Trying Out Mascot Mode in NCAA 25
Alright, so I finally got my hands on NCAA 25, like probably half the country did. Heard some chatter about playing as the mascots, this ‘mascot mode’ thing. Sounded kinda silly, but hey, gotta try these things out, right? So, I decided to dive in and see what it was all about yesterday evening.
First thing, I fired up the console and launched the game. Standard stuff. Navigated through the main menus, you know, the usual start screen, mode selections. I poked around a bit, looking for where they’d stuck this mascot option. Didn’t see it right away like a main game mode. I think I went into an exhibition game setup, just a quick play now kinda thing. Picked my teams – went with my alma mater, naturally.
Finding the switch was the next step. While setting up the game options, like quarter length and difficulty, I saw a toggle or a checkbox tucked away in the settings. Something like ‘Enable Mascot Control’ or ‘Play as Mascot’. Flipped that sucker on. Then, I had to pick which mascot I wanted to be. Since I picked my old school, I chose our guy. Seemed fitting.
So, the game starts loading. Instead of the usual player camera or coach view, boom, I’m seeing things from ground level, right there on the sideline. It felt weird, honestly. Like, I’m controlling this big goofy foam creature.
- Ran up and down the sidelines. Tried to follow the action.
- Used the controls to do the mascot antics – waving arms, pumping up the crowd (or trying to).
- After our team scored, I mashed some buttons to see if I could do pushups or a little celebration dance. It worked, kinda janky, but it worked.
The actual football game is happening right there, full speed, but you’re not in it. You’re just… there. On the periphery. It’s a strange perspective. You see the players run past, the coaches pacing. Tried to get close to the cheerleaders, see if there were any interactions. Not really much happening there. You basically just run around and trigger pre-set animations.
Honestly? It got boring kinda fast. Fun for maybe a quarter. The novelty wore off quick. You can’t influence the game, you can’t tackle anyone (tried that, didn’t work, obviously), you’re just a sideline show. It felt like a feature they threw in for laughs, maybe for kids or just to say they have it.
Played through the first half like that. Saw my guy do his little routines. It was okay. Nothing game-changing. Just a different way to watch the game you’re technically playing but not really controlling. After halftime, I switched back to the regular gameplay. Needed to actually play some football, you know?
So, yeah. That was my little experiment with mascot mode. Checked it out, saw what it was. It’s a thing. A very minor, slightly amusing thing. Glad I did it once, probably won’t be my go-to way to play. Just another one of those weird little features games add sometimes.
