Madden NFL 23, the latest in the long-running American football franchise, goes back to fundamentals. Where recent years have focused on flashy updates, such as a new scouting system for Franchise mode and the introduction of Home Field Advantage in the form of teamwide buffs and debuffs, Madden 23 focuses primarily on nuts and bolts. And nowhere is this more evident than in the Fieldsense system.
Fieldsense, which is an ambitious agenda with changes and adjustments, seems to be equal parts system and philosophy, intended to take Madden a big step forward on the journey to authentic 11-on-11 football, with key components focused on passes, runs and defense. I had a chance to go hands-on and try these new mechanics for myself when I visited EA Orlando.
NFL quarterbacks do not have the luxury of just beating their wide receiver in the numbers on every game. Defensive backs are too fast and the windows to throw in are too small. This is where skill-based passing comes into play. Pressing a button to aim your throw results in a blue circle representing where a wideout could potentially catch a ball. A sight, controlled by the left stick, allows you to select a target within this zone, and a meter fills, determines the speed and trajectory of the ball.
It sounds like a lot, but in practice it is actually very smooth and intuitive. I was quickly able to start hitting guys in stride, passing deep in places where my wide receiver had only a small chance to grab, and even hitting back shoulder throws – breaking a basic rule by purposefully passing behind a wide receiver to confuse defenders, a staple of the NFL that has not previously been possible in Madden. Experienced players will already be familiar with leading goals, and the duration of the button press has long made the difference between lob and ball passes, but a new throw force meter gave me wider control over the exact trajectory of my throws, and I found that I threw more with feel than just throwing fast balls every time.
hits the spot
The defense also has a new key weapon in the form of Hit Anywhere. In previous iterations, the tackle consisted largely of canned animations that took control out of the hands of the players once the contact had started. The overtaken punching system now takes into account additional defenders coming in to add strokes, or trying to hit a ball out of an airline to force a fumble. The action I saw is much closer to a live NFL game where swarming to the ball is key, especially when bigger defenders arrive and bowl over a scrum of smaller players. It also means that leaping wide receivers are now fair game for a ball-hitting blow in the air. As a Seahawks fan, I got flashbacks to the bone-crushing Legion of Boom as I blew receivers in the air, left uncovered by a quarterbacks carelessly lobbing passes.
Running backs is the second pillar in Fieldsense. In motion, a new 360 Cut mechanic allows them to plant their foot in the dirt and turn hard by pressing the left trigger while changing direction. As someone who often prefers zone runs where I do not know which hole I am running into until I see something open up in the offensive, the quick-shift-and-go nature required a few attempts to get used to. But once I had the feel for it, I consistently got past the defensive line with my running back.
The cuts also led to a number of one-on-one, carrier vs tackler stand up tackles. When this happens, you and your opponent must quickly push a button to gain an advantage, leading to a player being pushed back or hitting himself completely loose. Strictly speaking, it is not a fast time event, as player characteristics and the exact location and angle of the collision matter. What’s more, Stand Up tackles can be interrupted by additional defenders getting involved, invoking the Hit Anywhere system to blow an overpowered back in the air.
Become human
I personally am a great Connected Franchise player and that state is under considerable refinement, the greatest involving player personalities. Players now have traits that affect who they are as a teammate. An example was Bobby Wagner and the Mentor brand. As a player willing to share the lessons he has learned in his great career, he gives bonus training XP to the players around him.
Player motivations are another new feature that will affect how teams are built. While free agents used to be solely at the mercy of the highest bidders, players now have specific criteria that can make them more or less interested in a club. Some players want to stay close to home and play for the team they grew up cheering on. Others are interested in chasing a Super Bowl ring, or will find a team that needs any of their position, which guarantees them playing time. These are real considerations that real players make, and their inclusion has the potential to add a human element to Madden that has long been lacking.
A year is not a long time in the land of game development, but EA Orlando has implemented a number of tweaks and tweaks on top of these new features. Scouting is being adjusted to allow for more scouts and more targeted player evaluations. Excess cap space will now roll year to year and the diversity of generated draft class players has improved. New body sheet types, improved ‘wire-based’ hair elements – move over, Kojima – and improved bandanas make players look more lifelike than ever before. Madden Ultimate Team progression is streamlined, while playbooks are refined to better reflect the real teams they are based on.
It remains to be seen whether these corrections will meet some of our main criticisms from ours Madden NFL 22 review. Bugs were a frequent annoyance, and shallow conditions took away from an otherwise solid gameplay experience. But the team behind Madden NFL 23 at EA Orlando is not pale for their ambitions to create the most believable 11-on-11 football game yet. With Fieldsense at its core and hundreds of fixes, tweaks and improvements under the hood, the Madden 23 could still be the step forward the series needs. Long live the legion.
Madden NFL 23 launches worldwide on August 19 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/ S, PS4, PS5 and pc.
