Madden 22: Latest Expert Review Scores, Metacritic Rating and Impressions

Mark LoMoglio/Associated Press

It pays to preorder, and for those who did so for either the MVP or Dynasty Edition of Madden NFL 22, you've likely already dove into this year's game. 

While Madden 22 doesn't release until Friday, those who preordered one of those two special editions of the game could start playing as soon as midnight ET arrived late Monday night/early Tuesday morning. So that means Madden season is here once again.

This is the first edition to be made available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. And EA Sports made sure to include some notable upgrades and improvements as Madden entered a new era.

For those who are still playing on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, you weren't ignored, either. Many of the changes to Madden this year were included for both generations of consoles. Sure, the game will look better on PS5 and Xbox Series X, but that's to be expected.

So, how does this year's edition of Madden compare to recent versions of the game? Were the upgrades substantial enough for noticeable improvement?

There aren't many reviews of the game out yet, considering Madden 22 hasn't been available to play for long. But opinions are starting to trickle out from reviewers as they get more time on the virtual gridiron.

✨ Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content

Anthony J. Nash of Windows Central gave Madden 22 4 out 5 stars, and he had generally positive things to say about this year's game.

"Madden NFL 22 injects some much-needed improvements into a series that was dangerously close to growing stale," Nash wrote. "Coupled with some big changes to core modes, Madden NFL 22 elevates itself into one of the best from the long-running series."

Nash said that some of the notable positives were the gameplay, broadcast and commentary. And he added the improvements to franchise mode "feel great," which is something that gamers have clamored for in recent years.

Madden 22 continued its overhaul of franchise mode, introducing a new hub, the reintroduction of staff management (along with skill points and talent trees) and better ways to game plan. There will also be a new scouting system introduced to the game via an update, which EA Sports said it hopes will come in September.

Mark Delaney of GamesRadar+ isn't giving Madden 22 a score until Friday, but he also published a review of the game and noted that "as a whole, Madden 22 is an inconsistent game, but franchise is, at long last, the priority."

But Delaney also had some slight critiques of the mode. He shares that the story cutscenes "don't add much and sometimes don't make sense," while the new stamina system has some issues that will likely need to be worked out via a patch.

However, Delaney still believes the franchise mode in Madden 22 is "the best it's been in years."

Because the game hasn't been fully released, there are still some glitches and bugs that EA Sports will have to work out this week. As Brian Shea of Game Informer noted, Face of the Franchise mode is "quite frankly, an unfinished mess at this juncture." But that's likely to improve with a game update.

All in all, the early reviews for Madden 22 seem to be mostly positive and indicate that this edition of the game is a step up from last year's version.