BOOM Tech Delivers Change in Madden NFL 25


Key Takeaways

  • BOOM Tech brings satisfying gameplay changes to Madden NFL 25
  • Receiver-defender interactions stand out with new animations
  • Despite great visuals and audio, modes feel mundane with minor changes

Madden NFL 25 enters this year with a bit of new competition from within its own walls. The game does incorporate a few aspects from its college counterpart, but looks to heavily rely on its physics-based gameplay to shake up results on the field. Highlighting Madden NFL 25 is its new BOOM Tech, and with a lot more animations and AI adjustments, the results are there on the field. Adding multiple commentary teams also helps to remove the redundant aspect of playing through a season. While the gameplay is improved, the modes within the title still feel mundane despite new coats of paint that have been applied to them.

BOOMING the Gameplay with New Tech

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BOOM Tech combined with the new Hit Stick 2.0 truly help to showcase a substantial bump in gameplay for Madden NFL 25. Building more with FieldSense and physics-based tackling, there are a tremendous amount of results on every play that feel different. Factoring in player ratings and using an algorithm of velocity, force and momentum provides a variety of results that proves the play isn’t over until the whistle blows. Players bounce off of tacklers that can open plays up and it can literally be witnessed when a ball carrier braces for impact. This adjustments affects outcome of each interaction.

There is a counter balance to the offense with the Hit Stick 2.0, and it can be pretty satisfying. Timing pays a more critical role than ever before, and deciding on the type of tackle also greatly impacts the play. If a ball carrier isn’t looking, and the hit stick is perfectly timed giving a green indicator, there is a very good chance that ball pops out. There are more whiffs on tackles with the new Hit Stick due to poor judgment on pursuit angles, velocity and force. True loafing can be witnessed in Madden NFL 25. Most of the time, plays are fluid and even a combination of hits can take place. Depending on the ball carrier, however, some of these guys might just sneak out of this situation. BOOM Tech is only one aspect of this game that helps to elevate the gameplay.

The best interactions that come from BOOM Tech really comes down to receiver and defensive back interactions. These are the best interactions the series has seen. The devs have added a spectacular catch button to create some highlight reels by using L1/LB, but the receiver is the most prone to dropping these passes. Simply going in for contact can be enough to break up a pass. Going up for a ball truly feels like a 50/50 chance in most cases coming down to player ratings. The Switch Stick has also been included here, so easily taking control of the defender closest to the ball is accessible. There have been great feeling interceptions along the way, and with the return of jumping linebackers (not Superman), the ability to defend provides confidence.

This year also provides the best offensive line play the series has seen. The OL forms an actual pocket and getting to the quarterback on the defensive side is more tough. The devs also added the full slide and half slide pre-snap adjustments along with the double team to help provide a better sense of running the offense. More hot routes for receivers including custom stems to set the depths of the route help to create more ways to get your guys into space. Putting arc on the ball is possible this year and ball placement on throws thanks to Placement and Accuracy. Placement and Classic options are available, but being able to perfectly position the ball over a receiver’s shoulder is the way to go. The throwing meter is also on by default, while it was hidden last year, that will give an idea of the velocity on the ball and if it’ll be accurate or not.

Everything NFL Signature, Everything Sunday

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Madden NFL 25 introduced Signature Animations in the past as it aims to looks exactly like Sundays in the game. The devs have added Christian McCaffrey, Saquan Barkley and Isaiah Pacheco to run like they do in real life. What is more distinct is just how much life there is before each snap, with more than 200 signature pre-play behaviors that are witnessed on both sides of the ball. If a player has a ritual, its here. Before most plays, the devs have added a few cut scenes of the offense walking up to the line of scrimmage that, at times, looks unbelievably realistic. With the addition of motion blur to add depth to some of these scenes, they truly look astounding.

Adjustments have been made to ball carriers with the Ball Carrier Revamp. Everyone will have more situational awareness, including the aforementioned bracing for impact. Backs can get skinny to make it through tight holes or can angle away from a defender. Multiple hesis, jukes and spins can be implemented with modifiers and these can be combo’d. The move will also depend on a variety of factors, but some gnarly moves can be pulled off. The only real issues encountered with animations are running backs getting hung up just enough on an offensive lineman to not hit a hole and receivers/defenders running into each other on a close route. The main issue with the later would be acceptable if the game would actually throw a pass interference call, but it doesn’t.

More signature aspects that are available in Madden NFL 25 inclues a slew of new playbooks. Dating back to 2021, the devs have been able to create playbooks based on a team’s identity. This provides depth to experiment with different teams more so than before. Playbooks will be updated throughout the season if something innovative hits the field. Players also have the option to use coverage shells on defense to fake out the offense. This is the Madden where more motion and hot routes and overall pre-play adjustments have been made to make a noticeable difference. Trying to figure out zone versus man for the defense and expose? There are more tools to do this than ever before. See a blitz on one side? Slide the offensive linemen over to compensate.

New Kickoff Era, New Rules and Tricks

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The NFL has instituted a new kickoff rule and everything about it is here. The area is clearly marked out where the ball needs to go and there are a few different return structures that can be used. There are three trick plays, but pulling these reverses off haven’t really worked out. For what it’s worth, the new onside kick rules also exist with new packages, but most of these are easily recovered. The kickoff meter from College Football 25 is also present, and it’s much easier to kick. Punts can have the choice of backspin added before kicking, which is a nice change. During the multiple games played, not one kick was returned for a touchdown, though.

