College Football 25 Preview: More Than Just a Madden Clone

[DogOfViolence]

It’s been over a decade and an entire console generation since we last had a new college football game to sink our teeth into. So, you can imagine the surprise to many (myself included) when EA Sports tweeted over three years ago that it would once again make a college football video game. I recently had the opportunity to go hands-on, and I am happy to say that in my brief time with College Football 25, I ended up leaving with as much excitement as I had when I arrived.



Graphically speaking, College Football 25 is gorgeous. From small things such as how players wear their uniforms, to the realistic grass and turf on fields, College Football 25’s graphics are, as you’d expect after such a long layoff, a significant leg up from what we saw in NCAA Football 14.


Graphics aside, the vibes of College Football 25 are immaculate. Any college football fan will tell you that school spirit, traditions, and pride from the fandom deliver an unprecedented passion you otherwise would not normally see from most professional sports leagues. From the energetic broadcasts from Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbsteirt, to Clemson Football players running enthusiastically down The Hill in Death Valley, or the White Out game at Penn State, College Football 25 absolutely conveyed that college pride and enthusiasm.


New-gen visuals are nice, but the biggest addition to College Football 25 is the inclusion of real-life student-athletes, as the O’Bannon case happened since the last time EA made a College Football game. Gone are the days when we had generic faces and names; these are actual players who voluntarily chose to opt in, each with their name, image, and likeness (NIL) present to attempt to recreate those athletes in virtual form.

All these players present are not created equal, and if there is a major mismatch, it will be exploited.


Gameplay-wise, while many quickly point out that the same developer makes both Madden and College Football, College Football 25 is no junior-sized version of Madden. Prominent gameplay mechanics in modern Madden NFL games like X Factor are not present, though throw power, accuracy, and hit sticks are present.


Additionally, the skills and overall level of each school vary greatly—a match between Alabama and Georgia is going to look radically different from a game between Coastal Carolina and Michigan. This matches much more with the consistency of the real-world programs, recruiting, and rosters of each of the 134 FBS teams, which can lead to some uneven play, depending on the matchups you set up. All these players present are not created equal, and if there is a major mismatch, it will be exploited.


One key distinction to point out between the core gameplay of both College Football 25 and Madden is that the former is undoubtedly faster, from the agility of running backs and how they juke to the snappiness of a spin move. The speed of College Football 25 also means there is minimal room for error. During my session, I played a few rounds of Play Now, and each team I played as had an extremely tight window for which you had time to perfectly throw your pass, ensuring it did not result in an incomplete or an interception. The faster-paced gameplay may be off-putting, but the faster gameplay makes this a good starting point for newcomers to football sims and might even help novice Madden players who invest enough time into College Football 25.


Meanwhile, to maintain the level of immersion seen in College Football, EA Orlando is introducing a new Wear & Tear system designed to replicate real-life scenarios that can impact players in this sport. While selecting a play in Play Now, for example, I could see my QB's full body schematic to show his body's wear and tear. If he was taking a lot of hits, it could impact his throwing ability. Wear & Tear is a risk factor system meant to challenge you both in managing the game and deciding whether to play it safe or perform a potentially high-risk, high reward coaching maneuver by keeping an injured player on the field.


College Football 25 has four modes: the returning fan-favorite Road to Glory and Dynasty Mode, College Football Ultimate Team, and the all-new Road to the College Football Playoffs. Each mode aims to replicate the real-life adjustments and changes made to the overall landscape of College Football in recent years.


And yes, the transfer portal will impact both Road to Glory and Dynasty Mode, and NIL deals will be key for your players. However, the extent to which NIL deals will impact players in both modes, particularly in the case of Road to Glory, where the development team teases that you can alter your player’s overall performance and skills, remains to be seen.


Road to Glory is still the standard single-player experience where you create a player and strive for glory, whether it's racking up individual accolades or looking to win the College Football National Championship. You’ll pick between one of five positions: QB, WR, RB, MLB, or CB in addition to your Star Level, along with present individual attributes that will allow you to lean into some strengths over others. Will you choose to be the QB that can scramble and be a dual-threat, or someone with a cannon for an arm? That’s all up to you.


Road to Glory also emphasizes the “student” in student-athletes than what was previously seen in the NCAA Football series, as players will need to balance multiple categories that will impact their academic performance, trust-building with their coach and teammates, and what type of NIL deals they can obtain. Time management and how you make your decisions when you are not at class, practice, and games will factor into your character's overall perception, performance, and where they stand on the depth chart. Your position is always at risk, depending on your choices and your player’s overall performance.


Like previous iterations, Dynasty Mode flips the script compared to Road to Glory, allowing you to play as a coach. You can start out as a head coach, or have humbler beginnings as either an offensive or defensive coordinator. Each has its own skill trees you can choose from, whether it’s one that can boost team morale or do a great job at snagging recruits to commit and sign.


Recruiting also maintains a multi-layer aspect that goes beyond just the star-caliber players. Some recruits will express interest in playing time, others will express interest in attending a school with high academic prowess, some may care more about how close to home it is, and others will care more about winning a National Championship. All these things, combined with what the school you choose has to offer and when you choose to schedule them to come for an official visit, will impact the odds you can sway a recruit to play for you. Even when you schedule players to take a visit, they can play at these odds.


Your performance in your team will also determine if other schools will try to poach you. With the mode supporting up to 30 seasons, you could start as an offensive coordinator and work up to a promotion at the same school or leave and head coach at another institution.


Unfortunately, EA did not dive into College Football Ultimate Team, but we did learn about the brand-new mode called Road to the College Football Playoffs. This online-only mode is ranked, where players will pick a team and battle online against other players as they race to win a national championship. As is common with ranked modes, you start off as a Recruit, but can work your way up to Heisman; the higher you go, the tougher players you will face online, but in theory, it should provide better balance and still maintain the competitive edge for players, regardless of skill level.


Though my time was brief, and there’s still a lot we don’t know, I am nevertheless eagerly awaiting my chance to play the final build of College Football 25 when it releases on July 19.


Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.