EA’s “Most Polished” Driving me crazy in years continues to be a bumpy road. madden 23 received his massive October title update on Thursday and with it many welcome changes to the underlying gameplay. But despite a variety of bug fixes, a lot of fans I still feel like EA wasn’t honest about the current overwhelming state of the game and what they see as prioritizing microtransaction gambling over ensuring regular modes are glitch-free.
“Maybe saved today madden 23” Driving me crazy YouTuber Zirktober tweeted yesterday shortly after the October patch notes were posted online. By the end of the day, players had spotted a big mistake. Upgrading one of the game’s Most Feared Monsters players would automatically ban players from Madden Ultimate Team, the game’s heavily monetized online competitive mode.
“Do not update Most Feared Monster Maker players as this may ban your Ultimate Team account.” This was announced by EA this evening. “We’re currently working on fixing this issue and unlocking all affected players.” A few hours later, the bug was fixed and players were able to use the upgrades again without fear of being banned, despite EA having identified the exact cause of the issue still seemed unclear. “We have disabled the chemistry options for Monster Makers for the time being as we are investigating an issue.” it tweeted.
While the hiatus was ultimately temporary, it was still a perfect summary of the rollercoaster ride fans have experienced since madden 23 already started in August. Initial reviews were mostly positive, followed by a harsher assessment from some players. including a few NFL pros. Content creators rallied around a brief “pack strike” to protest the high price tag and poor odds of squeezing great players out of Madden Ultimate Team map packs. At the beginning of October, some wondered whether madden 23 could yet be saved, or if it could end up being remembered as one of the worst iterations of the annualized moneymaker in several years.
First the good news. madden 23‘s October title update addresses some core complaints of the last few weeks. A recalibrated slider appears to address the insane number of superhuman intercepts players have previously witnessed. A connection issue that was causing a lot of lost progress in Franchise mode has also apparently been fixed. CPU teams should no longer randomly end negotiations with players. Some players got new facial scans. And there was plenty of teak for blocking, catching, and other basic gameplay mechanics.
“While not every issue has been fixed today, more fixes will follow in future updates as we continue to actively work to provide you with the best possible experience. We value and value your feedback,” EA wrote. “Our team consistently takes this into account and works throughout the season to provide updates.”
But the story with Driving me crazy is never as easy as total disaster or complete redemption. The title update also claimed to add the Jets’ new alternate black helmets, but several players got it glittery white versions instead of this. The franchise mode is also still mixed. While some players report finally being able to make progress in their season, having previously encountered a wall of crashes and disconnects, others are still encountering the dreaded Draft loop bug this sends them back to the start of a season when they finish a game.
Another particular sore point remains madden 23‘s field goesa battle pass system similar to the free-to-play game Apex Legends just added this year. Its three tiers – Season, Competitive, and Fear – have been causing problems for players since launch. Even now, you do not always track player stats correctly, meaning players are not rewarded for completing an objective when they should be. As YouTuber This is a popular stranger points out that opening a pass can be a chore, as some players are still inundated with error messages when attempting to access it. And then there are the missing rewards.
some players did not receive rewards for House Rules matches, while others received no trophy packs for winning Super Bowls throughout the season. Coins that could be used to buy packs without spending real money were also lost. EA confirmed the issues late last month, but players are still waiting to hear how they’re being addressed. Meanwhile Solo Battles, a main objective for collecting other rewards, were broken for a week, so that many players miss the game. It’s a big problem for a game where the only alternative is to shell out money for random decks.
“I wonder if EA just doesn’t realize what a HUGE problem broken rewards are.” Driving me crazy Streamer Kmac tweeted earlier this week. “It’s been THREE WEEKS now and they’re just dropping new promos like nothing’s wrong. There is no incentive to play Driving me crazy. Nobody can afford new cards to fall.”
It’s the stinginess of card packs – the backbone of Driving me crazy‘s most popular online mode – coupled with the lack of recognition of ongoing bugs and lost rewards that continues to fuel community discontent.
“A lot of people asked, ‘Is the pack strike over?’ “The content is really good, it felt like this morning would be better” – that’s absolutely not the case [over]said Popular Stranger during his latest title update video. “The bundles look better, but we don’t buy them. I hope you’re not doing so well.”
A player passing iowaopol on Twitter has been following pack and stat reroll opportunities since launch and continues to believe they are some of them worst in years. And that’s despite the fact that the map packs themselves have brought in billions for EA in the past. It was one of the few publishers that continued to make big profits this year while rivals like Ubisoft and Activision struggled, mostly on the backs of Microtransactions in series like Driving me crazy.
“The main theme of madden 23 The stuff keeps coming out broken and super expensive and it takes days or even weeks to fix the stuff in any way for players to get rewards for getting the items or even play the game to get it for something matters in progress. Twitch content creators Rob Lopez tells my box. In the meantime, madden 23 just went on sale. Less than two months after release, it’s $20 off.
