackling tactic some use because it’s very much a thing to “click off” at the last second to let the AI do the work. However, I am torn on some level about it. I love running and doing open-field moves in EA Sports College Football 25, but I also think it’s silly when multiple defenders are falling over due to a move. That said, as long as they’re saying when you’re clicked on you won’t get forced into a “juked” animation, I’m down with this change.
Sharing Is Caring
The ironic thing about having some gameplay mechanics now being shared between games, is that this blog also is helping to clarify some things people might not know right now as they play the college game. EA goes into a lot of detail about the new pass protection changes you can make at the line, and I would tell you to read about them in this blog because it’s almost like a tutorial we don’t have right now in EA Sports College Football 25.
Sharing things like those offensive line upgrades, the Switch Stick on defense, and what seems to be a new playbook tool are all huge gets for Madden. Playbook updates in particular have been such a slog in Madden, and the college game really highlighted how awesome it is to have all that variety injected into playcalling. It’s one of the best ways to keep gameplay fresh.
It also doesn’t hurt that it seems we’ll finally get custom audibles that carry-over from one game to the next in a title update after launch.
Let’s Get Silly
I’ll end by returning to the branching animations Madden has planned for us this year as they went into detail about the new spectacular catch button.
Speaking of control, we also added a new catch mechanic this year – the spectacular (spec) catch mechanic – a fourth catching option on L1/LB that allows you to attempt a one-handed catch. When trying one, you’ll get the bonus of an extended catch radius while also risking a higher drop-chance, especially when attempting a spec catch with a lower-rated player. Use this one wisely! To add even more control, we’ve enhanced the ability to branch from one catch to another catch with an additional button press. Feel like modifying a spec catch to a possession catch? Or branching a normal catch to a sideline or possession catch? Simply switch your button-press mid-catch, and get exactly what you want to show off your stick-skill, while seeing the exact catch you expect.
Again, I would understand if some people think this is going to make things too unrealistic, but I’ll continue to say Madden does just need to be more fun. They need to absolutely make sure “football things” like the run-to-pass ratios are way more accurate this year for AI teams, but at the same time, a spectacular catch button seems like an idea worth tapping into.
Plus, I love the idea of branching from one sick animation into a more secure catch and so on. It adds a risk/reward mechanic and also a skill gap because you’ll need to be able to do two different button presses that make sense with each other.
Bottom Line
All in all, a lot of what’s being put on paper by the Madden team sounds great, and the idea of branching animations starting to find their way into multiple aspects of the gameplay should be a net-positive. Whether or not the AI does all these new things, and whether or not the gameplay feels “different” enough from EA Sports College Football 25 will be interesting to track, but I came away more excited than not reading about their general plans for Madden 25‘s gameplay.
Published: Jul 23, 2024 04:38 pm