It’s been a long wait, but we’ve returned to the college football world on PC and consoles. Following a lawsuit in the mid-2010s, the long-running EA NCAA College Football franchise was halted. Now, in the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) era for collegiate sports, players are able to be compensated for appearing in a video game. There’s so much to be excited about, but plenty of folks, myself included, wondered if the wait could possibly set us up for disappointment. After a week with the game, and dozens of hours played, I’m comfortable enough to say anyone excited to see the return of EA Sports College Football 25 will not be disappointed with its return title.

A lot of the talk around EA Sports College Football 25 was focused on the fact that this wouldn’t simply be Madden, but with college teams. They certainly pulled this off; College Football 25 does not feel like Madden. That said, the unique elements surrounding the gameplay of EA Sports College Football 25 leave me less than overjoyed with how it plays and perfectly satisfied with how it all looks. Let’s talk about the real differences in gameplay first, before diving into the “Dynasty Mode” experience, which long-time fans of college football games will likely be spending most of their time on.

EA Sports College Football 25 aims to be faster and more fluid to mimic the sub-professional state of play that occurs at the college level. Things like running the ball, playing defense, and even kicking extra points all feel a bit more chaotic because things can get dicey quickly. I am a firm believer that last year’s Madden game really showed how much progress the franchise has made in recent years in terms of refining its gameplay. EA Sports College Football 25 looks to subvert that with its unique take on football –  sacrificing tight, precise controls with something that feels a little less satisfying.

Animations while running the ball, as well as the way it actually feels behind the controller, are less refined than in the Madden franchise. It’s not quite arcade-like, but it lacks the space with which to really develop skill in-game to best your opponents. AI in the game is far from unbeatable, but in playing online, I found odd moments where the physics of the game failed either myself or my opponent, often leading to turning points in the matchup. Things like janky tackle animations, strange responses to receptions, and general defensive breakdowns attributable only to a strained gameplay mechanics system have been slightly frustrating.

It’s all worth looking past and adapting to, however, if you’re eager to get back into the world of college football video games. While the gameplay is not as strong as I feel Madden has developed itself to be, there’s no denying the energy put into the presentation of EA Sports College Football 25. Even the crowd responses and Stadium Meter impact make this feel so much more alive than a Madden game. Coupled with the player’s deep love for their favorite schools, and I can’t imagine some less-than-pristine mechanics are going to make many reject this game. In fact, “Dynasty Mode” is just good enough to ensure college football fans have what they wanted all these years in a college football coaching mode.

“Dynasty Mode” allows you to recruit and motivate your team to victory while becoming a better coach via a skill tree. I have to say that the least appealing thing to me about this mode was the presentation of recruiting, one of the most long-awaited aspects of the game. Navigating your recruiting board as well as the players across the country is not intuitive and makes it a chore to sort through the high school prospects. The outcome, that being the process of increasing your program’s prestige to bring in top talent, is unaffected and still a fun element of the mode. It’s just not as enjoyable as it could be if the UI was designed a bit cleaner.

Choosing a 1-star program and working them up the ranks to a powerhouse program is a joy. Of course, elements like adapting your schedule, managing players who are considering joining the transfer portal and switching schools, and increasing the overall impact your knowledge has on the team make “Dynasty Mode” a wonderful place to spend most of your time playing EA Sports College Football 25. Ultimate Team accompanies the various game modes as a collegiate take on MUT from the Madden world. This is the microtransactions-fueled card-collecting mode many feel strongly about one way or the other. It’s exactly what you would expect and not a major selling point.

As for “Road to Glory,” the game mode where you play the role of a college athlete looking to write your name in the history books, my focus wasn’t strong enough on that experience to have a major conclusion about it one way or the other. You can look forward to the dedicated “Road to Glory” review I’ll be working on next in my time with EA Sports College Football 25. With confidence, however, I can say “Road to Glory” is a microcosm of what EA Sports College Football 25 offers fans after this long wait: a game that’s fun enough now to enjoy but with much more room to adapt, a la Madden, into something truly remarkable.

An Xbox Series X/S review copy of EA Sports College Football 25 was provided by EA SPORTS for the purposes of this review.

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EA Sports College Football 25

$69.99

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Unique atmosphere on-field compared to Madden
• A satisfying enough Dynasty Mode
• Great visuals that live up to the long wait

Cons

• Football physics feel lacking compared to Madden
• Quicker, more fluid gameplay feels a lot less refined
• Weird bugs and oddities still yet to be worked out