While the Madden series has typically featured a Superstar career mode, Madden NFL 18 introduces a story mode known as Longshot, the first such mode in the series.[4] Longshot follows Devin Wade, a quarterback from Mathis, Texas, as he tries to reach the NFL, and includes high school and college football games (the first appearance of the latter in an EA Sports game since 2013, when EA ended the NCAA Football series), as well as the NFL Scouting Combine.[5][6][7] The player's decisions and performances in the game determine Devin's career path, as dialog trees are used to help him make decisions.[8]
Madden NFL 18 also included many subtle game-play changes. One of the major changes was a new element to the overall difficulty of a game, introducing "game styles".[9] Game styles were an attempt to create a more enjoyable experience to the player, allowing them to choose (excluding Madden Ultimate Team solo challenges) one of three game styles to fit their enjoyment. The first game style was arcade mode, which was made for players who like an easy experience. Arcade mode made the game much easier for the user. The second game style was simulation mode. This game style was an attempt to make the game-play feel like an authentic NFL game.[9] This brought the difficulty up from arcade mode but wasn't as intense as the third and final game style, competitive. This was created for the hard-core Madden players, making the AI incredibly skilled, and making game-play incredibly difficult.[9]
More minor game-play changes included the addition of Target Passing, a new game-play element when attempting a pass. The goal of this new feature was to give the user more control over the game and have more confidence in the pass going where it was intended to go.[10]
Other changes/additions included the creation of MUT Squads,[11] and coaching adjustments in-game.[12]