But while it’s a functional way to experience football, it’s also charmless and frequently strange – the video game equivalent of navigating a concrete concourse under a dirty teflon roof.Īfter planting its flag last year with “Next-Gen Stats” – a system that uses on-field cameras to produce more refined if not always noticeable improvements to the animation – Madden NFL 22 takes the same slow and steady approach that has characterized the pace of improvements to the franchise over the past decade. This year’s version seeks to capture the earsplitting crowd noise that was once the Metrodome’s calling card with new homefield mechanics, and it succeeds… sort of. The Dome is long gone, but its spirit lives on in Madden NFL 22 – though not necessarily in the way EA intends. The most memorable Minnesota Vikings game I ever attended was when I stood on the sideline and watched Daunte Culpepper dive in for the game-winning touchdown from 20 feet away an exciting capper to an afternoon spent squinting up at the Metrodome’s tiny jumbotron trying to see what was happening.

Madden 22