The franchise in the franchise is on the up-and-up.
The “Madden” franchise mode has been under fire in recent — many recent — years, with the stripped-down management mode drawing the ire of fans and reviewers alike. With Madden Ultimate Team getting a fair amount of the love, attention and resources from EA Sports, Franchise mode has been kicked to the curb and disregarded, the Josh Rosen of game modes.
With EA Sports opting to strip down key features of franchise mode for years, fans have been clamoring for the long-dormant and overlooked mode to get expanded upon once again. In “Madden 22,” it seems as though the developer is taking steps to help alleviate some of the pains and complaints of longtime fans.
MORE: “Madden 22” team ratings: The best and worst teams to play with
Here’s what reviewers are saying about the game mode:
‘Madden 22’ franchise mode reviews
The general consensus: “Madden 22’s” franchise mode is much improved from its predecessor, with more RPG-type skill tree elements, added cinematics and weekly goals to help advance players and more.
Here’s what the experts are saying:
Brian Mazique, Forbes: “It feels good to see layers added to franchise mode. Teams now have offensive and defensive coordinators with skill trees. The coordinators’ abilities can be felt across the roster, and there is now more relevancy to the weekly preparation portion of the experience.”
Kat Bailey, IGN: “Still, Madden’s franchise mode has a ways to go before it catches up with the competition. Its version of the salary cap bears little resemblance to the real-life NFL, with no ability to restructure contracts or convert money into bonuses. … Madden’s franchise mode lacks that joyful sense of wish fulfillment that accompanies the best career modes, its rigidity betraying Madden’s overall lack of verve and creativity.”
Mark Delaney, GamesRadar: “The exciting thing is that now Franchise will enjoy a similar rollout of content, but even on day one, Franchise is the best it’s been in years. It starts with the new coaching management system. Every Franchise player will have direct control over their head coach, offensive and defensive coordinators, as well as the player personnel department. This extends from basic hiring and firing decisions to the much more interesting skill trees making their debut.”
Chris Roling, Bleacher Report: “It’s nice to see that Madden has listened to fans and started to address problematic areas like franchise mode. It’s a full-blown rebuild that needs several consecutive years of good drafting (ahem, feature additions) to work, but something is better than nothing.”