Madden 24 Preview – How SAPIEN feels like a next-gen leap in realism

thesixthaxis.com:

Madden is back, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The series stands as one of EA’s key pillars in its sport’s portfolio –alongside FIFA it probably pays for a lot of the company’s other endeavours – and as we prepare for the real-life return of Mahomes, Allen and friends, we also prepare for another season of the storied sports game series. After our early hands-on, Madden 24 is shaping up to be a clear and confident upgrade over its predecessor, and one which has been built by listening to the fans.

Skeletons. You wouldn’t think they’d be the most exciting change to Madden 24, or one that’s all that impactful, but when you put last year’s release next to this one, the differences are shockingly clear. So much so, you have to ask yourself how you’ve lived with the slightly inhuman way that player models in the older Madden games had joints that fold unnaturally and characters that couldn’t actually stand truly upright. The technology that EA has branded SAPIEN changes all that, a new skeleton model developed by EA that will also be rolling out to all of their sports titles in the coming year. It brings a new level of accuracy to player’s movements and stature, moving Madden 24 closer than ever to being a visually realistic representation of the sport.

It’s immediately clear that players move and position themselves in more natural ways, their body mechanics aligning correctly with their position and their action on the field. Senior Producer Mike Mahar calls the old models ‘immersion breakers’ and when you focus in on them you can see why; your brain can’t help but be drawn out of the action on the field while you question each offensive linesman’s bizarre double ankle joints. Madden 24 looks right, and now that