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No one should be shocked. EA has been doing this for decades.

EA holding the NHL and NFL license is criminal. Not having any competition has made them incredibly lazy.

i love how before the game even came out I'm just preparing and praying for nhl 24 to be what i'm hoping for. they never fail to uspet the fanbase

My wish is that 2k comes out with a hockey game. I don't even care if they can't use player names. I'm ready to support even and Indie developer

Thanks for the video. I think you nailed it on the head. I have been a diehard EA NHL fan my whole life, but right now I'm contemplating not buying the game for the first time since NHL 98. HUT would be so fun if there were no hockey cards and it was just build a team under the cap and create your own team name, uniforms and arena and play others online. Also how do we not have online leagues (GM Connected) yet? NFL 2k5 literally had this and it was perfect.

i’m so glad someone made a video about this! i’ve been so sick of ea’s game plan every year of adding something they should’ve fixed through a patch and then market it as a new feature for the next game. meanwhile, something that was just fine last game gets broken by ea and then for next game they’ll fix it and announce as a new feature. it’s the same rinse wash repeat for years and they will never be good unless 2k steps in and made a game

EA Sports needs to lose their NHL licensing. It's getting to the point that some people are even bailing on the NHL because of this relationship.

Spot on review, I personally haven't bought a NHL title since 17 because of everything you mentioned. I remember saying back then that I will wait until NHL24 because the last good one was NHL14

As someone who has pre-purchased the game I can tell you that what they promised is BS. Passing is still terrible, defensive player selection is still borderline broken, controls have a delay, the gameplay is focused on individual performance and not team play, goalkeepers make impossible saves while letting garbage through, objective completion is bugged, games sometimes load to black screen. This year is the worst EA NHL game I ever played.

You are 100% spot on.. I almost couldn’t make it through this whole video because I’m so mad and have been mad at EA for freaking years now.. every single year they just make the same game they build it off the same base platform every single year and have been doing it since like 2017.. they just refused to build a brand new NHL game from the ground up because they are so lazy.. I swear the EA employees for this game probably show up to work once a month and that’s all they really need because they don’t update crap.. I want gameplay updates I want the gameplay to be better and they just keep focusing on stupid crap and they know it’s stupid and I think they have been mocking us for years.. they take it vantage of all of us because they know that we all love hockey and they are the only game we can play.. I desperately wish there was a competitor. I just want to see EA in a panic and try to actually make a legit game for once. I thought that every single game any company makes every year they are supposed to put their all into it and make it better? EA sports has totally ignored that for years and years now. I almost wish we could legally do something about this and I’ve seen tons of people say this because they keep doing the same thing every year. Obviously I know they are allowed to do this and we are just dumb for buying it but come on now. Enough is enough it’s been going on for years and years now. They already have a thing called “FATMAN LAG” which most people don’t know about because only certain people get it. I’ve had it for years and there’s nothing you can do to get rid of it I know it’s in the coading of the NHL games but it will never disappear unless they build a game from the ground up.

I started at NHL '97. I played real Hockey as well. Almost got a Rangers tryout! I bought it Friday and see it's the same stuff. I don't like WOC. I want to play in NHL arenas with NHL jerseys and equipment. This series has fallen big time.

It's ironic that the old game clips rolling in the background at the beginning of the video were all cut-scene animations that were not available in-game, yet used to advertise the game. Their presentation bait&switch tactics go back decades.

My wishlist: GM Connected Custom Goalie Mask Winter Classic World Juniors in franchise mode Attributes really affect the simulation, like a 96 Mcdavid should get 120+ points Skills Competition Goalie animations completely overhauled

100% agree with you. I never noticed things being taken out and then been added back in. The 2k Sports Stanely Cup celebration would look great in NHL 23. I really think that EA has lost touch with their community. Adding 500+ animations for the last chance puck movement was a waste of time. Nobody asked for it and even if we did, probably 10-15 animations different animations with enough variations would be sufficient. Focusing on gameplay to have a fun game again like you describe should be a priority for online players. Giving offline players the Winter Classic, All-Star games, editable players, and custom goalie helmet would be a good start. I'm not buying NHL 23 because the changes I care about like the ice texture could have been handled in a NHL 22 update.

