Madden NFL 21 Review: 4 Ups & 8 Downs

1. EA Has No Goodwill With Long-Term Fans

Any goodwill EA still had has been shot to pieces by Madden 21's lack of innovation.

On-field gameplay has shown signs of life (more on that to come), but the lack of new features, zero depth to Franchise and the obvious focus on Ultimate Team has p*ssed people off. It's why the game currently has a dreadful 0.3 user rating score over on Metacritic.

Fans are sick to death of EA overlooking their wishlists and giggling as they count their millions. Of course, nothing will change until people stop buying Madden - EA won't really care much when they're still raking in cash. However, their reputation isn't just on thin ice with series vets - it's already in the water.

EA badly need a competitor to help spur them on. They need a kick in the ass, in other words, and a reason to re-develop Madden from the ground up. The team's iron grip on the NFL license isn't good for gamers, and neither is EA's spotlight on MUT.