REVIEW: Madden NFL 26 brings NFL Football back on Nintendo, but there’s a catch…

In a situation eerily similar to when licensed MLB games made a triumphant return to Nintendo systems after a decade away with MLB The Show in 2022, there hasn’t been an NFL game on a Nintendo console since Madden NFL 13 for the Wii U in 2012. That streak has now been broken with the release of Madden NFL 26 on the Nintendo Switch 2.

Personally, I’m a huge NFL fan (particularly of the Seattle Seahawks, as I also write for SB Nation’s Field Gulls) and even had the opportunity to cover the 2025 NFL Draft as credentialed media. I used to play Madden every year but haven’t purchased one since 2009. This release marks a return to the franchise for me as much as it does for Nintendo. To say I was excited to dig into Madden NFL 26 would be an understatement.

Unfortunately, I’m left disappointed. This release feels half-baked. I haven’t played Madden NFL 26 on other systems, but from what I understand, the core gameplay and features on Switch 2 are on par with those versions. In fact, there are so many options now that it can feel overwhelming compared to the simpler experience I remember from about 15 years ago.

Superstar Mode still can’t be played offline and requires an EA account. This has been the case for years, and it remains a very unpopular decision. As such, I didn’t test that mode for this review.

Franchise Mode existed back when I last played, but it’s far deeper today. Not only can you control roster decisions and train between games, but you can also take a more active role as head coach. This includes making calls such as whether to have padded or unpadded practices, balancing player development with the wear and tear on their bodies. All of this is optional, which means you can be as hands-on or hands-off as you want. That flexibility carries over to the games themselves. You can play every snap or just the key “moments.” In the latter, the game simulates until a big situation arises. For example, the opponent might go for it on fourth down, and then you take control to impact the outcome. It’s a fun way to get through a game quickly while still feeling involved.

Unfortunately, that sense of control disappears once you’re actually on the field. Madden NFL 26 just doesn’t feel good to play. I’m not usually bothered by inconsistent frame rates, since I grew up with the N64 after all, but the gameplay here feels sluggish. Players often react too slowly, and that delay can completely change the outcome of a play. More than once, I switched to the nearest defender to make a tackle, only for the ballcarrier to slip by untouched while my player whiffed at thin air. It’s frustrating and doesn’t capture the fast, frenzied energy of real NFL action.

Then there are the janky moments. Pre-game intro videos regularly stutter. Sometimes the audio cuts out, and once the camera stayed locked on the referee instead of showing the halftime video. In another bizarre moment, my team was stopped on the goal line, yet the announcers talked about how it was “almost a safety.” For reference, a safety would’ve been 99 yards away in the opposite direction.

Animations can also look unnatural. At one point, a standing player’s legs went straight through a teammate lying on the ground, as if he’d stomped through his body. That’s not exactly the realism EA touts.

There are weird animations and motion capture that doesn’t make it look like a real person playing football. Did you ever see a player standing through one of his teammates that was laying on the ground like he stomped all the way through his body? I hadn’t until I played Madden NFL 26.

I hate to sound like the stereotypical “back in my day” fan, but the Madden games of the mid-2000s were top-tier football experiences. They were fast, fluid, and realistic enough to feel like NFL football without sacrificing fun. Now, it feels like the pendulum has swung too far toward hyper-realistic simulation by default, which takes away some of that enjoyment. Yes, you can tweak settings to get closer to the old feel, but the underlying clunkiness remains. I don’t believe the Switch 2 hardware is to blame.

Sadly, EA Sports has NFL fans by the (foot)balls. Madden’s long absence from Nintendo means this release will be closely watched to determine whether future installments or even the newly revived college football series will come to Switch 2. If sales are weak, EA will likely walk away. This version already feels like a half-hearted effort. They might patch performance issues, but that shouldn’t have been necessary in the first place. If sales end up disappointing, EA could easily point to those numbers as an excuse not to return.

As it stands, there’s some fun here for diehard NFL fans who can overlook sluggish controls, especially if the Switch 2 is your only option. But it shouldn’t be this way. Shame on EA for failing to bring the Nintendo version up to the same standard as the others. For now, I’ll stick with Madden NFL 05 on the GameCube and remember when things were done right.