In NHL 22 I won about 95% of the time. With 23 the CPU takes over, I win maybe 10% of the time. Even if my time on attack and shots on goal are 3 times the opponent’s I still lose. Usually I start by getting a 2 or 3 goal lead. Then all of a sudden every time I make contact it’s an elbowing penalty, pucks start going through my players bodies, it won’t let me switch control to my players closest to the puck, I defend the puck 3 or 4 times but it magically goes right back to the player I took it from, my goalie starts giving up rebounds on every single weak shot…

Great video. Very insightful. Absolutely disgraceful how little they change the game. Feels like they sneakily take good things away like the winter classic. Like what is the reason that they can’t have that in the game? So many great features that have been lost. Nhl 23 is bare bones.

We need 2K to take the game back

When I see people complaining about FIFA or NBA 2K being bad and I look at them and I’m like come check out the NHL games, that’s BAD. I swear EA is the biggest con artist in gaming history. Almost nothing changed this year, there is no 100 dollar price justification here. It’s almost criminal what they do. The thing is NHL 22 was actually pretty good, but 23 is just straight AWFUL.

I posted a review at NHL 23's Online Forum at EA's website re: how disappointed I was that they didn't include features that have been requested for years. They deleted my post saying it was inappropriate. The EA Moderator sent me a message as well informing me of the same. I replied as follows: "The fact that you removed my post speaks volumes about your company. Very disappointing. You don't listen to the fans/customers, don't give them answers re: why you ignore their requests, and then remove any posts that call it like it is re: your products. On top of that, your games are getting worse and worse every year. Don't agree with that assessment? Just check out the review comments posted virtually everywhere where gamers post comments. One by one, you're causing customers never to return. One day you won't be the only game in town (the only reason you've made it this far). Nothing personal towards you. I realize you're stuck with the Oz behind the curtains running the show there. It is very sad though when I think of what the NHL franchise could be and should be after all these years. The Madden franchise is in the same sinking ship too BTW (IMHO). Be well.” I then posted a follow up forum comment and they banned me for 24 hours saying I was “discussing moderation.” EA obviously doesn’t want to answer to their loyal customers. I’m done buying their crappy rubber-stamped games. I guess when you’re the only game in town you can be the bully. 2K Sports please come back to the NHL video game arena!

They advertised updated presentation but took away full presentation on purpose, and didn’t say anything. Scumbag company

We desperately need to resurrect NHL 2k. If 2k just tried id be willing to bet it would utterly annihilate ea and it wouldn't even be close

I'm with you! For years I've threatened to not buy the game but I always end up giving in and purchasing it. NOT THIS YEAR! I will not allow myself to purchase NHL23. I've bought the NHL game every year since 98, yeah, I'm that old. I used to run online leagues back before there was a such thing as HUT. That's how big a fan and how big a supporter I've always been. But not this year, enough is enough. I suggest everyone skip this game, it's the only way to send a message to EA that we've finally had enough.

I stopped buying In 2015…. Such a disservice to a loyal fan base.

I just played the trial version and man! What a disappointment

Thank you for saying what almost everybody that doesn't play HUT feels. Only things I would add are the lack of PC support & the low refresh rate. I was an every year buyer & only played EASHL but I refused to purchase '22 & now '23. (not even when we all know the game is 50% off not long after being released ever year) I will not be buying NHL until high variable refresh rate PC support is added. Oddly, players & sticks clipping through each other & the boards now matches the horrible on boards digital ads on televised NHL games. **facepalm** "It's in the game" BOYCOTT HUT ((subbed))

Nhl 14 was awesome, with the winter classic arenas

2k gotta make nhl24, need a better career mode

Let's make this video more visibility than the other "profesionnal KZfaqrs" that just praise this shitty game. This year is a total ripoff.

2k10 had great presentation before the game as well as talking about the players and goalie. This years nhl sometimes just goes right to the face off 😢

Great review. I don't even buy sports games anymore, as much as I want to. I will activate my GameFly every other year, try out 3-4 games, and play some with GamePass. But usually I end up buying an older sports title every 2-3 years, and playing it for awhile. I miss the old days of looking forward to a new release.

