If I had to review Madden '21 next-gen on the PS5; I'd score it a 3.7 out of 10. At least the MUT head-to-head version of the game!
1. Zone Coverages on defense is the biggest thing broken, and makes the game unplayable for the most part in head-to-head games. Sadly, the development team has been super lazy in not fixing this immediately. The game in its current state is a beta product, and should have never been released for competitive H2H play. Which is why almost everybody who plays at a competitive level has switched back to last-gen Madden ’21.
2. Man Coverage on defense is another sore spot, basically defense in general is abysmal, and the development team shouldn’t be proud of the product they have released to the public. Man coverage is as broken as it has ever been in any version of Madden, and probably more broken than any other Madden. That is saying something, because man coverage has never been really good in the game for the most part, but to be this bad is a huge YIKES!
EDIT: I should have added Run Fits in here, they're terrible as well, which is why I said "defense in general is abysmal"
3. Route Running - so with next-gen Madden, EA released Next Gen Stats route running, which I like; but, the issue with the route running is sometimes your receiver will run a random route, and not the route he was designed to run. Maybe this was an intended “feature” but it does not belong anywhere near a competitive game mode. Save that for SIM mode in Franchise. As a whole, next-gen Madden ’21 feels like it was designed solely for SIM Franchise mode; because it is by far the worst head-to-head gameplay in any Madden in the online H2H era!
4. Player acceleration! Not much to say here that anyone who has played the next-gen version of Madden hasn’t already said. It is too slow, and honestly it isn’t that much fun to play. Most players want a speedy game, especially in MUT, where people spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for cards to make their team feel and play superior to those who don’t spend money. That is just a fact. If the player speed isn’t adjusted a tad, I don’t see the game being successful at all on next-gen consoles going forward; at least not MUT.
5. Match-making is still really bad in Next-Gen Madden ’21. EA’s idea of great matchmaking is pairing you up against those above mentioned money teams, thinking that it will encourage you to spend money to make your team better. Usually I just turn my game off and go play something else. But, it must be working, as EA has made more money than ever off of FIFA and Madden the last several years.
6. Bugs, bugs, bugs… with any new game you will have bugs, some minor, some not so minor. With Madden, we have the same bugs every single year, as the development team continues to pile on to the spaghetti code. Bugs such as not being able to make adjustments because you tried to make them too fast (which is a problem because of the sped up game clock). Not being able to snap the all. Terrible animations such as the ball being knocked 50 yards in. Crazy tipped interceptions. Most of the Abilities not actually working.
7. Tackling - or should I say lack thereof? Tackling in Madden is God awful. Players will bounce off of tacklers like pinballs. Yes, it looks more realistic, but this is a competitive mode, if I make a secure tackle, then I expect at least a shot at tackling Derrick Henry. What I don’t want is seeing 7 players try secure tackles only to bounced off like a bad check.
8. Players tire way too quick. Get sacked on the first play of the game and your QB will dark red, ready for the oxygen tent.
9. Attributes don’t matter at all on next-gen. Usually in Madden, some attributes do matter; but, Madden ’21 in general they don’t. Mostly because the game has been ruined with Power Ups, Abilities, and Chemistries. This is not a RPG; it is supposed to be a fantasy football simulation game.
I have more opinions on the game, but if I listed everything I disliked, I’d be writing until Madden ’22 dropped. I will still play it, because I enjoy football, and I mostly enjoy Madden, just not a fan of the current product that has been released to the public, or the lack of addressing the major issues like defense.