Same Old Modes, Some Fresh Paint

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While Face of the Franchise remains on the old gen version of the game, that mode has truly morphed into Superstar Mode. Players can import their Road to Glory players from College Football 25, but ultimately the experience feels the same. Go through the draft combine and work to upgrade the player either in The League or through the returning Superstar Showdown. Players will take part in press conferences to help achieve goals for XP and continue to do this for a large amount of time. Creating a running back, the option to select whatever play in the playbook was there along with audibling, which really seems like too much for someone not coaching or playing quarterback. New archetypes are available, but the overall experience remains the same.

Franchise Mode was touted with having some major changes, but these are surface level at best. The revamped menu puts some important information on the Hub screen and is much more organized. The message system does provide some information like a player being on the trade block and big name free agents coming. The issue is when trying to go to that player on the trade block, the game just takes the player to the general trade screen. Players will get injured in practice and can miss a game, and the newly touted stories element is underwhelming. While the previous games had coaches conduct press conferences, these are a bit more shook up into other things. Dialogue means a lot this time, and players can flip on a coach pretty quick ruining morale.

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Related


Details for Franchise and Presentation Revealed for Madden NFL 25

For Madden NFL 25, the three main pillars includes Immersion, Customization, and Depth and Core improvements.

During the season, there didn’t seem to be too many stories that popped up other than setting goals for players. The offseason came down to achieving goals set by the media. While this may shake up more into the franchise, there wasn’t a lot here to sway the feeling of going week to week and just playing games. More information came within the game itself as the season progressed, more stat overlays were introduced for league leaders and previous game stats are showcased for some players. It helps to narrate the league a little better than in the past keeping players engaged with other teams, but there’s more than can be done.

The scouting aspect continues to be a miss especially now since recruiting in College Football 25 is so engaging. Private workouts can be had for a few players after the season is over, but other than hiring and firing scouts and selecting where to have them scout, there isn’t much to do. The lack of importing draft classes from College Football 25 is also a miss, but players can set how deep a position is in each draft for the unknown randoms. The older games used to hype up these college players during the season in the news, so these rookies just feel random.

Superstar Showdown introduces a new stadium this year that looks dreary away from the field, but the field itself looks good with its Miami design. Players can do 3v3 with their Superstars, but the formula remains the same to get cosmetic items and try to level up the Superstar. The combination of network hangups, the sluggish feel and the fact that two minutes people start to quit the match ruins the experience. Some of the neon outfits look cool, but this is a microtransaction mode. Same goes with the return of Ultimate Team as it features a new Head to Head ranked mode and an improved lineup screen. Madden NFL 25 also incorporates the matchmaking for ranked games between just NFL teams, and this experience ultimately remains the same albeit with better matchmaking.

Madden’s Pinnacle Presentation

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Commentators certainly dictate the atmosphere of sports, in general, and EA added two more commentator teams to mix things up. While Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis return, Mike Tirico and Greg Olsen form a new team while Kate Scott and Brock Huard fill the other. Gaudin and Davis provide the same chemistry as before, while Tirico does a solid job and Olsen shines like he does in real life. Kate Scott and Brock Huard sound extremely happy to be there and do an excellent job. There seems to be more dead time with Scott and Huard than the other two, but Huard also goes on a few random tangents. With the crowd noise, they can get drained out a bit.

The devs have finally moved the score bug to the bottom, but the overall presentation layer looks professional and basically straight from ESPN. Currently, the league scores that sit transparently and small underneath the score bug is broken showing player stats from different games. The stat overlays are bold and colorful, and player stats will pop up directly above the score bug at times. There are more stat overlays this year, which was much needed. The pre-game montage has changed and also includes some stats and full player introductions help to get amped for the game. A strong miss is the lack of player lineups at the start of the game, rather than just showing the quarterback. Overall, this is probably the best television presentation in a Madden game, but there’s still room to grow.

Visuals and Audio Stand Out

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It’s hard to say that Madden NFL 25 isn’t the best looking sports game currently. The devs adjusted lighting and added motion blur to help with the look on the field. Grass is detailed as are scanned player faces and equipment. A variety of helmets are present and jerseys look great. The body types offer a detailed variety of players and even the coaches look proper. The amount of detail on player faces is lifelike. Better animations add to the overall look and feel on the field. The game also includes defensive team celebrations this year and even added the Cam Newton celebration where he snorkels and dances.

The team went in and re-recorded collision sounds and these sound like true pad-on-pad collisions. An increase of on-the-field chatter can be heard, and on PS5, this comes out of the controller speaker. What is really disappointing, however, is that a new theme song was created and it’s only heard in the system menu, the start screen and at the end of the game. The impression was there would be multiple songs and these could be played in the menus, but that’s not the case. A slew of modern hip-hop is available, as usual, but the devs have brought back some classic songs from previous Maddens. Hearing DMX or 50 Cent during gameplay is a nice touch as this is something that gets played in stadiums nowadays.

Closing Comments:

Football is played on the field and this is clearly where the development team focused with Madden NFL 25. The changes to the physics are meaningful and can create opportunities that weren’t previously available in the series thanks to BOOM Tech. Getting a perfect hit with Hit Stick 2.0 can be satisfying thanks in part to sound of the pads and the visual cue. Receiver and defender interactions when going for the ball are engaging and the offensive line play is fantastic. The steps EA has taken to make Madden look and sound like Sunday are clear. The holdback comes down to the same experience with the modes in the game, albeit some surface level changes. The new broadcast options and the presentation updates help Madden NFL 25 to feel different.



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