College football is one of the most popular sports in the United States. There’s just nothing like it, from the game day experience to the Saturdays spent watching games from morning til midnight. As an avid fan of the sport, I count down the weeks each offseason as we head closer to the return of America’s most entertaining sport. For years, I filled that wait during the offseason with dozens of hours of NCAA Football, the hit video game from EA based on the sport. That all came crashing down after NCAA Football 14 when EA was met with a lawsuit regarding player name, image, and likeness (NIL).
After the release of NCAA Football 14, college football video games essentially disappeared from the market. Demand was through the roof; I still remember selling my copy years later for $150. With the NCAA’s 2021 decision to allow players to make money off name, image, and likeness, EA wasted no time in jumping to develop a brand-new college football title.
After three years of anticipation, College Football 25 has arrived. With an almost unthinkable amount of expectations and excitement from players, it felt impossible for the game to live up to the dreams of those who waited a decade for a new college football game. I’ve spent dozens of hours inside the game over the last week, and I’m happy to report that the game is as fun as I’d hoped – for the most part, that is.
A Dynasty Reborn
Let’s start with what matters most – gameplay. The gameplay is a blast, with the key feature being each team has its own unique playbook. For the most part, the EA team has done a great job at emulating plays you’d expect teams like Oregon, Navy, or Georgia to call, but there are certainly a few questionable playbooks thrown together for teams with a new offensive coordinator or head coach. Nonetheless, you’re guaranteed to have a different experience with each team, which makes working through all 134 all the more exciting.
There are a few positions that certainly need tweaks, like the offensive line, as it feels as if the lines can be non-existent in the game sometimes. I found myself running for my life as a non-mobile QB after just a second or two, as the OL had collapsed the pocket. Some positions, though, like running back, have never felt better. EA has retooled the passing game with a new mode called Revamped Passing, which offers a much less intensive experience than prior passing modes. This was a major highlight of the game coming into release, but I’m surprised the team didn’t touch on running mechanics. Bolting through the field has never felt better, with a surprising amount of fluidity as you spin or juke away from competitors.
On the defensive side, it’s more challenging than ever to play good defense. I found tackling to be much harder than in prior entries, which opened a whole new challenge as I had to constantly face new playbooks. With 134 unique combinations, you need to be able to read the offense and call an audible as needed. That said, certain positions are of course much easier to pick up than others. One of the major new additions to College Football 25 is the Wear & Tear system. This new system completely overhauls player injuries, dealing damage every single hit as players collide on the field. As players continue to play and be tackled, stamina, skills, and performance can decrease, which can lead to a higher risk of injury if you’re not careful.
You have five main modes to choose from when you boot up College Football 25 for the first time: Dynasty, Road to Glory, Ultimate Team, Road to the College Football Playoff, and Quickplay. Following in the footsteps of the prior entries, Dynasty mode is where the true meat and heart of CFB25 live.
Dynasty is back and bigger than ever. Now, up to 32 users can join and participate in a Dynasty run, with up to 30 seasons available to play. You can choose to run the mode offline or online, with the commissioner responsible for setting up how the league works, including rosters, conferences, schedules, and more. Recruiting has been massively overhauled, and it’s a ton of fun. You can text players, schedule visits, and plenty more. You only have a certain number of hours that you can expend, which makes recruiting seem like a giant puzzle as you attempt to battle it out for the coveted five-star players.
This mode can almost feel like a recruiting simulator at times, but it’s well worth it once you’re on the field. Three different coach archetypes are available once again in the form of Motivator, Recruiter, and Tactician. In my testing, I did not notice any significant differences that stood out to me for the most part, as I still pulled in most of the players I was aiming to take for my roster. There is so much to explore with the Dynasty mode, as it is massive in scope, and I expect most players will begin here to experience the unique offerings that only college football can provide.
The biggest letdown of Dynasty comes with no ability to edit or add/remove players. I’m almost certain this is due to the NIL clause and payments sent to each player, so it’s an understandable omission. However, I would love to see EA add the ability to import or create custom players, as that would not interfere with any NIL regulations.
The other main mode, Road to Glory, allows you to jump into the shoes of a player starting out their college career. Five positions are available to choose from, with QB, RB, WR, CB, and MLB available. Immediately after starting Road to Glory, it’s clear that a major draw of the mode in prior NCAA titles, high school games, is missing. This was extremely disappointing, as these often were the highlights of the mode – you would put on a show and work your way up the recruiting ladder. EA has now allowed you to choose your star potential from two to five stars.
Hilariously, some of the elements here almost feel like they belong in a RPG. You choose how to spend your time each week and build up one of five stats – Academics, Leadership, Health, Training, and Brand. You have to stay on top of each of these to keep your GPA up, keep your player healthy, and keep your brand presence known. These can be crucial when building up your player’s profile, especially if you want to transfer to a different school. I started out as a 3-star QB at Kennesaw State University and eventually was the most coveted transfer portal player in the country. That all sounds great, right? It most certainly is until playing games is involved.
It’s mind-boggling that this mode only relies on coach play calling. It’s such a blast to play, but I continue to wish I could call plays myself or at least call an audible. I cannot do anything but accept defeat when I am dealt the cards of RPO, Reverse, and Run on a third and long. Understandably, the mode is likely built around the reality that this is college athletics, but I do feel that the ability to audible out or scroll the playbook would make this mode at least twice as fun as it is currently.
