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While EA Sports College Football 25 is likely to prove an enigma for anyone outside of America, the PS5 game is already well on its way to becoming one of 2024’s best-sellers in the USA. Its release ends a decade-long wait for a new licensed NCAA title, after a protracted legal dispute pertaining to the likenesses of players slammed the series in an ice bath. But with all of the paperwork filed and an extended development cycle behind it, does this long-awaited outing deliver – or drop the ball?

It’s absolutely not a Madden NFL clone, that’s for sure. This game has been built from the ground-up, with all-new mechanics and systems to set it apart from its big brother. That all starts with a frankly mind-blowing 134 teams, each presented with their own unique customs, traditions, and pageantry. Across those schools, you’ll find over 10,000 real-life players, each augmented with unique abilities to help reflect their personal playstyle.

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But perhaps most importantly of all, a wealth of different schemes and playbooks are included to test your football acumen. The college game, more so than the high-stakes professional league, is known for its creative offenses and big blowouts. You’ll find all of that to explore in an insanely deep Dynasty mode, which sees you assume the role of head coach (or coordinator) at your academic institution of choice. Lifting the coveted Heisman Trophy is your ultimate goal.

And you’ll do that through a heady mix of on-field action and spreadsheet exploration. Each season you’ll create a shortlist of prospects to track, and you’ll then need to spend points to scout and woo them. Players have personalities – some want to stay closer to home, others want to be starters straight away – and so you’ll need to determine how much energy you want to dedicate to get a player into your programme. Even the best laid plans occasionally crumble, and that’s part of the fun.

Making do with what you’ve got, or finding that final piece to push your team to the title, is among some of the most gratifying gameplay you can find in the genre. And that’s all before you step foot onto the field, where a new throwing mechanic requires you to be precise with your timing or run the risk of getting picked off with ease. There’s a level of difficulty to the experience that just doesn’t exist in other sports game, but that’s what makes it so satisfying when you succeed.

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We should mention that all of this is tied to a player health system which is as brutal as it is authentic. For example, if your star quarterback takes a shot to the shoulder, they may find their throwing power severely diminished. This will change your in-game strategy, as you look to find shorter throws to compensate – or alternatively lean on your running back, and try to pick gaps in an increasingly stodgy defence. You have much more flexibility to fine-tune your play at the line of scrimmage, which opens up a wealth of options.

This is anchored by some of the best sports game presentation you’ll find on the PS5: brass bands stomp around the field in the minutes before kick-off, mascots hype up onlookers from the sidelines, and a neat picture-in-picture playcalling screen expertly finds the right balance between form and function. The pageantry, as good as it is, can get a little tedious when you’re seeing some of the same scenes for the seventh time, but with so many teams included, that’s a small criticism overall.

That said, this isn’t a perfect package by any stretch. The Road to Glory mode, which sees you assume the role of a single player on the path to college football greatness, serves its purpose as an RPG-style campaign, but it lacks the context and storylines needed to make you feel truly connected to your player. You can choose your position, background, and abilities – but it doesn’t feel like a whole lot of love has gone into this mode, and it feels a little bit like it exists purely because it has to.

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The same is true of Ultimate Team, which seems understated and superfluous here. Structurally, it’s almost identical to Madden NFL, with a list of single player challenges to complete, multiplayer matches, and packs to purchase. But outside of the inclusion of some legends of the game, the appeal doesn’t feel the same without a constant procession of superstars to pull for. The mode is functionally fine, but we’re not sure why anyone would choose to play here with Dynasty fulfilling most team-building needs.

We should also mention that while there is the ability to customise the game to your tastes, you can’t actually edit players, presumably for legal reasons. There’s also no way to export your college contingent to Madden NFL 25, a feature that was supremely popular in previous NCAA titles, enabling some synergy between the two releases. We’re sure this will be added in subsequent sequels, but it’s not currently available as things stand now.

Conclusion

The ten-year wait for EA Sports College Football 25 has been worth it, with its all-encompassing Dynasty mode likely to prove an obsession for some football fans. Great gameplay paired with a deep spreadsheet simulator makes this one of the most fun and fresh sports games in eons, and it’s backed up by some stellar presentation, too. Ultimate Team feels superfluous, and Road to Glory could do with more time in the oven, but as far as comebacks go, this is one for the ages – even if it’s mere existence is likely to bemuse practically everyone outside of America.

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