For better or for worse, Madden 24 is a rinse-and-repeat experience for football fans. The series has obviously seen plenty of improvements since its inaugural year of 1988 but those improvements have stalled in recent years. The Madden series continues to push the boundaries in the graphical sense and does a solid jump of maintaining the dependable footballer experience we’ve all grown to love but the argument that all sports games have a sense of redundancy each season stands. And unfortunately, that remains true for Madden 24.

Simple Roster Updates

Let’s rip this bandaid off right away – sports games do not warrant a full $70 price point, especially when you consider the potential money spent on microtransactions. There are several opportunities for players to splurge in the online marketplace for card packs to improve their Ultimate Team or upgrade points and apparel for their Superstar-created player. All of this money is spent for what’s ultimately just a massive roster update with a bright new shiny coat of paint.

Madden 24 might be enjoyable, but it’s an insane cost of admission for what remains largely the same game in 2023 compared to 2017. Now, you might think older Madden games can easily be preserved by creating community draft classes. and buying each new yearly iteration is a waste of money. Well, you’re not wrong but not necessarily right either. The game does excel in being the most graphically advanced football game, so that coat of paint is extremely shiny. If you want to visually experience the most authentic NFL experience, Madden 24 does not disappoint. But at the end of the day, yes, Madden 24 offers the same game modes that many of the previous iterations had in the past.

Superstar Mode Shines

Despite not offering anything “new,” Madden 24 does continue to boast an outstanding create-a-player experience. Superstar mode puts you in the cleats of a custom college prospect who’s on the verge of achieving their dream and playing in the NFL. Madden succeeds in having an easy-to-learn upgrade system and none of the side fluff that other sports games have suffered from in this type of game mode.

Success in Superstar mode, ironically, starts in practice. If you want to win the game, you gotta practice. And that also means not skipping preseason. Even though these four games don’t matter, it’s an easy way for your Superstar to quickly gain experience points and begin their rookie season with a slightly higher rating compared to if you skipped straight to the regular season. Everyone will be eager to jump right into meaningful games but if you have the patience to take things slow in the short run, you’ll be extremely grateful in the long run.

Verdict

Should you purchase Madden 24? Probably not. Unless you’re a Madden enthusiast, this year’s iteration is the same football experience that we’ve all been having for the last decade. But that’s not to say it’s a poor experience. Madden 24 has solid gameplay, a multitude of different game styles, a robust create-a-player mode in Superstar, and an extensive Franchise mode. There is plenty of content that will keep any football fan busy throughout the season, and honestly, that’s probably good enough for some people. Madden 24 is the epitome of the entire series and of sports games as a whole; an extremely reliable sports game that will leave dedicated fans satisfied but may not offer anything of substance to new players.

Score: 7.5/10

Pros:

• Best-looking Madden of all time
• A simple way to update the roster
• Superstar Mode
• Several customizable options for Franchise and Quick Play
• Enter games quickly with very short load times
• Community draft classes

Cons:

• Same football experience compared to previous iterations of Madden
• Faint lag occurs when scrolling through menus
• Can only choose from five positions in Superstar mode