I’m sorry but this game is just terrible

***Disclaimer: This isn’t meant to offend anyone who enjoys madden 26. This is just my opinion and how I feel about the product. If you wanna say I suck or I don’t know ball, do you.

This game literally feels like a madden 25 copy and paste (no not the good madden 25 with AP on the cover). Movement is clunky like last year, zone logic is just terrible (they’ll probably tune this in an update), and as usual the Oline has the combined IQ of an infant. 

Idk how many times I specifically shade and even commit to a route I know my opponent is going to run with a zone to help support if he my db gets beat and I still get beat on the play.

Zones literally just watch people run into their zones with no other receivers in the area and still give them space to catch the ball. My DBs are more interested at guarding the grass than any receivers. 

Oline blocking is trash. People will rush 3 vs 5 olinemen and still get pressure in under 2 seconds.  

I could go on but I’m just disappointed with this game, which sucks because I know there are people who love the gameplay and I want to love it too, but I just can’t.

Again, my opinion. Not attacking anyone who enjoys M26, but this game is just not good.

Try playing all-Madden ranked

mikeys1979 said:

Try playing all-Madden ranked

Haha I played a few games of ranked. Split the first few but the nonsense was too great for me. Sticking with regular h2h seasons until that mode is less hot lmao.

Only thing that’s pissing me off are rewards and the god damn snow games.

told ya lol....honeymoon is over. game is bad, bar is so low that anything is better than last year

Ngl.. I’m not as high as everyone else on it.. there are some improvements over last year, but the bar is ridiculously low… as far as packs go it’s the same low value game, a bunch of “maybe” packs with horrible odds.. I’ve been back on cfb the last 2 days… we’ll see how things go as the game content heats up for the year.. but so far im not terribly impressed…

bbrewer23goblue said:

told ya lol....honeymoon is over. game is bad, bar is so low that anything is better than last year

M25 was putrid. I stopped playing it in October or November. This feels like the exact same game. Now instead of stem glitches, you have play flipping, air trucking speed boost, and Texas 4 man. Online gameplay is an absolute joke. I really can’t see myself playing this game in October even. It’s that bad

QueefOfEngland said:

Ngl.. I’m not as high as everyone else on it.. there are some improvements over last year, but the bar is ridiculously low… as far as packs go it’s the same low value game, a bunch of “maybe” packs with horrible odds.. I’ve been back on cfb the last 2 days… we’ll see how things go as the game content heats up for the year.. but so far im not terribly impressed…

A lot of people shit on CFB, and there are definitely flaws, but at least online gameplay isn’t the shit-housery that Madden is. I’ve been on cfb more the last few days because Madden is just unplayable right now. It’s been a lot better now that Madden came out and all the glitching bums went over there

Not as much as the players make it horrible.  Some these toxic kids are horrible humans.  Don’t play gauntlet and avoid squads.  In fact, delete and buy something else because it’s not gonna get any better

It's frustrating when a game feels like a step backwards rather than forwards. Your comments about the clunky movement and poor zone logic really resonate, especially for players waiting for the update. If anyone like me is looking for something exciting outside of Madden, I recently came across this page, which covers the best licensed online games. They provide detailed reviews, safety information, and payout details. It is quite thorough and helps you navigate the options safely, just like you would for a fair and functional gaming experience in M26.

Idk

If life were like Madden, motor vehicle collisions would be very frequent. In life, even drivers that should have their licenses to drive confiscated for their inability to see and identify dangers or react promptly aren't necessarily doomed to being in a serious collision because the drivers around them are able to identify the danger and give it a cushion. But if Madden's engine were adapted to be a racing game, a vehicle would drive predictably and then suddenly careen in an unpredictable direction, causing mayhem and wreckage.

Madden's present RNG approach to player interactions does not reflect real-life on-field situations. In real life, a young player with limited experience (as supposedly reflected in low AWR or PRC) may bite on a feint and end up over their skis, or on the other hand, may hesitate to commit to one direction or another, and end up reacting late. Veteran players struggle less in these situations, acting decisively because they understand more clearly their relative role within a scheme, and responding on better instincts for having had more on-field reps. Veteran players can still lose plays against their assignments, but not the way rookies get owned for their reliance on physical capacities over the mental. The nature of RNG instead often delivers plays where key defenders stand flat-footed and staring blankly without reacting, or vice versa, where defenders act with omniscience.

It is admittedly hard to develop an engaging competitive experience that delivers a variety of potential outcomes while preserving realistic outcomes likely to be observed on the field in real-life scenarios. I don't have a solution for this other than that to eliminate RNG from the formula for player reactions, you actually need a system where the user trains the AI to react as the user expects. Practice should mean something more than a mode where cheesers try to find formations and personnel combinations that create rubs and non-called picks and consequent easy reads.

We're at the point where we can't expect anything different from Madden until the entire concept of player interactions is revamped from the ground up.

mikeys1979 said:

Try playing all-Madden ranked

Is this a thing? I thought it was just all madden casual game versus friends?

Ive always been a decent player, had a solid record couple years back, but i have yet to win a playoff game, im getting rocked by lesser teams but beating the higher ovr ones. I can't count the times my safties and corners run up the sidelines chatting with the crowd instead of doing their job. How many times on RAC catches is my reciever going to do a bunny hop and throw the ball behind his head instead of holding on to the ball? How many times can a guy be wide open and not even attempt to look back for the ball? I can maneuver through the other aspects once these 2 things are fixed.