It’s been 17 years since EA inked an exclusive rights deal with the NFL ensuring that EA Sports is the only publisher of American football games bearing the NFL license and players. Since the exclusive deal, EA has come under fire for pushing out incomplete games, bungled launches on the Xbox 360 and PS3, and making micro-transactions a staple of their Madden Ultimate Team brand. With outside competition eliminated for all intents and purposes, the once iconic franchise of Madden NFL has had more than a few stumbling blocks, but EA Sports has managed to survive as it is the only game in town when it comes to the NFL and the NFLPA.
Madden NFL has been plagued by legacy issues, online play that is anything but stable, and under-delivering on their promises every year, the most egregious offense coming in the form of Madden NFL 2022, when the annual release received minor visual upgrades and a roster update for Xbox One and PS4. Madden NFL 23 is almost unplayable thanks to innumerable turnovers (fumbles and interceptions), fractured online play, trade logic that is illogical, and a process for re-signing free agents that more often than not leads to catastrophic cap issues or worse, a team that is in a constant state of rebuilding.
All of the issues and red flags leave players and fans of football wondering if we will ever see another quality game based on American football.
Enter Axis Games and their Axis Football franchise.
Axis Games is a small publisher that has been quietly building a solid football simulation game that allows players to own their own experience. You can set up a league based on the NFL or you can set up a league that is based on a tiered system similar to FIFA or European Soccer where 36 teams are split into 3 tiers and they move up or down the tiers based on their performance each season. With mods and expansive editing tools, players are encouraged to play the way they want to play the game.
What Axis Gets Right
There are SO MANY on the field things that Axis Games gets right in Axis Football 2023 that I can’t dive into them all here, so instead I will focus on the things that keep me playing nonstop.
Unlimited Franchise Seasons: Axis Football 2023, the latest game in the series gets so many things right, among them is the ability to play as many franchise seasons as you want. That’s right, there are unlimited franchise seasons to play so you can create a football dynasty to last generations! Players age out and retire, but there is a rookie draft every year along with a robust free agent pool to help you round out your team year in and year out.
Coordinators AND Position Coaches: Not only does each team have a Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, and Special Teams Coordinator in Axis Football 2023, they also have position coaches for each of the main skill positions – QB, RB, OL, DL, LB, DB, and K/P. Each staff position has a letter grade attached for their overall rating but they also have ratings in areas such as Offense, Evaluation, Development, Defense, Motivator, and Discipline. These coaches can also be boosted by various badges that can augment specific player abilities like Throwing Power for example.
Performance Based Progression: More than any other football simulation that has come before it, the development of players rests heavily on how much and how well they play on the field in addition to their age. Progression happens at the end of the year after the championship game and it’s very clear whether players progress (green) or regress (red). Progression/Regression is automatic, no points need to be spent, no XP needs to be earned – the changes are applied and the simulation continues without the gnashing of teeth or agony of applying upgrades appropriately.
Statistics, Statistics, STATISTICS!: If you are a stat nerd like me, Axis Football 2023 is the game for you. There are statistics for virtually every conceivable on field measurement there is and they are tracked year over year for every player and coach in the game. The statistics screens are reminiscent of Tecmo Super Bowl III in the way they are presented, which hits that nostalgic itch over and over again, which is a beautiful thing.
Fun: Axis Football 2023 is a hell of a lot of fun to play. I have no other way to describe it. Every time I load up my franchise, I am the GM of my own little football world where I get to share in the ups and downs of a full length season. My first season my QB hit a rough patch where he threw 11 INTs over the course of a 3 game losing streak. It was so bad that I thought I was going to have to bench him for a game just to let him work it out, but then the Minnesota game happened and I dropped 45 points on them in their own stadium and my QB never looked back. We won every game then lost by 3 in the championship. SUCH EXHILERATION! When playing Axis Football 2023 I am back in the shoes of 18 year old me playing the original Tecmo Bowl on my NES and it is glorious!
Where Axis Could Improve
There are only three things that I would love to see Axis Games improve in future releases of the Axis Football franchise. None of these are deal breakers for me, I love the game for the game itself and will continue to purchase it every year that it releases. Instead of thinking of these as issues or problems, think of it as a wishlist of items to address in the coming years.
Play By Play Commentary: This is the big one for me. I remember the play by play commentary in the NFL 2K series and how fresh and fluid it felt compared to other football games that were available at the time. ESPN NFL 2K5 is still my gold standard for play by play commentary and presentation. The game felt like it was an actual ESPN presentation of the NFL every time I played a game. There was a half time show complete with Chris Berman and company, a post game highlight real, and on the field interviews with key players like Donavan McNabb and Brett Favre. I understand ESPN NFL 2K5 had a big budget studio behind it, so I can live without the bells and whistles, but a less robotic play by play delivery would be a welcome change to AF2023 if nothing else. Since AF2023 uses the same announcers that did the play by play for the 2K series, this could be a reality.
Ability to Edit Team Schedules: I love my NFL. 8 divisions, 32 teams, 17 game schedule, each team plays their division rivals twice per season – there is a flow and expectation with each season. I did notice in my first season of AF2023 that I only played Detroit once, and they were in my division. I played the other division rivals twice and had a blast, but it would have been nice to change one of the other teams I was scheduled to play to my other division rival. Small issue I know, but it would be a quality of life improvement to be able to edit a team’s schedule.
Preseason: Here again, this falls into the wishlist category. I love everything about the NFL except for their exclusive deal with EA Sports. One thing that would be nice would be to increase the roster size and add 4 preseason games to the schedule so players can scout multiple players and build the ultimate team going into the season. The ability to edit that preseason schedule would be nice, but not entirely necessary.
Conclusion
I love football, I always have. My personal collection of football-based video games includes more than 60 titles, some great, others not so great, but all were trying to hit the mark when it came to creating the atmosphere of a high intensity football experience.
Axis Football 2023 is a bullseye.
Finding a way to win when you have 10 players on IR, returning an INT for a TD, the last ditch hail mary for the win – it’s all in AF2023 and it’s refreshing. Game play is solid and game depth is unmatched by other football games, which makes it more than worth the $20 price of admission.
Enjoy!
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