No Huddle Needed
Now, let’s talk presentation. I am absolutely blown away at the level of detail EA has managed to recreate in this game. Recreating 134 stadiums, teams, crowds, and everything that comes alongside it is a monumental task, but College Football 25 delivers with ease. Each and every team walks out with their pre-game traditions. The Oklahoma Sooners slap the team’s Play Like A Champion Today! sign that Bud Wilkinson famously put above the locker room door. The Tennessee Volunteers run straight through the T to open the game as they have for decades. Even the Florida State Seminoles run out with Osceola as the War Chant plays.
This is only the beginning, though. You’ll notice that as each game progresses, the fans will shout chants that are used at the actual games. Whether it’s a third-down chant or kickoff saying, EA has added it here to provide the most authentic experience possible. Each college’s marching band plays the fight song and other tunes throughout the game, with the stadiums broadcasting certain tracks over the speakers as well.
With 134 teams, there are naturally 134 environments in which to play. This is by far the biggest draw of the game, as almost every single visit is a different experience. One of the new ways that EA has heightened each environment is with Stadium Pulse, a meter that revs up in some of the hardest places to play in college football. Players might run wrong routes, or the play-art lines might become unreadable and jagged. The stakes have never been higher, and playing on the road feels like a legitimate challenge.
The game itself is gorgeous, too. Stadiums have been recreated perfectly for the most part, with dynamic fans jumping up and down with every play. It feels alive, and scoring a touchdown is a cause for celebration. Speaking of, there are dozens of celebrations to choose from in the game, all of which are chosen with the right stick. These provide an extra level of fun as you point for that first down or ‘go to sleep’ after running in for a score. Truthfully, the attention to detail is incredible and by far places College Football 25 in its own league for the sports game world.
The Shortcomings Are Apparent
Not everything here is perfect, though. Throughout my time with the game, I experienced a few scenes with frame drops that were quite noticeable. These mainly occurred in bigger stadiums, like Ohio Stadium or Bryant-Denny Stadium, but it was noticeable in these big games. Alongside this, Tiburon has made some bizarre errors throughout the game, such as misusing logos or claiming OU lost to Texas in 2023. I even had an entire team celebrate from thin air in the end zone and teleport 20 feet into the sky. A lot of these gripes are bugs, and I do expect them to be fixed once the first wave of patches rolls out. The same can not be said for the in-game UI design, which is in need of a serious overhaul.
The game itself features gorgeous UI elements – that is, until you enter gameplay. Here, I found myself occasionally having to double-press buttons to register inputs, squinting to see tiny UI elements on players across the screen, and scratching my head, attempting to figure out what each little thing meant. The biggest culprit of this is easily the Stamina UI placed on top of defensive linemen. Tiny blue dots appear over each player’s head, and it’s incredibly challenging to view and keep up with.
The Wear & Tear system indicators, in addition to the player attributes placed beneath their feat, are also culprits in this. Both need to be more obvious, whether that be through a boxed UI or outlined objects. Even on a 75″ 4K TV, I still had trouble looking for UI at times. Overall, the UI and font are tiny and only cause a headache as you attempt to keep up with everything else happening on your screen.
As for the modes included in the game, some, especially Road to Glory, feel insultingly bare at times. You can only choose from a few play options here, as aforementioned, and it truly takes away from the immersion that the game has tried to offer. I’m very hopeful that the Tiburon team can address this through updates, as I think most of the community will agree that there is work to be done in Road for Glory.
Speaking of modes, I’m sort of sad that Mascot Mashup isn’t present in the game. While it’s essentially just a re-skinned quickplay, the mode always offered a fun time you can’t replicate in real college football, which made it special. Additionally, I would have loved to see a strict offline mode where you can simulate seasons with current teams. While this is possible in Dynasty, you must go through the Dynasty mode recruiting and other features to play. I’d like to see EA add a “Regular Season” mode or something of the sort, allowing anyone to jump in and kick off a season with any team – no strings attached. Road to the College Football Playoff is fun and all, but it is strictly online.
There are also some smaller omissions that are nowhere to be found but were present in NCAA 14. I have yet to see anyone discuss missing things like the Dynasty Trophy Case or Weather features that are not available here. While these are nowhere near necessary additions, the extra detail was nice to see and offered more incentives to play through Dynasty mode.
College Football Is (Mostly) Back
Most of the time, College Football 25 is the best sports game I’ve played in years. It’s packed with an undeniable amount of passion, attention to detail, and nostalgia, creating a great college football experience you can play in your home. The incorporations of newer CFB ideals like NIL and the NCAA Transfer Portal have been masterfully implemented, emulating what a modern college football experience for athletes looks like.
EA had an unbelievable amount of expectations to meet, and it’s safe to say that most have passed with flying colors. It’s not perfect by any means, but it provides an authentic college gameplay experience that’s vastly different from its Madden counterpart. Every other sports title out there should be racing to offer anywhere near the quality of presentation found here. I continue to be impressed each time I open the game and travel to a stadium I’ve visited, only to see the walk-out traditions, chants, and music perfectly recreated. There’s nothing like college football, and the fact EA has managed to capture that is incredible.
While there is still a desire for more content (and bug fixes), I’m satisfied with the current offerings. Dynasty and Road to the CFP will keep me busy for the remaining weeks as we inch closer to the beloved sport returning in August. Everything that I’ve mentioned in this review is completely fixable, and I do hope EA takes feedback seriously. College Football 25 acts as a great platform for the series moving forward, and I look forward to watching how EA and the team at Tiburon will innovate with each annual release. It’s nowhere near perfect, but it’s a ton of fun.
Disclaimer: EA provided Final Weapon with a PlayStation 5 copy of EA Sports College Football 25 for review purposes.
