[Review] Madden NFL 20

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Madden NFL 20 is an American football video game based on the National Football League (NFL), developed by EA Tiburon and published by Electronic Arts. The latest installment in the long-running Madden NFL series, the game was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows on August 2, 2019. It features Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as the cover athlete.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes was unveiled as the cover athlete alongside the game's announcement on April 25, 2019, becoming the first Chiefs player to be the cover athlete.

The soundtrack includes 22 original tracks written specifically for the game, a first for the Madden franchise. Featured artists include Sage the Gemini, Denzel Curry, Joey Badass, Jay Park and Saweetie.

Madden NFL 20 features a new "personalized career campaign" known as Face of the Franchise: QB1, following the journey of a player-created college quarterback from their participation in the College Football Playoff, to being drafted by an NFL team. Ten licensed college teams (Clemson, Florida State, Miami, Florida, LSU, Oregon, USC, Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech) from the ACC, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC, are available in this mode. The mode acts as an updated version of the "Superstar Mode", where the player would take their custom player and control them throughout a career, which was featured from Madden NFL 06 until its removal in Madden NFL 25.

The game was released on August 2, 2019. It was able be accessed three days prior on July 30 by those players who purchased the "Superstar" or "Ultimate Superstar" editions of the game, which included packs and special abilities.

According to review aggregator website Metacritic, Madden NFL 20 received "generally favorable" reviews from critics for the console versions and "mixed or average" reviews for the PC despite receiving "overwhelming dislike" ratings from users for all three versions.

IGN gave the game an 8.1/10 and wrote: "Madden NFL 20's new superstar players and control refinements make its moment-to-moment gameplay the best the series has seen this console generation, but areas like Franchise have been left behind."In its 8/10 review, GameSpot wrote that "Madden NFL 20 is an improved version of the annualized professional football series that excels in some areas and leaves something to be desired in others."

GamesRadar+ praised the updated story mode in comparison to Longshot and the addition of the X-factor players, saying that the game "clears the roster and properly initiates the rebuilding phase for football's first franchise," although noted Franchise mode again felt neglected.Game Revolution, which gave Madden NFL 20 a 3/5, also praised the X-factor addition, saying stars felt "bigger than ever", but was equally disappointed with the lacking in Franchise mode.Game Informer gave the game a 7.5/10, summarizing its review with: "New features can only do so much for a series that needs work in multiple areas."

In a scathing review, Shacknews gave the game a 4/10, calling it "the worst major sports league video game out there," criticizing EA for only making marginal improvements to previous installments.

I’d initially worried about the implementation of the superstar X-Factors being too overpowered and exploitable, but in my experience thus far, at least, they bring a solid layer of enhancement to Madden and have a truly positive impact. It’s true that not every team has the same amount of star players and not every player has the same traits or X-Factor abilities – but the same is true of real-life football. Additionally, there are ways to counteract X-Factors both on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, and depending on how many star players a specific team has the effect these player-specific traits can have on each individual game can vary greatly. Being able to negate the ability of each player is what helps keep a realistic balance throughout a game, while still allowing someone to take over “moments” in the game.

And We’re Back!

Commentators Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis are back in Madden 20 with mostly the same batch of voiceovers, but this year we get to hear them also call the NCAA playoffs as well as the NFL games. While that is definitely a nice addition, the commentary doesn’t sound much different than it did in Madden NFL 19. The pair still usually does a solid job of calling a game in regards to situational emotions and references to teams’ and players’ previous performances, which adds to the overall flow.

It’s a shame EA didn’t take this opportunity to add more diversity to their assortment of canned chatter, though – I’m already hearing repeated lines, and occasionally commentary that flat-out made no sense, like crediting a player with scoring his third touchdown of the day when it was clearly his first of the game.

Ultimate Improvements

Madden Ultimate Team mode isn’t my favorite way to play (I’m not big on mixed rosters or card-collecting games) but there are some significant changes this year that made it more fun for me. Gone are Solo Challenges; they’ve been replaced with Ultimate Challenges which come with the ability to play at a one, two, or three-star difficulty, and you guessed it, the higher the star number, the more difficult the challenge and the greater the reward(s). Some may consider these just a rehash of previous Solo Challenges with a fresh coat of paint, but I found myself enjoying the quickness of them. I wanted to hit the “next challenge” button as soon as I accomplished the task at hand.

Also new to MUT this year is the ability to add the new X-Factor superstars to your team. To keep things from getting out of control you will only be able to add three to each side of the ball, but still, it’s great that MUT gets to benefit from Madden 20’s best new feature.

