EA Sports Madden NFL 26 Nintendo Switch 2 Impressions — Solid start, needs some work!

I’ve personally been waiting a long time for Madden to make its way back to handheld consoles. I love being able to bring my Nintendo Switch 2 with me to the airport or while waiting at the doctors office. Now, I can play Madden from the comforts of anywhere I want. The biggest questions are, does it work, and Is it worth it? The answer to both: it’s complicated.

From a graphical perspective, the game looks like it’s just a little behind the times. Not as detailed, not as polished, and not as complete. Models look more plain and hair looks rough on some characters. Load times are close to double, sometimes triple those of the Xbox Series X. While the difference in engine is pretty big between the two consoles, I’d hoped the Nintendo Switch would be a little more polished before release. Does that mean the game is bad? Not at all. There’s just a lot of room for improvement.

Franchise Mode and Superstar will be the two modes I would suggest for Nintendo Switch 2 players. They run decently well other than slow menu load times. The button mapping will be a large change for players used to Xbox or PlayStation, but the addition of color to the buttons on screen adds a little assistance figuring it out early on. It’s like learning a new game instead of transitioning from one to another. 

The speed of the game is a little slower than the Xbox version with difficulties like Rookie and Pro feeling like it’s in slow motion at times. This definitely helps learn the new way of playing the game without getting overly frustrated. 

The biggest issue I foresee with players is online play. While there isn’t crossplay for Nintendo Switch 2 to other consoles, this is purposeful as the gameplay disadvantage for Switch 2 players would be insurmountable. 

With more time and a year under their belt, Madden has a place on the Nintendo Switch 2, but buyers need to understand that they’re getting this version for the handheld ease of use and not for graphical performance. 

EA Sports Madden NFL 26 is available on Nintendo Switch 2 now.