EA Sports debuted the first Madden 24 gameplay footage in a lengthy new trailer and highlighted some of the sports game’s improvements, including enhanced animations and better collisions. These fixes showed up in July’s Gridiron Notes, but the roughly 30-minute video lets us see them in action and get an idea of how they change the game.
Designer K Spade says these enhancements pave the way for more creativity in playbooks and gameplay in general, and EA expects players to see new plays and strong off-meta builds like nothing they’ve seen before.
Some of the tweaks that make these improvements possible include changes that sound basic, but give you greater control over a situation and an understanding of how it will play out. In one example, EA showed a running play where it takes a heavy collision to force the ball out of the player’s hand. In Madden 23, even a light collision might knock the ball out of your hands, which forced most players to rely on specific builds and teams to try and work around the problem.
Other fixes include better pathing and impact management for receivers, who won’t randomly slow down anymore when they catch the ball, and the option to create deceptive runs to keep the opposing team guessing where your running back is going to end up.
EA also said longtime fans will have some habits to break. Some tried-and-true mechanics, such as the high pass, won’t work the same way they used to. You’ll have to plan more carefully, and even then, a good defense could still tip the ball out of your receiver’s hands for an interception.
In short, what reads like a list of minor improvements looks like it’ll have some substantial effects on how you play and enjoy Madden 24 when it launches for PC and console on Aug. 15, 2023.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF