Madden 23 was released on August 19, 2022. It was deemed the JOHN MADDEN EDITION due to Madden’s passing last year.

There are multiple fixes to the game that were a problem in previous years. Excitingly the most biggest change is something called FieldSENSE.

This new addition allows you to have more control over the position that you are playing. This means more power on gang tackling, rushing the quarterback, covering wideouts, better blocking from the offensive line, and skill-based passing from quarterbacks. This feature is in every game mode, but it is only available on new generation consoles, like the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5.

Franchise Mode

In this game mode, you choose the team you want to be, join a fantasy draft, draft players (like in fantasy football), and play and upgrade those players. With new players constantly joining the NFL, this mode is continuously getting updated and altered to be better.

Saint Paul’s senior, Christian Cowley, stated, “Even though Madden is pass-heavy in general, I find in franchise mode, certain player’s progression traits get too powerful, as many players tend to overdo their actual ceiling. Young players like Kyle Pitts and Kayvon Thibodeaux get way too good. I wish the player development traits were a little more balanced.”

Ultimate Team

This mode allows you to play with your dream team. Like the other years, players, including former ones, get different overall ratings throughout the year. You can play challenges to upgrade your team, or play online seasons or House Rules, a fun online game mode where gamers purchase players off the auction house with the madden currency, MT. This is a fun pastime game mode, and you can enjoy playing with just about any retired player you want.

Player Ratings

Every player in the NFL gets a Madden rating. This is their overall rating (OVR). The highest rated players are all 99 OVR: 49ers left tackle Trent Williams, Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, and Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald. On there other hand, the lowest-rated players in this year’s version are Joe Cardona, Mathew Orzech, and Zach Wood, all of whom are a 25 OVR.

Some players and fans are outraged by some of these overalls.

For instance, Saint Paul’s junior, Aidan Hayes, hated some player ratings. “Some of the ratings don’t make sense to me. [Vikings’ wide receiver] Justin Jefferson is rated a 94 OVR, six points higher than [Bengals’ wide receiver] Ja’Marr Chase, who is a 88. Coming off a Rookie of the Year season, I expected Chase to be rated much higher than, and at least closer, to Jefferson.”

Some people believe that this new Madden is like all the others. In some ways, it is. For instance, like every year, the game is not cross-platform, which is outrageous! If you have a friend on Xbox and are on Playstation, you should be able to play together. This is a major weakness that occurs annually.

All in all, this year’s All Madden edition is exciting. EA Sports is constantly trying to improve the game, which makes for an amusing game. From X-Factors in Madden 20 to FieldSENSE in Madden 23, game play has been and will continue to be a fun and popular for fans.