adrian dominguez

LONGSHOT

For decades Madden and all other sports games have had the pressure of producing an annual release. The challenge of making large leaps in such a short time frame has proved to be impossible. Because of this we only get games with tweaks and sometimes an experimental mechanic. To separate previous year's iterations, sports games have been developing story modes into their titles. Madden’s first attempt comes with the introduction of Longshot. Does Madden now have a weapon to divert the criticism of only making incremental changes, or is Longshot going to follow suit of previous Madden’s as a new feature that will be scrapped in a year’s time.

To prepare anyones expectations of what’s in store for this mode. I would direct them towards movies like Remember the Titans or Friday Night Lights. Inspirational stories of teamwork, family, and perseverance. With the NFL license attached, you’re not going to find action like Any Given Sunday or the old Blitz games. There is nothing controversial or even profanity to be found. The through line is how someone's love of football can carry him to the be the best man he can be.  

Devin was a rising star and savior in highschool but when tragedy struck his life in college his play struggled and he ultimately walked away from his love of football. An invitation to the NFL combine gives Devin’s dreams a gasp of hope and then in a twist only Hollywood could write, he finds himself in the national spotlight through a reality competition show. He’ll encounter decisions that affect his standing with long time friendships vs coach instructions vs reality TV spectacle all with an objective of making an NFL team.

Any sports story has the potential to be corny with its over the top inspiration. But Longshot never goes overboard because its characters are well developed and serve the exact purposes the writers intended. The actings always believable, and even the most outlandish characters fit in because everyone else reacts to his frantic craziness in a realistic manner. Colt Cruise is Devin’s longest friend and favorite target on the field. Colt takes the responsibility of keeping Devin in check, motivated and focused on the opportunity in hand. Most of the conflicts that make up the options for your decisions involve your loyalty towards Colt or another character's instructions. In my playthrough, I never wavered away from Colt. He was such a crucial and constant element to the plot that I don’t believe any of my decisions would’ve mattered in the long run. What the majority of them boiled down to was choice A. Be nice and encouraging to Colt or choice B. Be mean and disparaging toward him. Because he was like a brother to Devin, and you see how Devin can have a tendency to shut the world out, I always leaned on Colt so the Quarterback and Wide Receiver dual could keep each other in high spirits.

The theme of rebirth and learning from your mistakes, isn’t only reflected through Devin. Your coach, Jack Ford has accepted his role in the reality show as a chance for redemption. Ford is a stern father figure who has been in situations in the past where he put himself in front of the player, and now Devin is his chance to do what great coaches do and be of service to his players. You can't undo your own mistakes, but maybe you can teach others to avoid their own. This is the motive for every tutor Devin encounters.

Longshot plays out more like a Telltale game with the dialog options giving you the illusion of agency more than actually affecting the plot. And can feel more like a 4 hour movie instead of something you actually play. But it does sneak in a few tutorials to the game of football and to service the story. Football was something that came naturally to Devin as far as natural abilities, but the read and reaction skills it takes to be a pro quarterback prove to be a steep mountain he must climb in a short period. You are never over burdened with the Xs and Os being thrown at you, but you are given just enough to feel like you have agency over Devin’s growth.

The production quality is higher than any other sports game I’ve seen. The Frostbite engine shows its power in places I didn’t expect. The faces are highly detailed when paired with lighting we can see the sun's glow through the cartilage of a character's ear. I was in awe of Tiburon’s work. That isn’t to say that there weren’t some technical hiccups. Clipping does occur usually when players are returning to the huddle after a play or characters clothes clipping through each other. These are nit picking things that only stand out because of how great everything else looks. The soundtrack is a mix of something you would expect to hear in Life is Strange. There’s a very small sampling of licensed songs compared to the base game, but they are injected with the timing you would expect to hear in a Disney sports movie.

Longshot excels in letting the player embody its main character Devin Wade. He works hard for his dream while also carrying burdens of his past. The Madden team has done an admirable job of constructing a plot that, while a bit whacky and cliche at times, the moment to moment interplay between its actors carries it to make this Madden the most distinctive version in over a decade.