A new Madden 24 Superstar Deep Dive dropped today, showcasing the returning Superstar mode. The Deep dive everything we need to know, including the Combine, Off and On Field Activities, and the brand new Superstar Showdown mode.
If interested, you can check out the video below:
The mode, which first appeared in Madden 06, allowed players to create their own NFL athlete. At first, Superstar mode felt like something else entirely, allowing players to edit their own parents, their apartments, and their career path. Over the years, EA kept removing features until finally removing it in Madden 25. As a result, Superstar mode fused with Career mode, turning into a much smaller, “Be A Player” option.
The series attempted to bring back the mode, re-dubbed as Face of The Franchise. This mode included a narrative story, similar in style to NBA 2K's MyCAREER mode. However, the mode did not catch the attention and praise it was seeking from fans.
So how does Superstar change things up? What can it do differently to stand out from its predecessors and become a succesful mode?
Superstar The League
Superstar The League, like Face Of The Franchise, is a narrative journey that follows your created player on their path to become a champion. In addition to team goals, your player is also set on joining the Madden 99 club.
Throughout the season, you receive different challenges and set milestones, each with reward your player with Superstar Rep. You can also accept brand endorsements and give your player specific celebrations and emotes.
The social media feature comes to Superstar mode, allowing you to check out all the new happenings in the league, as well as player/analyst reactions to your play. There's also multiple activities outside of the game:
- Brand Focus
- On-Field Drills
- Free Time
- Bonus Workout
- Extra Recovery
- Game Day
A nice new addition is implementing live-action podcasts, which can be watched through the social media hub. You'll be able to see Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder all react to your performances and decisions.
NFL Combine
Participate in position specific drills and mini-games to see how your player fares against the 2023 NFL draft prospects. Want to know if you can run faster than Anthony Richardson or Stetson Bennett? Here's your chance to find out. Completing them won't just help your draft value, but can also improve your player rating as well.
Some of the mini-game drills include:
- Broad Jump
- 20-Yard Shuttle
- Bench Press
- 40-Yard Dash
Additionally, a combine test will be conducted pre-draft to test your Football IQ. Your results may impact where you land on the draft board. After that, you enter the NFL draft.
Real-Time Player Grading & Superstar Showdown
On the field, you're graded throughout the entire match. It's similar to how the player-grading works in NBA 2K games, where the better you perform, the better your grade is. However, the worse you play, the worse your grade is. But getting good grades means your player gets more rewards and helps them reach that 99 overall faster.
After reaching certain rating thresholds, your player gets more access to tiered abilities that improve your performance on the field.
Off the field, you can improve your character via multiple side activities in the game. This includes Practice Drills, Community Events, Recovery methods (Extra Recovery), and Mini-Games.
Superstar Showdown
Showdown is a new way to compete with friends or others online with your Superstar avatar. This 3v3 football mode uses a new on-the-fly Playcall system allows you to call plays on the line of scrimmage.
Showdown offers Live Events, Rewards, and Real-Time Player Grading with customized tracking for on field mechanics, and analyst opportunities
Honest Reaction To Madden 24 Superstar Mode
We've noted before many of the areas Madden 24 seems lacking in, including relocation and overall gameplay. However, we do believe Superstar doesn't look bad on the surface.
The problem we're concerned about is how repetitive the mode may get, and how much more there is in terms of presentation. Madden's Face Of The Franchise mode basically felt like Madden's regular Franchise mode but with a few cutscenes. Superstar addresses this, but at what point do Mini-Games and Community events get boring?
We will say that we do like the Live-Action Superstar show, which does feel reminiscent of Madden 10's Extra Point Show. What would be nice is pre, or post-game interviews, and maybe more narrative events to keep the story rich.
For example, it would be cool to have your player be a guest on the New Heights Podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce. Or maybe you make an appearance on Good Morning Football, or some other ESPN/NFL program.
While we do appreciate the new additions in Superstar, we also believe there is room for so much more. Overall, we think this is one of the better looking aspects of Madden 24.
Madden 24 Release Date
And that's everything new with Madden 24's Superstar mode.
Earlier this week, the developers released a deep dive on the new changes to Madden Ultimate Team.
Madden NFL 24 releases on August 18th, 2023. It comes out for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via EA App, Steam, and Epic Games Store.
For more gaming and NFL news, visit ClutchPoints.