EA Sports College Football 25 has been a long time coming – more than 11 years or so. The walkouts and excitement of the team coupled with the cheerleaders, mascots and rabid crowd, are undeniably infectious and brought to life with exceptional details. It’s more than just a visual feast – even the animations look fluid, whether you’re shotgunning a pass, faking a handoff to your running back or watching players tumble in a pile after successive tackles. You’ll bask in the sometimes-repetitive stadium music and witness your screen shaking with the crowd (with a helpful meter denoting their enthusiasm, as it markedly increases when the tides turn).

"If you’ve played a Career mode in titles like Madden or even UFC 5, much of this will look familiar, down to the Practice sessions."

There are doubtless issues, and College Football 25 has some discrepancies compared to other EA Sports titles (even those not named Madden). Nevertheless, it’s a successful comeback effort that hopefully lays the groundwork for further improvements.

The key modes are Road to Glory, Dynasty, College Ultimate Team and Road to the College Football Playoff (essentially online ranked play). I started in Road to Glory, crafting a star quarterback for a prestigious team, specifically Boston. There are several Archetypes depending on your preferred playstyle – go for Field General, and you’ll receive physical abilities like resistance from the pocket and boosts to play actions and trick plays.

The character creation is fairly robust, with numerous face templates and categories to adjust, and from there, you select a mental ability. Clearheaded meant losing less composure, useful for scenarios like playing an opponent with Homefield Advantage, but it required leaning into a leadership role.

Between matches, one has limited resources to spend on Leadership, Academics – a must if you don’t want to annoy the teachers – Brand, Health and Training (which influences your XP and Skill Points). If you’ve played a Career mode in titles like Madden or even UFC 5, much of this will look familiar, down to the Practice sessions.

The twist is managing elements like your GPA, which can buff the amount of Coach Trust earned weekly, and staying on good terms with the team. Give humble answers to interviewers, and their faith in your leadership rises. You also have coordinators presenting different goals to achieve in games or even deals for smaller businesses (which may not pay but can provide benefits that buff leadership).

"The fact that you can only choose from three plays in challenges is also questionable. Maybe you’ll find one that facilitates the actual task, and maybe you won’t, necessitating a reload."

There are some areas for improvement, however. I wasn’t big on the writing in UFC 5’s Career Mode, but the cutscenes with Coach Davis and other fighters sold the experience of an amateur-turned-pro-MMA-fighter. College Football 25 doesn’t have that – Coach Trust is more of a number that can provide some leeway for bad decisions during games while opening up more plays rather than an organic relationship. It’s not the worst omission, but some interaction beyond just choosing replies or assigning points would make it feel more like a college journey.

The Practice sessions, consisting of various mini-games and training scenarios, could also serve to be less punishing. When you’re hopping in and trying to get acquainted with completing different goals, it can be a bust when every little mistake knocks down your score. There are some genuinely intriguing mini-games, whether it’s nailing passes and throws onto moving targets corresponding to your receivers or dealing with double-defense scenarios. One tweak would ensure that I go from simulating practice each week to hopping in and trying to improve.

Speaking of improvements, tutorials are structured oddly throughout College Football 25. You can hop straight into training and practice a few scenarios like field goal kicking and offense. However, training certain elements like running, touch passes, etc. must be done in College Ultimate Team via challenges. Once you get through the sheer tediousness of opening card packs, claiming coins and whatnot, there are various aspects to train, which can help ease you into the game.

The fact that you can only choose from three plays in challenges is also questionable. Maybe you’ll find one that facilitates the actual task, and maybe you won’t, necessitating a reload. I would have appreciated more straightforward exercises that delve into the nitty gritty of different tactics rather than having to learn on the fly while playing (not that the latter didn’t have its appeal).

"Though I have a fair number of nitpicks with the various systems of College Football 25, the production values and gameplay carry much of the weight."

The rest of Ultimate Team is as you’d expect – build up your team, play through seasons, advance through the pass, earn coins, open packs, etc. The historical challenges might be something I’d delve into further, but otherwise, it’s not something that grabs me. Given the popularity of the mode in Madden, your mileage will vary.

That same limited play system crops up during Rise to Glory, and though it’s somewhat understandable that a coach wouldn’t let their players call the shots, a slight change could make it more palatable. Instead of hitting Triangle on the DualSense (Y on Xbox Series X/S) and receiving two other choices suggested by the coach, which may not even be that great, there should be three random default suggestions coupled with a limited number of picks for others that increase with more trust.

It would feed into the whole trust dynamic and provide more agency, though it can have its problems, like players maxing out their trust to ensure access to the best plays at all times. Nevertheless, the current system feels too restrictive and RNG-focused, much as I’m open to experimenting and making the best out of available options.

As for Dynasty, it follows the same tenets of Rise to Glory, except you’re a coach. That means scouting and signing players, analyzing the benefits that your school can provide them, and making commitments to ensure they sign (and stay happy). Once again, there are different archetypes, and you could also opt for the role of Offensive or Defensive Coordinator for more focused jobs.

The fun of carrying your squad, regardless if they’re underdogs or the Elite, is hard to deny. Fighting neck to neck with other teams to climb the rankings, especially when optimizing your abilities to benefit best from their progress, and managing coordinators can make for high drama, especially when managing pressure from the higher-ups. It makes wins and losses matter more next to Rise to Glory simply by having more responsibility and stress.

"The solid gameplay foundation, excellent visuals and performance, stellar presentation and attention to detail make it an engaging experience, warts and all."

Though I have a fair number of nitpicks with the various systems of College Football 25, the production values and gameplay carry much of the weight. Commentators like Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and others add to the authenticity, while replays and highlights reinforce the TV-style presentation. The new Wear and Tear system made me think carefully about my players’ health, both for the game and the long term.

The sheer number of included players and teams alongside uniforms, mascots, and whatnot makes me somewhat more forgiving of incorrect branding and logos (which the development team is committed to fixing). And whether it’s on offense, selecting the plays that could gain the most ground versus high-risk, high-reward moves to score, or defense, where every tackle and interception feels significant, the gameplay is addictive. Defense could perhaps use a bit of shoring up, but it personally wasn’t insurmountable.

As a well-rounded package, where each component sings individually, EA Sports College Football 25 may not appeal to all long-time fans. However, the solid gameplay foundation, excellent visuals and performance, stellar presentation and attention to detail make it an engaging experience, warts and all. I may not have mastered every aspect of the game throughout my time with it, but it reminded me of the passion that the sport could offer at this level.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.