EA Sports’ sequel to last year’s groundbreaking college football game has been out for about a month now. Fans have been getting deep into their dynasties, but there are still fans out there wondering if the game is worth it this year. With ample time spent playing the game, here’s my review of EA’s latest College Football rendition.
Dynasty
Dynasty feels improved for the most part. I wasn’t a massive fan of some of the scouting last year, and while I think it has improved this year, it’s still not where it should be. The improvements, like every player having a dealbreaker, are very apparent throughout simulations. The addition of a CFB history section is a nice touch to the mode. Being able to track the champions throughout your dynasty is now a lot easier. It helps add to the player’s ability to tell their own stories while they play, so it’s great they added that into the mode.
Road To Glory
This mode feels ported straight over from 25. Yes, they add high school as an option, which is cool. However, the process of earning scholarships feels tedious as the main goal is to overcome challenges on a drive. Some of which don’t always make a ton of sense for the situation. I felt that needed to be tweaked, or allow the players to play the high school games in full. Once you’re in college, everything is the same as it was last year. Some new situations may come up, like a classmate asking if you want to go to a late-night party, but nothing crazy. They feel like slightly revised versions of what we got last year. Ultimately, Road To Glory is a solid game mode to kill time in, but it still needs a bit of work.
Dynamic Lighting
If you don’t know what dynamic lighting is, it just makes the lighting in-game more like real life. A game that starts at 3:30 in late November will be dark by the end. Shadows move throughout the game. One big thing I noticed was playing a 7 P.M. game in September, the game started with the sun out and shining bright, and ended in the dark. Later in November, I played another 7 P.M. game, and it began with the sun already long gone. I even noticed the lighting during a partly cloudy noon game. The sun would peek in and out behind the clouds throughout the game. Some drives would be shady, while others would be right in the sun. Little details like that helped keep the game refreshing.
Gameplay
Gameplay is one aspect many diehard fans wanted to see revised, and while this version addresses that, it also has some shortcomings. I thought the fluidity of the animations was better than last year’s. I have rarely seen the same animation twice, except for one, where the defender hits them from behind and the player falls to their knees dropping the ball. Take that animation out of the game.
Some others have been seeing the same animation repeatedly as well, specifically in Road to Glory, so it may just depend on the experience. Jump balls needed a lot of improvement, and they feel a lot more fun this year, specifically as the defender. Sometimes things don’t go your way. I gave up a touchdown with two defenders on one guy. The ball got tipped, and the receiver managed to grab it and score. It sucked, but I couldn’t help but laugh. It looked so real watching that sequence back, and that’s where this game improves.
In previous Madden titles and even somewhat in last year’s CFB 25, tip-ball plays like that would have looked disastrous; the game would never understand what animations to use and how. In this year’s CFB 26 game, those issues seem to have improved tremendously. Balls that come out as the QB is hit have a more realistic trajectory, fumbles bounce, and get recovered in believable ways. Overall, gameplay feels like an improved version of both Madden and CFB of 2025. Like any EA title, the game has its moments that are truly appalling in their unrealistic nature, but it feels improved compared to most titles.
Overall Score: 4 out of 5 stars
The game is a step up from last year, but it does still feel somewhat barebones compared to what players have received in the past. It is nice to see improvement from last year, but there’s still quite a bit of room to get better. One obvious flaw is that the game does not receive Madden’s new weather engine, which is a huge selling point for Madden this year. It’s evident that the feature will be in next year’s CFB title, so if that’s what you’re looking for, wait until then. Otherwise, if you’re an absolute football nut like me, the game is sure to be a good time.
Mason Wood is a Writer, Football Director, and Editor in Chief for Back Sports Page. Based in Gilbert, Arizona, Mason primarily focuses on football and motorsports content, while also covering other sports, including basketball, WWE, and Esports. He was a co-host of the BSP Motorsports podcast Coming to the Line. You can check out more articles by Mason Wood here!
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