Madden 23: FieldSENSE promises consistent, realistic gameplay on next-gen

Madden 23 was officially revealed today with this year’s big new feature labeled “FieldSENSE” EA typically comes up with these fancy-sounding buzzwords to describe the new gameplay enhancements, typically on next-gen.

Like last year’s Dynamic Gameday, the FieldSENSE Gameplay System will only be available on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of Madden NFL 23. And as I previously mentioned, these versions cost $69.99 which is $10 more than the last-gen.

So what exactly is FieldSENSE? Here’s how EA describes it:

"FieldSENSE is the foundation for consistent, ultra-realistic gameplay that gives you more control at every position and affects every game mode in Madden NFL 23."

FieldSENSE is comprised of four new control mechanics: Hit Everything, Skill-Based Passing, 360° Cuts, and WR vs DB Battles. Combined together, these new mechanics should hopefully result in more consistent, realistic gameplay — something that has been severely lacking in the Madden franchise lately.

The gameplay trailer provides a quick overview of FieldSENSE but EA has posted a more detailed deep dive into the new mechanic.

If FieldSENSE truly delivers on its promise, this could very well be the best Madden we’ve seen in quite some time. EA has seemingly finally listened to community feedback and approached Madden 23 with more physics-driven gameplay, instead of the usual animation-driven gameplay that has made the gameplay feel more pre-determined and predictable.

The fact that EA begins its deep dive with a look at Hit Everything makes me believe defense could see a much-needed improvement.

On offense, we’ve got Skill-Based Passing which uses a new passing meter to dictate the power and trajectory on a pass. The result is more control ever on passes thrown, which hopefully means less random errant throws that are completely out of our control.

There’s less detail on 360° Cuts but the gist of it is more precise control when running with the ball. You can use the LT/L2 buttons for hard cuts to change direction and hit the gap.

The last feature is WR vs DB Battles. While every facet of Madden’s gameplay will make use of this, it was particularly built out with player-locked modes — like Face of the Franchise, Ultimate Team and Superstar KO — in mind. There are new buttons dedicated to wide receiver release moves so you can perform more precise cut moves and fakes.

Defensive Backs aren’t being left out to hang though. DB Press and WR Counter mechanics, also mapped to buttons, will give you the ability to jam the receiver, press and steer them in certain directions to throw off their route, or stay on top of them. There’s also an Evade move to help get around blockers in the open field. Perhaps the biggest change in Madden 23 is that these moves are more dynamic and reactionary and less randomized with rock-paper-scissors concept.

Now EA has a knack of making next-gen features sound way better than what is usually delivered so I’m not ready to go all-in on FieldSENSE. But if it truly does what’s promised, then this could very well be the best gameplay we’ve seen in Madden in quite a while. Madden NFL 23 launches on August 19, 2022 for PlayStation, Xbox and PC; however, only the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions get FieldSENSE.