u/Fickle-Estimate-8182

I wanna have a discussion about gameplay quality versus what happens to real life. I’m gonna leave my opinion in a comment because it gets deleted. If you read thanks and lmk your stance.

Look I’m not looking for I’m right you’re wrong I want actual discourse.

The community is dead set on “well if it happens in real life it’s fine” because of many popular madden debates like dropped picks and glowing running backs and now inconsistent KOs.

I just think it’s kinda killing skill gap. I win games a lot — I just don’t wanna come off as someone who’s salty for losing. Like I’m very content with my Madden time but with the amount of dumb things that happen that make me wanna tell my buddies okay I’m done playing — and especially I used to play for money and did well but lost interest with the amount of random variables.

-Like your opponent throws a pick
-your opponent can’t throw a pick because of gambit
-your opponent blindly hands a dude who’s 300 pounds the ball and your whole defense gets vanguard and if anyone gets a hand on him he breaks the tackle
-you get tackle supreme ability… and tackles get broken anyway
-your zone KO just does nothing
-your user doesn’t animate
-you make one bad read and it gets KOd and the tip gets caught and congrats you lost
-any fumbles ever are wildly inconsistent
-dline coming free on no stunt
-dline just getting the insta win despite even abilities

And I get it it goes both ways but more often than not it’s just more not fun than anything. I think in most games if two evenly matched dudes play with the right rng it could be 40-0. Like if you beat someone in madden I don’t think it means you’re better and that’s coming from someone who’s win loss ratio is 4:1. But even when I win a lot of times it’s not satisfying cause I’m sitting there like this should be 28-0 and I’m in a 28-28 game where I’m kicking a game winning field goal. I mean there’s a reason that punting is a thing in real life but entirely useless in madden. Yards are free. I mean here’s a pro tip give all 4 receivers YAC Em up. A 3 yard checkdown on a spacing concept is now a 75 yard x play. I mean it’s fun but like I’m not here for who knows the better QB power mini scheme or a gap. I want to throw to voids run drive concepts, dagger, concepts, Ohio etc. and you can but it’s sub optimal.

I posted a clip of me and my sister playing squads and it was legit the first game 7 seconds left before half time no timeouts. Man 2 under cause we didn’t want them to get in range but we usered the safety to make sure no deep shot. And they throw it and I light up (pick artist) and pick it… and it bobbles out and the ai defender swats it to the receiver and he scores. Like idc about winning or just a game or… like that’s just not fun. Theyre whole scheme was gambit + double me and usering is so bad this year 🤷‍♂️. So that’s my thing cause people say “well it’s realistic, dbs don’t catch everything in real life”

I just think when you take exclusive rights for a simulation video game. You make an arcade mode for fun, a simulation mode for realistic, and competitive for COMPETITIVE and market it as an EA sport. We have to have the convo of making a good competitive video game. It’s not that. If we define our standards of what the game should be by “well it happens in real life” you snowball into all the random stuff that happens in real football. Here’s an example: why don’t we start putting AI players randomly blowing coverage and celebrating taunting the crowd instead of playing defense. WRs running the wrong route because they got a wrong signal. A center not hearing the cadence so random false starts. The best receiver in the nfl have dropped passes, the best receivers have dropped catches, why don’t we increase the frequency of catches and drops because it happens. Sometimes nfl players just fumble the ball on air they lose grip why don’t we introduce random fumbles where your QB goes to throw and it slips out of his hand. How about muffed returns and punts? The community line of “well it happens in real life” is so oversimplified and reductionist. EA made a game and a game mode called “competitive (not simulation or arcade)” and we’re rewarding throwing the ball into double coverage?

At the very least have a MUT game mode for competitive mode no BS — market it for sweats. Idc if it’s annoying at least I won’t feel cheated. Then have a simulation mode where dumb stuff happens but people who aren’t great at the game can score on a jump ball or a broken tackle. I just think like the fact people are like ya this is fine and the game we’re playing is madden 26. Not madden 1, or 2, or the third in a trilogy, no the 37th? (I think) madden. Like this is a problem.

The game is 3 minutes so one fumble, one pick, one dropped pick — decides the game. I’m not saying it should be 15 minutes but it ends up being unsatisfying. The game is geared towards casuals being able to get into it but a good runner is a migraine to stop — and so no little Timmy is not figuring out dime 2-3 slant with crash left pinch call Mike will Sam 3 however linebacker etc. (no idea if that works I don’t use an ebook idc too but you get the point). Stopping the run is over complicated and unintuitive. I don’t get why there’s never been a system where: you run a 4-4/4-3/6-1 you get better sheds and tackling. Dime + nickel + give worse. It seems so simple for such a complex problem. And if someone’s running and they do finally pass and they’re not good at it, well here’s your chance to get a stop but nope gambit. I’m just trying to convey these flimsy game mechanics compound for something frustrating. Because then ultimately it just feels like you’re not in control. I’m better at offense and pass defense but from all my friends and people I’ve talked to like someone runs the ball (someone with a legit good or cheesy run scheme) and what works? Idk. And if something works idk why it did. Sometimes my tackle supremes work sometimes not. Idk 🤷‍♂️. And that’s not satisfying and being I paid $60 for this game and am winning so consistently I don’t think that’s a failure on my end for the game not teaching or having intuitive run defense. Because ultimately like I play someone like that and my mentality is well that sucks I have to sweat to score dinking and dunking, do that every drive and eventually I’ll get a shed he’ll pass, be bad at it and then he loses. But that’s not fun. That’s honestly why I only play squads and if I have nothing to do I’ll go into h2h or an event to get like the new fun players to use in squads but without that mode I think I’d be done with madden.

Well even if you don’t agree thanks for reading. Lmk what you guys feel about this.

Good physical therapy places?