Recently, I got my hands on an early build of Madden NFL 24 for about two hours. During that time, I hopped into both normal gameplay in Play Now and tested out some of the new and returning Mini-Games. Overall, Madden 24 feels much smoother on the field than its predecessors, though there are still several smaller issues that left me cautiously optimistic about where this year’s edition will end up when it launches in August.
Now, to reiterate, this was an early build. Things can and will change. On top of that, I only played for around two hours, so I wasn’t able to dig as deep into some of the new systems as I would have liked. I also wasn’t able to play against a CPU team, which means I wasn’t able to see some of the more in-depth AI changes the team told us about in our meeting. These are going to have a big impact on modes like Franchise, so I would’ve loved to see them, but I spent my time playing head-to-head games against other players. That said, it’s hard to deny that EA Sports has made several improvements to run blocking, route running, and defensive AI to make the game feel more like a real-world NFL game.
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Let’s start with run blocking, something that I’m usually picky about. Too often in the past, you’d see blockers give a chip block to help hold down a defensive lineman and then just kind of stop, leaving a linebacker or defensive back space to get to your running back with ease. The developers showed us an example of a stud lineman like Trent Williams using the new dynamic run-blocking system to throw that chip and then move downfield and stuff more defensive players with jaw-dropping pancakes. It was incredibly impressive in the trailer we saw, and I’m happy to report that it mostly held up during my time with the game.
Blockers move more quickly up the field to open a path for you and have improved targeting that doesn’t leave their heads swiveling as they search for their next assignment. Using the new push-pin concept during the pre-snap, blockers are able to dynamically target defenders as they move around the formation, making it more difficult for users to overwhelm the computer with questionable tactics and get easy pressure. Once the whistle blows, blockers pick up their man with focus, leading to a running game that feels more natural.
The Madden 24 devs are also using the dynamic blocking tech to help improve the screen game. In the past, screens were essentially useless. Blockers would constantly switch between assignments, leading to them blocking no one. Dynamic blocking changes their AI to give them more focus, making screens an actual threat now. Your blocker locks onto a target and won’t change it unless someone comes into their awareness triangle. It might seem like a small tweak, but in my time on the field, it felt like the team is finally starting to make the blocking changes that have been needed for years.
Unfortunately, those blocking changes haven’t transferred to the passing game. Again, this is an early build, but I noticed several times that overload blitzes seemed to confuse my interior blockers. If a linebacker and defensive back were blitzing the same gap, my blocker would give the linebacker a clear path in favor of blocking the defensive back. Considering the LB is coming through first, that often led to pressure that got to my quarterback way too quickly. I asked the team if there was anything weird going on with blitzing priority, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead, it’s just something that needs further tuning and will hopefully be out of the game or minimized by launch.
That said, when the ball is in the air, there are some big changes that are worth talking about. The Madden team has implemented a completely new skeleton for every player, coach, ref, and fan in the stadium. This skeleton is called Sapien and it has given the devs several benefits. The funniest is that players’ skeletons now correctly scale, so you won’t see linemen with vertebrates popping out of their backs, but for gameplay, the biggest change is that EA was able to implement momentum catching. What this means is that, essentially, the annoying phenomenon of wideouts seemingly warping forward or slowing down their routes to meet the ball is mostly gone. Now, receivers run routes and more naturally attack the ball, making everything just look more true-to-life.
It’s not just looks though. I also noticed how well the game used ball placement to influence what happens after the catch. If I threw behind a receiver, he would have to turn back to make the catch, making it easier for the DB to catch up. That was in previous games, but it feels more natural in Madden 24. The devs have also reintroduced dive catches and added several new catch points. All of this is in the name of fluidity and, in my early time, it’s working.
Sticking with the in-air product, I should also talk about the work the Foundational Football team has done with the secondary. Not only have they added all kinds of new animations for contested swats and tackles to break up passes, but they’ve implemented a new system that mimics the “See Ball Play Ball” style of defense you see in the NFL. Just like in the real-world game, defensive backs won’t be able to magically teleport to a ball they can’t see. If you have them beat, you’ll be rewarded.
Much like run-blocking, this is a game-changer, but only for the specific use-case EA has targeted for this year. To give you an example of why it would be great if this tech was implemented somewhere besides just the secondary, imagine you have two wideouts on the same side of a formation who are running a Go and Quick Out combo. This is a standard combination that gives the QB a choice to either attack the field deep or throw a quick hitter to get out of pressure. If you throw the underneath route for a short gain, you’ll usually notice that your receiver running a Go will immediately start blocking. In real life, that wouldn’t happen because they have no idea that the ball has been caught or even thrown, but in Madden, the computer knows the exact second the ball is out of your QB’s hands. If “See Ball Play Ball” were used in every aspect, this kind of thing wouldn’t happen, and the game would feel more lifelike.
It’s hard to complain too much though because what the Madden team has put together is very promising. Plus, if you consider this the foundation for future installments, the issues I had could be ironed out. If nothing else, the changes to Sapien and the increased focus on Foundational Football are paying immediate dividends in several important places. If they can keep up this momentum, Madden 24 might finally be the game fans have been waiting for since EA got the exclusive rights to the NFL.
Electronic Arts provided travel accommodations for ComicBook to attend this Madden NFL 24 preview event.
