EA Sports College Football 25 Review: Like Coming Home Again

EA Sports College Football 25 feels like an impossible game to review. I have been waiting for this game for more than a decade, but that waiting is different compared to a normal video game. Sure, people have been waiting for Grand Theft Auto 6 for several years, but at least they had an easy way to play the previous entry or jump into another open-world action game. With College Football, there simply hasn’t been anything official to play since 2013. Because of that, there’s no way I was always going to be over the moon that College Football 25 even existed, which makes it difficult to be objective. I feel like a parent with a kid who was sent to the principal’s office. I know there are some problems here, but it’s my kid. They’re perfect. 

College Football 25 Gameplay is an Improvement on Madden

But let’s be honest, it’s not perfect. College Football 25 is building on the shaky foundation set by Madden NFL 24 (and to take it even further, the Frostbite engine). With that, there are a ton of inherent issues. I’m still noticing players missing blocks that don’t make sense multiple times a game. I’m seeing weird animations that show off why we need EA Sports to move on from Frostbite before we see the wholesale changes the developer’s football games need.

Here’s the thing though: I do think College Football 25 has made some strides in gameplay that put Madden to shame. It still has all of those same Frostbite issues, but running the ball feels more fluid and the passing mechanics give you more control than Madden ever has. Fade routes are something you actually do now. That seems small, but it’s huge for this engine. However, part of me can’t help but wonder if some of these gameplay changes aren’t, to some degree, mental.

See, there’s a part of me that knows I’m playing with college kids who aren’t that great at football in the grand scheme of things. Would they wipe the floor with me? Absolutely, but most of these guys aren’t playing on Sunday. In Madden, if a mediocre offensive lineman misses a block, I get mad. That’s their job. In College Football, I’m a little more understanding because these players just aren’t as good. It’s the real-world representation of that Gordon Ramsey meme comparing how he treats kids on his cooking shows to adults. I’m willing to give a little more leeway to a freshman UTEP because he’s probably trying his best, right?

That said, I don’t think it’s simply just me being a bit more lenient in my criticism. The College Football series has traditionally felt more dynamic than Madden on the field, and that remains true in College Football 25. The passing game is more wide-open, and you feel like you have more room to maneuver in the open field as a runner. However, even if it was the exact same game as Madden on the field, I think College Football 25 would be a better game because of how well it nails the presentation of the sport.

The Pageantry of College Football is Game-Changing

Stepping onto the field as an away team feels like a religious experience. It’s not just all of the research EA has done on all 134 teams to add their various traditions to the game. When you line up under center, you can feel the stadium pulse. The screen shakes, you can’t see your plays during pre-snap, and don’t even think about audibling. To be fair, we’ve seen most of this stuff before in Madden (and the old NCAA series), but there’s something about it in College Football 25 that puts it on another level. If nothing else, EA has to be commended for capturing the essence of a college football gameday better than anyone ever has.

Fortunately, that’s not all College Football 25 gets right. Dynasty Mode remains the focal point of the franchise and while EA hasn’t quite taken this one back to the house, they’ve at least got the ball in the red zone. Look, this is the team’s first effort in a decade. It was never going to be perfect. Do I have several little tweaks I want them to implement to make the menus cleaner and recruiting more fun? Absolutely, but as a foundation for the future of what I hope is a long-running franchise, this is about as rock-solid as it gets. Recruiting is tough, but not too tedious. The coaching trees are extensive and force you to make big decisions. The coaching carousel is back and not quite as fun as it used to be, but still solid. Team Builder gives you a stunning level of control for creating your own program. Almost everything I’ve wanted for 11 years in here and I am having so much fun losing 45-7 against Ohio State while trying to rebuild San Jose State. Dynasty mode is back, folks (though the sim engine still needs some work).

A Lack of Polish Outside of Dynasty Mode

When you get to the other modes, things aren’t as peachy. Road to Glory feels like an afterthought. It’s heavily menu-driven, which makes it pretty boring outside of some off-the-wall texts you’ll get from teammates. On the field, there aren’t any big differences outside of the camera angle. The one good thing is that careers have to end after four or five years, so you can quickly play through a new position in a handful of hours if you want to try a new position or school. 

Of course, EA wants Ultimate Team to be a big deal, but it doesn’t do much to differentiate itself from Madden’s version of the mode. For my money, Madden has the least engaging Ultimate Team mode in the sports world, and College Football is going to be an even easier skip because of the sheer number of players in the game. Sure, when they add Barry Sanders to the mode, I’ll be excited, but if a bunch of Alabama and Michigan players get high-rated cards, I’m not going to care as much as I do in the NFL. College football is deeply regional, and I think that makes Ultimate Team a slightly tougher sale, though it’ll likely still do gangbusters for EA. Ultimate Team always does.

It’s very difficult for me to wrap my thoughts about College Football 25 into one neat package for a review. On the one hand, I am having a blast playing Dynasty mode and am loving the customization and pageantry of collegiate sports. On the other, I can’t help but notice the Madden bugs in the system that we’ve been dealing with for at least five years, and I’m a little bummed that every other mode feels like the team ran out of time. At the end of the day, College Football is back, and the foundation EA has built is solid enough that I am very excited to see what the future holds. That’s about all I can ask for.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

EA Sports College Football 25 is available now on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. A PS5 review code was provided by Electronic Arts.