EASHL used to actually be fun, but ever since 21/22 it's been nothing but a sweat fest. Not only is it the exact same game as 22, but the same issues still exist with basically zero new features added in. It's sad, but not surprising.

It honestly pisses me off so bad that the game asks you what your favorite team is each year and when you open hockey bags, you may get 1 item for your favorite team and then 1,000 items from other teams before you get another item from your team.

Unfortunately one of the main issues here is there aren’t any other NHL games coming out these days so EA will continue to get away with it until that changes

It's so funny how u talk about the random gear unlocking and player progression in CHEL. I sorta miss the days where we all competed to get the Lemiux mullet at P5. It's also funny how u put your fav team and then thats the team gear and jerseys you get the least of. Last year I went 2 months and didn't unlock a single Ranger jersey, switched my fav team to San Jose and had every Ranger jersey in a week.

Not buying it either. Maybe if they charged 50 or something but $90 for the changes they made? It’s disrespectful af

The fact that they still haven't addressed people quitting online games as soon as they start losing, tell you they could care less about the game. I was over a friend's house tonight and he tried playing games online. 16 games in a row once a team got down by a few goals, people quit and the entire game got cancelled. 16 games in a row! Online play is a huge part of why people spend money on the game. Who enjoys playing half a period 16 times in a row before people quit with no consequences! This could and should of been fixed years ago. I mean, you could simply track which users quit once a game starts and if you do it too often, you're banned from online for a set time period. And I know people will say EA can't tell if they quit or had a glitch with their connection, etc . Tough crap! First, you can definitely tell who actually hits quit, so start there. For those who just disconnect or turn off their system to get around it, well, you get a few of those to use up. But if you're playing online it shouldn't be happening that often enough so you get a few and once you reach say 5, you're banned from online for a week. And you don't need to penalize everyone in the game, they can see which accounts actually lose connection in a game. And since the people who quit are usually the ones that are on a team that starts losing, it's easy to determine which users should be hit with a penalty if they all of a sudden a few accounts are suddenly disconnected during a game when they're losing! It's a joke that they have been afraid to address this and yet it kills their online play. EA could care less though. It's a joke and it's a disgrace how bad things have gotten since the Genesis days of NHL 93, 94 and so on. Just a money grab now.

couldn't agree more. they would make so much more money on selling games if they addressed alot of these things and actually listened to fans. be a pro took a step in the right direction last yr but they absolutely dropped the ball this yr. this alone is the reason for me not to buy it. if it was more like NBA I'd be all over it. big hits and making checking easier would improve the game as well.

the worst part to me is not being able to practice the cool moves in the tutorial sections... you can only do basic stuff. that really is frustrating

The cover of the game says it all, and no im not talking about the players im talking about a beach type vibe..these guys have been making a comedy out of this game at this point... I wish 2k would come make video games, ea hasn't come out with a good game since NHL 14

Nhl 2006 is legend. It’s insulting they think we wouldn’t notice ?

Your literally the first person to say that the woman being added in is cool. Mad respect.

Gameplay feels great dont really care about the other stuff because i mostly play only hut but i understand if it annoys other people

Not only that but they don’t necessarily let you edit players attributes. Nor do they let players in franchise mode create their own draft class or create a player. But mostly not creating your own draft class and editing attributes or not even that, you can’t even edit an AHL player either. Which is really awful. And also no history section or records or awards sections. Much like Madden, EA does not put a lot of effort into NHL and if anything they put even worse effort on NHL and NHL gets even worse treatment as well.

If I don't have any of the previous NHL games is it worth a buy on sale?

Great video. And your last thoughts about HUT being the beginning of the end for this franchise were spot on.

