That's a little more like it, EA Sports Madden NFL 26. We'll take it.

While that doesn't sound like the most glowing of praise — and it's not meant to be — it's a positive departure from what many others and I were thinking during the last couple of installments, where the "same game every year" criticism seemed to ring from all corners of a frustrated universe of football fans. My review of the game from two seasons ago was essentially a 1,000-plus word lamentation of a fan resigned to the fate of playing Madden because it was his only choice to play simulated NFL football. I'd basically, after decades, given up. I didn't review last season's game, and I actually didn't want to deal with this one, either.

So, color me pleasantly surprised when Madden NFL 26, still somewhat clumsily, showed off some mastery of the balance between subtly showing off a host of smaller improvements to the overall gameplay experience while also flexing some genuine progress you can see right out of the gate. Again, it's far — FAR — from perfect, but I actually truly enjoy playing this one on a day-to-day basis.

Let's start with the positive: Madden NFL 26 wins on a variety of fronts when it comes to overall presentation. One can actually be fooled into thinking there's an actual NFL game on during a random Tuesday in October because EA has started to find its groove with how it replicates the style of an NFL broadcast, starting with the words and graphics that announce, "The following is a presentation of the National Football League." It seems to have taken some inspiration from its college football neighbor, where pregame atmosphere matters. All one needs to do is see the players in the tunnel, laser lights slicing across the screen, team bathed in smoke and a blaring stadium anthem to begin to emotionally sink into the game. It's an event now, and it wasn't always like that. Rotating commentary teams and unique score bugs and graphics for Sunday night games, Monday night games, regular dayside games and the Super Bowl refresh the eyes and ears, adding weight to the contests you play in any mode.

Also, and this might sound a little strange, but weather effects are appropriately frustrating. There were times I couldn't really see in heavy snow and fog, and I couldn't run some of the stuff I wanted because players were falling, sliding and occasionally fumbling all over the place. But ... it was strangely pretty to watch because I noticed tangible improvement in the game's overall sense of movement, animation and fluidity. At times, it's beautiful to run the ball and see how holes develop in the trenches, only to find the right lane and cut upfield. Everyone who has the ball in their hands feels much more responsive, and the litany of subtle, newish moves, like the odd head fake or the ability to "combine" jukes, is reminiscent of the NBA 2K games, where one can string together moves with flicks of the right stick.

What's also been welcome has been the game's implementation of coach and quarterback "DNA," which is just a buzzier way of saying the game better reflects the playcalling and style tendencies of real-life quarterbacks and coaches. Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs is known as an offensive whiz, and his football union with quarterback Patrick Mahomes reflects his penchant for creative offense depending on down and distance. I'm a Steeler's fan, and coach Mike Tomlin calls defensive schemes pretty much how he does it in real life: dial up pressure on the QB, put TJ Watt in the position to impact the game, and hope that the QB doesn't have time to notice the big, honking space in the middle of the field.

The most significant strides in the series, however, have come in Franchise Mode, which has needed a few new coats of paint for years. This time, I feel like we got some of them. This is the part of the game that would resonate with football fans who also play deeper role-playing games and are used to managing and optimizing a variety of traits while making decisions along the way. You're not just concerned about the on-field product; you're looking at the whole organization as its own entity, which means figuring out how hard practices are going to be, who's fatigued and battling injury, what kind of staff you want, and what kind of on-field identity you want on both sides of the ball. This is football nerd stuff, and this year's Franchise Mode finally feels a little more equipped to deal with us — I mean, those people.

However, as I mentioned before, Madden NFL 26 does have a few cases of the dropsies in some of its other facets. Its single-player campaign mode, Superstar, features some good ideas and really nails the aspect of character creation, but its otherwise valiant attempt at offering narrative elements — such as cut scenes, its "sphere of influence" mechanic that encapsulates all the people in your creative player's life (teammates, coaches, agent, tattoo artist) — feel shallow and repetitive. I'm not a fan of its attempt at minigames either, like combine or training drills, some of which feature spinning Super Mario-style obstacles. Just make football drills, folks. I don't need that kind of gimmickry.

I (and apparently many others on the internet) have also noticed a host of noticeable bugs and an overall sense of sloppiness in everything from menus and loading to the on-field product. On certain running plays, I've seen blocking assignments get comically missed, or my quarterback will collide into the runner on a simple handoff. Sure, that can happen in real life, but not that much. The same has happened with defensive coverage glitches. Again, it happens, but perhaps not as egregiously as it happens in Madden NFL 26. I imported my college football tailback into the game, and his integration into the game commentary was odd. They kept referring to him as a quarterback, which crumbles the immersion. Animations, though new and sweet-looking, can also get muddled in different scenarios, and there's always the possibility of some really goofy physics occurrences.

All that said, the biggest compliment I can give EA Sports Madden NFL 26is that I look forward to playing it again. That wasn't always the case. But for all its shortcomings, I still like seeing my created player running around on the screen as part of a beautiful and immersive on-field presentation. I enjoy the football being played. I like having the sense of control over the fate of my team, and I like all of the options Franchise Mode presents for me to exercise that control. I enjoy Madden again, and that's a start.

Score: 7.1/10