EA Sports College Football 25 Review

Developer: EA Orlando

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Release date: July 19, 2024

Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S (reviewed on the S)

It’s been nearly a decade since college football last made an appearance on consoles, but thanks to developer EA Orlando that changes now with the release of College Football 25. With 134 teams to choose from, fans can easily find their favorite to play as, be it in the online modes or creating their own dynasty offline. The sights and sounds are well recreated here, making it feel like watching a college game. Familiar fight songs play with every touchdown, fans are shown reacting to plays, and the stadium rocks when the home team squares off against the opposition. It’s not a perfect return, but EA Orlando delivers a solid effort for football fans eager to play something else beyond the yearly Madden release.

There are a nice amount of modes for players to jump into, both online and off. Career modes, which can be played offline as single player, include both Dynasty (play as a head coach or an offensive/defensive coordinator) and Road to Glory (create your own player). Online modes include Ultimate Team and Road to the CFP (lead team to playoffs). You can also play a quick game, either solo or against a friend, and there are Training modes to help hone your abilities. The Team Builder mode, where you can create your own team down to rosters, logos, and stadiums, is curiously not in the actual game. To access the mode you need to go online to the web site and create your team there, which then needs to be downloaded to the game on console. It seems an odd choice, but the mode was added just in time for the main launch. All modes can be modified with a nice amount of sliders and settings, giving players the option to play as a challenging sim or simply dominate opposing teams. Servers have been spotty at launch, so that can limit online play.

Let’s get the oddity out of the way. Fans have expressed that Team Builder was one of the most desired modes to be brought back in this new itteration of College Football. The idea of creating one’s own team, complete with logos, uniforms, rosters, and the stadium is a highly appealing one. For the most part, the mode works decently. I created my team, the Northampton Kaijus, using a dragon type logo and basing my stadium on Michigan’s Big House. And while it was neat to play as that team in the Play Now mode, I couldn’t use it in the single player Dynasty mode. This seemed odd, as why limit players creations to just the online mode? Also a bit irritating is that the mode can’t be accessed within the game itself. Instead, you need to go to the website ( https://www.ea.com/games/ea-sports-college-football/team-builder/landing ) to create your team and then submit it to be downloaded onto your console of choice. This makes things a bit clumsy and adds an unnecessary step, especially since any editing of your creation will need to be done on the website, saved there, and resubmitted for download to your console. With the servers being spotty at launch, this can really be aggravating. I applaud the mode’s inclusion, but it’s implementation leaves something to be desired. Hopefully a future patch will correct this. The mode was added in after the Deluxe edition with early access was launched, so that may be part of why it was done this way. Also, you will need a laptop or a desk based PC to use the website, as it’s not accessible on a smart phone (at least not at the time of this writing).

I spent a majority of my time in the Dynasty Mode, taking over as head coach to the Michigan Wolverines. It was up to me to approach recruits, offer scolarships, and conduct practices as well as win games. The mode is a lot of fun, and you can adjust settings and sliders to give you the desired experience with your challenge of choice. The presentation of the games is excellent, though some of the onscreen UI may feel intrusive to some players at times. Visually, the game looks great (though some things are still being tweaked by EA Orlando), and it runs smoothly on the Xbox Series S. Controls are pretty intuitive for those who have played football games like Madden, though there is no real tutorial for complete newbies. Stadiums rock for the home teams, as evidenced by a meter in the upper right of your screen, giving the home team a little extra oomph and possibly rattling the opposition. Fan reactions are shown throughout the game, and they react appropriately to the plays. A good play will have fans cheering, while a bad play will have them shaking their heads. It makes for a nice little extra in the game’s presentation, and hearing your chosen team’s victory song is always a joy. The stadiums are for the most part faithfully recreated, as are player likenesses, outside of some exceptions (these exceptions are being addressed by EA, and will likely be rectified with future patches).

Dynasty Mode can also be played online. It’s here you can use your created team from the Team Builder. Other online modes let you play a friend in a single game, Ultimate Team, and Road to the CFP. Ultimate Team has you build your dream squad and is card based. You play challenges, either solo or with a friend, to gain coins which can be used to buy packs to build your team. Once your team is built, you can play against other players online for more rewards. Road to the CFP has you lead your team to the playoffs by winning games against other players. With servers being a bit spotty I haven’t played much of the online modes (and, admittedly, I’m more of an offline player and rarely play online), but for those who enjoy being competitive the modes are there. Ultimate Team can suck you in with its cycle of playing-coins-packs, but microtransactions make their appearance mostly with this mode for those who want to get packs as fast as possible.

Road to Glory lets you choose from various positions, and you need to balance your academics with your practices and games. Starting out, your choice of plays is limited. As you do well and gain more confidence from your coach more plays open up. The player creator is decent, though not very deep. It can make for a fun diversion as you build your player up. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s satisfying to play.

In all, College Football 25 is a nice return for a long absent series. Servers are an issue at the moment, as player demand seems to be taxing them, but this is likely to be resolved in the long run. It’s not perfect, and there is the odd choice of not having the Team Builder mode within the game and that you can’t use your created team in the single player Dynasty, but overall that’s a minor quibble compared with the rest of the game. Even for solo players like myself, if you’re a fan of college football, this is an easy purchase to recommend. It’s fun to play, and the experience can be tailored to all skill levels. It good to have it back, and it makes a nice compliment to the yearly edition of Madden.

8.5/10 stars