These devs hate the players you can tell by the blinding white menu background that players have been begging to be changed for over a year

if you look closely during the clip where the avalanche are raising the cup, you can see that the banners are STILL outdated, they still have the panthers old logo and the older Senators logo, im pretty sure it would take them literally like, 5 seconds to fix that, any shmuck with photoshop could do it

I'm on PS4 so I guess it's going to suck! -If the goalie suck bump up difficulty on goaltending sliders, right? -Is there any International play? Can you have a tournament of International Teams? - like with MUT ea pushes HUT which I'm not interested in. I want to play realistic season/career/ franchise mode AGAINST COMPUTER * if they ever find a model that works they don't need to ever mess with it again just allow you to update rosters. But no one would buy a new games

My words, just facts. I am hoping for NHL24 to switch it up a little. They got so many haters this year that they have to feel bad just a little.

Couldn't agree more. All we want is a playable fun hockey game. There's endless potential here. Stop playing HUT stop buying packs & stop buying the game year after year. They're not gonna change a damn thing while you're buying this garbage year after year.

honestly the nhl should find a new game developer company

Sports games are sports games. Hockey isn’t as popular, and if you don’t play online you don’t have to buy the cofactor edition. The game actually plays really smooth. I can understand skipping this year if you play be a pro or franchise, but truthfully thats any sports game. Every year whether it’s madden or 2k we are pretty much buying a roster update. The fact that the gameplay is better this year is a sign of good things to come if you ask me. But content is content, I suppose.

Well, why I fully understand those who don't want to buy this years NHL as they really have not given us much more options for let's say Franchise mode, Be A PRO mode, cutomazation of teams and players etc, I will buy it for 3. reasons, even if they are not that big; 1. I have NHL 21, that lacks the Seattle Krakens. 2. The Coyotes have officaly back the old logo and scrapped the boring plain red Coyote. Small but I never liked to play with or against them because they looks major boring. 3. Some of the upcoming reverse-retro jerseys added to all NHL teams. Like I said, these are just small reasons but I rather buy 23 then 22 to have the most recent. Well after 23 I very much doubt 24 will give me any reason to buy it. BUT I will try and not pay a full price, as many dollars/cents as possible to shave off. Even 2nd hand copy is fully open, even if I will have to wait a little longer.

What do u mean? I’ve seen last chance puck movement very frequently

I have Ps4 what's the best version i should get 23 22 or 21? I also don't play online

as a gm & be a pro player it pisses me off that they took out the stats tab on your main screen from i think 2014 game. You used to be able to toggle with the stick between team standings top goalies, points goals & assist leaders. It always made me feel more immersed in the game, like some how other people were seeing these stats. to have to go into the stats pages in the last how many years makes stats feel lackluster. i dunno if im explaining this right but i dont know why the fuck it was ever taken out. I also missed when they used to put like an iceberg or fire symbol or whatever next to players names who were on hot/cold streaks. i think thats from 94 or 96. Fuck can you imagine if they consistently added to the game instead of always taking shit out every year and then adding a a few things back over time calling it a new exciting feature.

I have to respectfully disagree with the overall negative review. Being an EASHL player primarily, this game so far is definitely better than than the 20 through 22 era. The traits and X-factors are more balanced, penaltys are more realistic. You can't just spam poke check anymore as it needs to be timed well. Goalie actually feels fun to play again. All the little presentation features are awesome , I love it when my club is dominating a team on their home ice and I hear the crown booing angerly ! So much fun ! Also this is the best soundtrack they have had in decades ! Actual hard rock/metal songs included instead of the dumb little indie pop songs they have been using the last few years.

They also, for all their talk of improving the presentation, removed half of it. Remember how last year you had the "Full Presentation" option that would give you the warm up, goalie comparison, full highlights during games etc and the condensed presentation that just gave you goal highlights and skipped everything else? Well they completely removed the Full Presentation option this year so now even in offline modes you don't get any intros, goalie names/stats, no hit replays, nothing. Just goal replays when you score. Talking about the features they had years ago and put it, it's like when they reintroduced pre and post game interviews to Be A Pro, which was already a thing they had in the past then removed and didn't even change it, it was the exact same thing as the one they used to have and removed. This year they did nothing with it. Seriously if you have NHL 22, with roster sharing just wait for someone to do a current roster update and play that, this is absolutely not worth it unless you can get it for like 5 bucks and even then it's hard to justify that. If you're an online player that plays HUT or ECHL maybe the game might be worth it for you, but if you're an offline player, it really isn't. If anything this game just tells you that what they really want is to do NHL as just a HUT and ECHL only game but know that if they did that and didn't have BAP or Franchise mode in the game that they would lose a hell of a lot of customers.

