The window to test the Madden 23 beta has now closed for those lucky enough to procure a code through any means necessary, and we’ve moved abruptly into those awkward days of trying to play Madden 22 again after already having glimpsed the future. Since the beta was extended an extra week, there was more than enough time to grow accustomed to all of the subtle upgrades and changes and these only become more apparent when you go back to the older game. We’ve already written quite a few words on this site covering some of the biggest improvements that look to be in store from Madden 22 to Madden 23. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the Madden 23 beta is that we can expect, as with most years, the same kind of incremental progress and innovation that will have the game playing a little more smoothly and realistically than it has in years prior.
Madden 23 – Five Areas That Need Improvement
Let’s play Debbie Downer though and focus instead on the parts of the Madden 23 beta that feel as if they haven’t received the kind of attention from developers. Some of these shortcomings could obviously be addressed between the beta and the official release of the game, so if there’s time to make any significant changes, these are the components of the game I think EA should focus on before launch.
Franchise Mode
We’re a couple of years removed now from #FixMaddenFranchise becoming a trending topic on Twitter, and if the Madden 23 beta is any indication, any lasting influence from that public outcry may be waning. It would appear from the beta that the three franchise updates that were released throughout the cycle of Madden 22 amount to most of what they feel comfortable showing off at this point. Perhaps the biggest addition that wasn’t part of last year’s game is a revamped free agency signing period in which players are more naturally inclined to sign with particular teams based on their own whims and frivolous desires. It adds a dynamic and unpredictable quality to a stage in the offseason that had previously revolved around simply trying to come up with a lucrative offer that was worth more contract points than what other teams were bringing to the table. It’s also a nice touch that they’ve simplified the process so that you can choose from a few different types of offers when trying to sign players depending on how aggressive or conservative you would like to be in pursuing them.
Beyond that, there are not many other meaningful changes, and yet there are plenty of areas that could use it. That starts with the customization options for a created coach, which still forces you to choose between a handful of pre-made characters rather than providing you with a proper creation suite where you can sculpt specific features. This is especially galling when you have to watch your coach as they walk through so many of the same tired scenarios that existed last year. These include such bland fodder as having them choosing from two options when answering questions from the media at a podium or lending a guiding hand to a player who’s mentoring a rookie when he asks you the age-old coaching question of whether the pair should work on finesse or power blocking.
Even though the new scouting system that was unveiled mid-cycle last year might create more of the authentic uncertainty that comes with the draft, it also leaves you feeling like you have less to do than with the previous scouting system. Personally, I would like to see Madden‘s franchise move away from their existing progression system of having players improve based largely on their on-field performances and have it become a more dynamic and random experience to watch how players develop at entirely unique rates.
It’s conceivable that EA intends to add more franchise updates after the game’s release just like last year, but there certainly wasn’t much in the beta to indicate that innovating and expanding within the mode was a huge priority this time around.
AI Playcalling And Awareness
In terms of how the CPU behaves during a game as it relates to what plays they will call in certain situations, Madden has always been lacking in that department. There’s something to how they’ve been programmed that continues to have them abandon the run game with plenty of time left on the clock, become predictably conservative in third and long scenarios, and waste timeouts at inopportune moments where they may actually be helping the opponent. Most of this is evident enough just from using coach suggestions yourself when selecting plays on offense and seeing the kinds of ideas that your illustrious coordinators will recommend in these scenarios.
Variety remains the biggest problem when it comes to using these coach suggestions. You’re liable to see the the same plays being pushed on you regularly while others sit in the back of the playbook and gather dust while never being brought up as a possibility. The hope would be that every play at your disposal has an ideal down and distance for when it should be used and that you would eventually see that play pop up in the suggestions at some point when that specific game situation arises. Failing that, it would probably be even better to go with quantity over quality by offering a collection of random plays from all of the many different formations while in the huddle to give you plenty of options that might pique your interest.
Kicking
Madden has tried a lot of different ways to recreate this crucial aspect of special teams to various degrees of success, but the existing kicking game feels especially stagnant in the Madden 23 beta. The three-click system that the series has allowed people years to master now has reached the point where it’s become simple enough that field goals are virtually automatic now. In my short amount of time with the beta, I was able to break the NFL’s field goal record multiple times over, and ultimately ended up easily making one as long as 69 yards with a nice little breeze at my back.
EA may want to consider either having the margin of error be a little slimmer on all kicks or having the entire mechanic move a hair faster to make accuracy more of a challenge. Something like the kicking game likely can’t be overhauled before the release of Madden 23, but the series should probably consider adopting an entirely new mechanic for kicking (perhaps a return to the analog stick) because this longstanding one is neither fun nor realistic.
Legacy Animations
For the most part, Madden 23 represents a step forward in the way tackles and collisions in general play out more organically than they have in previous years, including gang tackles and defenders being more aggressive about trying to rip the ball out of someone’s hands. The interplay between receiver and defender when the ball is in the air feels less pre-determined, and the resulting animations aren’t nearly as awkward and canned.
There are still moments though where the visuals are stuck in the past, particularly when you trigger specific tackle animations that are familiar and come off as if they have been shoehorned into a game where they don’t belong from a physics standpoint. Once you’ve played enough, you’ll even start to see some of the new tackle animations enough times that they will get old fast. It’s also disheartening to continue to see running backs get hung up on linemen when heading out of the backfield to help in the passing game — as if they have zero awareness of their surroundings.
Tuning & Patches
It’s legitimately funny how the feedback from the community during the Madden 23 beta, and how that in turn led EA to make some changes to how the game played via patches, can easily be viewed as a microcosm of how a typical game cycle works with Madden. When the beta was initially released, all the chatter from within the community was about how quickly the pass rush would get home on the QB and how well defensive backs broke on balls in the air. Naturally, by the time the beta ended, those two aspects had been toned down to the point that the game was starting to play a little too much like Madden 22. While it may be true that the pass rush and defensive backs were slightly more overpowered from the outset than you would like, the concern frequently voiced that the game is typically better at release and then watered down by patches gained some traction with the way EA altered the beta based on people whining that the game was too hard.
Let’s hope when the game does come out that they at least wait a little while after official release to fully gather feedback from the entire community before just reacting to the loudest group of voices. This aspect of things is arguably one of the biggest struggles all sports game developers struggle with nowadays on the gameplay side of things. We have seen long delays to making changes this year (MLB The Show) or making changes too quickly (NBA 2K) and both have been criticized, so it seems developers are still trying to find that middle ground.
