EA’s latest iteration of the Madden NFL series was released on August 28, with the PC version available on Steam as well as Origin as part of EA’s new partnership with Valve. User reviews on Steam are currently sitting on a rating of ‘Mixed’ and on Metacritic they’re even worse. The PC version has a user score of 1.2 at the time of writing, with PS4 enjoying a score of 0.4. That’s even lower than Warcraft 3: Reforged’s record low of 0.5.
Common complaints include bugs and glitches, many of them carried over from previous versions of Madden NFL, but also new ones that weaken even those parts of the game players have half-hearted praise for—like the Yard mode with its “house rules” backyard football. Increased focus on the heavily monetized Madden Ultimate Tournament mode, which like FIFA Ultimate Tournament is about maxing out your credit card for a chance to unlock the players you like, is also criticized by many of the user reviews. Players say they want more updates to franchise mode and the neglected simulation side of Madden NFL.
“EA never disappoints us when it comes to disappointing us”, one user wrote, while another summed up their stance by saying, “This is Anthem in cleats.”