I understand why you won't buy this game. I only play EASHL so I can't speak about the other modes. Also, I play in online EASHL leagues and they require the new game, so if I want to play in those leagues I have to buy it. First of all, this game is not worth full price. It should be $20-$30 at most. It is just a minor update. There are not that many changes/improvements. I have played the game for about 50 hours (all EASHL). You listed all the negatives (and I agree with most of them). I'm going to list a few EASHL specific positives (I play on PS5): * Holding your stick out with the right bumper no longer gives you extra speed, it actually slows you down. Therefore poke checks need to be more deliberate. * It is much more difficult for defenders to catch the offense on breakaways. * Passing is much improved. * Shot blocking and diving actually work. Very few pucks go through your body and many fewer penalties for using these moves. * Goalie movement is much more responsive. * Being in position on defense actually matters. Very few magic passes through the defense. * Right after checking a player to the ice you don't automatically fall down when skating near them.

This game is just so bad. Our club team, which we aren’t noobs, lost 7-1 with 20 more shots on net. There goalie made every save in the book and the other team scores 7 on 12 shots. So bad, this experience happened in each of the 3 next games. I went back and played 22 and it honestly felt so much better.

The problem now is there's NO SKILL. Your only good because you have a stacked hut team filled with attribute boosts. Your only good because of heatseeker or 1t. It's sad everyone sucks so must they have to add boosts to help you score. Play anyone "good" in hut then play them in ranked and see how bad they suck and how much they rely on boosts.

To be completely honest. I hated NHL 22 and it made me take a break on making videos for 6 months. But NHL 23 are so good! And yes... The passing is a huge difference maker for me. For those who love HUT, this is the one game to play. For once they focus on gameplay, and i think is the best move for years.

"Women being added into the HUT is awesome and if you don't think so, you're a loser"

I downloaded nhl 23 and I thought it would have a lot of different presentations on the teams but instead only thing u get is the national anthem which is trash and mostly the same intros what nhl 22 have it’s literally hard to find the team presentation but just find out that it’s only 6 teams have access to the team presentation wtf all my time is now waste it bc of false advertising trailer at least listen to the fans or immediately add the features to the game if u looking for a good hockey game and your first time getting into hockey just get nhl 19 at least from my opinion it’s good but nhl 23 is a catfish that deserves to get exposed for lying and a waste of time and money but since it’s no change going to be done with the presentation of all teams I never playing this game again until they finally add the feature even for someone who is getting into hockey and trying to find good hockey games and ea present this game don’t get this game it’s full of disappointment and I thought ea was good at there work but it’s just a waste of time and money do better and don’t get fooled by this game no hate to ea but the game is a massive L and the game only starts in 10 sec without showing the player stats smh this game was just a quick paste and not a time effort I hate talking bad about sports games bc I love sports games when it’s a time effort but sadly they can’t add all the presentation to all teams 🤦🏽‍♂️

As long as the HUT fanatics keep throwing money at packs(serious, someone even said they spent 600$ on hut cards on the first day of early access) EA won't make any major changes to the rest of the game. I played HUT the first year it was introduced, and that was it. I did buy the game, but I primarily play offline, so the addition of custom leagues to franchise mode was the main selling point for me, and then I play EASHL as well, so I need to latest game to be able to do that, and having cross play will make that better. But, I'm not going to sing some praise here. EA does need to do more. They made a lot of small changes this year, and I HOPE that it means NHL24 will get big changes. The games aren't BAD, and NHL is better off than some of the others(Madden, looking at you) but that's a low bar lol. But I really do believe all the HUT players who just shovel money at packs, and the content creators who do it as well an then act like the game is perfect, is the main reason we don't see change. Addition: I HATE the hockey bags. They were originally going to be microtransactions, but after the Battlefront disaster, and some countries making paid lootboxes illegal, they made them free. So there's ZERO reason for them to be in the game years later. I hate that everything you get is random. Playing the game for a year to never get the ONE goal celebration I really want is annoying. They need to overhaul that to a point system. You get points after each game, and you can spend those points on exactly what you want. Easy. Painless. The bags are a chore and there is SO MUCH in the game. The odds of getting that one thing you want for each category is so slim.

