Madden NFL 21 Review: 4 Ups & 8 Downs

5. The High School Selling Point Is Fumbled

Pre-release, EA made a ton of noise about the addition of high school football in that aforementioned 'Face Of The Franchise' story mode. The good news is that it's fun while it lasts. The bad news is that, again, nothing you do during games has any impact on the nailed-on narrative, and you can't play high school ball outside of the mode.

Blink and you'll miss it, basically.

High school gameplay may as well have been a cut scene, because it feels incredibly hollow to offer up something new and then leave the player on their own to figure out that he/she is unable to affect the story being presented whatsoever.

There's nothing more to say here. The high school snippet is exactly that, and it's another of Madden 21's missed opportunities when it comes to providing cool experiences.