While I’d like to see a little more variety, or perhaps even the ability to customize your M-Factor according to the roster, this is still an excellent addition overall.

It's a long overdue addition to Madden NFL, and should help make playing at home feel more meaningful. In a world where its contemporary sports games continually evolve with innovative new game modes like NBA 2K20’s Neighborhood, deep franchise options like MyCareer, MyTeam, and MyLeague in the NBA 2K series, or even the cinematic story mode from EA’s own Fight Night Champion – a boxing game from 2011 – Madden’s lack of innovation has reached a tipping point.

Especially accounting for the fact that he seems to carry a lot of trade value if picked up and offered to other teams. EA also had to deal with a console transition — always a tricky period for a sports game as developers try to balance old and new tech. This is the first year that we get to see the fruits of EA’s labor, and the results are decent, if a bit mixed. Madden NFL 22 once again includes a large number of updates and tweaks, some of which aren’t always obvious at first glance. You might be better off just sticking with whatever Madden game you currently own and downloading custom rosters online.

Edge defender, pass-protection from running backs are both pretty important aspects of the game that don’t have a special attached. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Tampa Bay Buccaneers king-of-everything Tom Brady share the Madden 22 cover athlete honours. Dish out Staff Points to upgrade your coaching crew, dominate with weekly strategy and counter your opponent’s strengths.

With franchise, staff management will be there, game planning will be there, but some of the other dynamic gameday elements around atmosphere, and obviously the Next-Gen stats gameplay, which is only available on Gen 5, won't be there. The backyard style football of The Yard is cute, but there really isn’t any substance to it beyond a simple campaign mode.

The Seahawks, for example, have three levels of homefield advantage: The 12's, which distorts playart; Unstoppable, which prevents home team players from being knocked out of their X-Factor or Superstar ability, and Nerves, which will result in receiver icons being hidden. Instead, it shows some seemingly arbitrary total on the screen that is often hard to believe considering the player referenced.

On the defensive side, the same 3-4 Bear blitz plays work the majority of the time, forcing the QB to throw it quickly, throw an interception or take a sack. Well, the same offensive and defensive play exploits that worked in Madden 21, still work in Madden 22. I would also like to see legend players included in offline rosters much like how NBA 2K or MLB the Show handles their legend players. As explained in our detailed Madden 22 cover feature, Titans running back Derrick Henry was the athlete everyone expected to appear on this year’s box, but ultimately EA sprang a surprise. I could be wrong, as there may be a deeper meaning and driver behind the scenes, but in Year 2 of the implementation of this tech, I’m not seeing a positive impact on user experience.