There are also new “missions” intended to guide you toward the best items. For instance, if you can collect 60 stars you’ll receive an NFL Epic Baker Mayfield, rated an 86 overall. Want to acquire the 86-rated Epic Deacon Jones? It will require you to collect 120 stars. Other specific missions will want you to gain a specified amount of yards against certain a defense, and if you do so, the rewards are 500 coins and a GridIron pack. There are multiple missions, and even more will be added throughout the year to help you build your fantasy team into a contender. The rewards can vary greatly depending on the difficulty, but for me, the missions are integrated nicely into MUT and the requirements are reasonable.

Face of the Franchise

Madden 19’s Devin and Colt are out, and QB1: Face of the Franchise is in. Madden 20’s new career mode puts you in the role of a high school star whose plans didn’t play out exactly as he had hoped… and I’ll leave it at that for fear of spoilers, but suffice it to say you have the chance to play in the NCAA college football playoffs, the NFL combine, and the opportunity to prove yourself worthy for any one of the NFL’s 32 franchises.

The open-ended story mode campaign was a lot of fun, in part because I had an impact on my career path through dynamic decisions in each situation. From the school I chose to the type of quarterback I wanted to be to how I performed in the combine and on the field, it all had a direct effect on how the story played out. Plus, it was amazing to play a form of NCAA football again, even if it was for only eight combined quarters. (This opportunity will likely have many fans devoting a lot of time to this mode, and rightfully so.) The cutscenes add a bit of depth to the mode, the choices make sense, and while some of the scenes and dialogue are a little cheesy, in the end, QB1 is a solid effort.

Connected Familiarity

As a fan of Franchise mode who spends the majority of his time with each Madden iteration taking a favorite team (or a random one) through the gauntlet of a full season, draft, and off-season trying to make it to the top, it’s depressing to see my favorite mode continues to suffer from neglect. That doesn’t mean Franchise is bad in Madden 20, but it has grown somewhat stale over the years because of minimal updates, and there isn’t enough new content here to make this year’s version feel essential.

I did appreciate the two minor new features: Having to navigate the revised contract negotiations is a welcomed addition, as players demanding to be compensated at fair market value does add a new layer of realism. If you have played one of the more recent versions of Madden contract renegotiations won’t look a lot different, but unlike previous versions where negotiations could be easily mani[CENSORED]ted and exploited, the players are now more aggressive in trying to secure a new contract or extension that matches those of other players who are similar in talent. For example, in my Bears franchise I had the option to resign my center, Cody Whitehair. In previous versions of Madden I may have worked around his salary request with added years, but this year he understands his value and wants to be compensated both in years and money. It’s not a massive change to the structure of contract negotiations, but can become a big deal as you are forced to deal with the ever-looming salary cap on a season-to-season basis.

On top of that, EA has also implemented a few new defensive schemes and a new scenario engine that add a bit of dynamic realism to Franchise mode. For instance, if a player is not getting enough touches during a game, they will make it known. If you, as the coach, decide to ignore his request, you will see a hit in his morale and performance. On the flip side, if you adhere to his request you will see a small performance increase in certain areas. I wish the effects were a bit more impactful, because in my experience, morale drops and gains ranged from only one to six points. I do like how the new system adds a little more depth to Franchise mode, and hope the effects can have a larger impact in the future.

Verdict

In addition to the usual incremental graphics upgrade and respectable new story campaign, Madden NFL 20 meaningfully improves on a lot of the issues that plagued the previous iteration(s). The running game is noticeably smoother and X-Factor traits make superstar players actually feel like a force to be reckoned with on the field, and while there are still problems that linger with animations, it’s safe to say that EA Tiburon is making large strides in the right direction. That said, I’m running out of patience for the Franchise mode to receive some revitalizing updates – it’s still fun after all these years but Madden 20’s Franchise doesn’t feel substantially different from Madden 19’s.

System Requirements

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• OS: 64-bit Windows 7/8.1/10
• Processor (AMD): FX-4330 or Equivalent
• Processor (Intel): i3-4350 or Equivalent
• Memory: 8 GB
• Graphics card (AMD): Radeon RX 460 or Equivalent
• Graphics card (NVIDIA): GeForce GTX 660 or Equivalent
• DirectX: 11 Compatible video card or equivalent
• Online Connection Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection
• Hard-drive space: 48.5 GB

RECOMMENDED REQUIREMENTS

• OS: 64-bit Windows 10
• Processor (AMD): FX-4330 or Equivalent
• Processor (Intel): i3-4350 or Equivalent
• Memory: 8 GB
• Graphics card (AMD): Radeon R9 270x or Equivalent
• Graphics card (NVIDIA): GeForce GTX 670 or Equivalent
• DirectX: 12 Compatible video card or equivalent
• Online Connection Requirements: Broadband Connection
• Hard-drive space: 48.5 GB