5 months later and its still broken, not fun and gets you really mad. Ai’s are clueless, games dont start which makes you have to restart the game. Rewards are useless. Mechanics suck. Glitches are crazy. Dont buy it.

I got this game just a few days ago. It was at a pawn shop for $3 because the case was damaged. I also don’t have any previous nhl games, and I just got into the nhl fanbase. With no prior experience, I really like the game, but thanks for the tips.

2:08 that’s so true lol. I will still be buying NHL 23 just because I’ve been playing 17 for a while now, but I can certainly see the frustration.

I feel your pain! I have bought nhl since 2006 as well. But I realized that ea has to come up with some things. I stopped buying nhl games since 2020…I am tired of glitch goals, crappy ai, crappy goalies etc. Nhl has been an upgrade from previous versions! This does not warrant my money bc they do not listen. I really enjoyed nhl 10 bc it was hard to score because you had to play the point move the puck and had to try different things. Unfortunately ppl were crying it was hard but that made me want to improve. Lastly, ea has no direct competition since 2k sports stopped making nhl games to focus on bball. I remember when 2k had Bob Cole and Harry Neal as actual commentators which was awesome compared to ray Ferraro and the other guy. I don’t think ea will ever get my money for a sports game again…just my thoughts.

I remember the older nhl games like 1995 on the 16-bit

Not buying nhl for the first time in over a decade. Absolute garbage!!

All HUT is... From someone who gave it a fair shot... Is people getting fast skaters and speed burning up the boards past slower defense. By the time you get to division 1, if you didn't pay real money for your team, then it's extremely hard to keep pace

Bought it on Black Friday 47% off and still wasn't worth. Went on Play Now and edited my lines and strategies for 10+ mins and an error sign came up, thought nothing of it and started the game only for the whole screen to be pitch black. After that happened, just went on over to NHL 21 (didn't buy 22)

I bought the game and I haven't been able to play it yet. It showed me a ssl connect error white screen and didn't let me do anything but shut the application off. So disappointed with this purchase.

I love how you have to pay an extra $40 to get the X factor edition. And X factor edition barely gets you extra perks, the $40 extra that you spend for it is basically so that you can play the game 3 days early. It's all just a money grab. It also said that my EASHL would have extra X factor slots open for me and some extra hockey bag rewards because I bought the X factor edition of the game. And when I checked, there was no new perks. Maybe you get like 500 HUT pucks but I don't play HUT so.... I pretty much spent $119.99 CAD but then like $132.55 after tax or something, and I did it for no reason. Kind of pissed me off But the rest of the game is what pisses me off more. It's safe to stay EA is *stuck* . They know that they have barely any ideas or new advancements to put into their games, so they're basically just twiddling their thumbs and creating false hype for all their new games, trying to distract their fans every year from the fact that they were barely able to make noticeable improvements to their game. For one, every new release, they just tweak their online and offline tuner sets, to make the game feel different. They barely change the main menu or much about that, and they just make their 19 year old minimum wadge employee find a new cheap soundtrack. Have you guys noticed that EA rarely has popular hit music in their games anymore, its like they don't want to pay for it. Also, the guy mentions multiple times in this video how EA will add something into their newest games that could've easily been added years ago. And that's because EA has sort of a progression agenda with their games, because they know that they're so slow at making actual improvements to their games, that they have to leave features out of their games for no reason, so that if a future game is failing during production, they can help make it look like they made more improvements by adding those little features later on. Like giving the ai goalies human save animations, they could always do that if they wanted, but they just held it off so that whenever they had nothing on their plate to hand to their customers, they can feed them that. And aside from the easy little features that they don't include unless they need to save themselves, EA does an even cheaper thing, where they take away promising features in their game, so that a few years later they can "re-introduce" those features as if their brand new. It's so bs. EA BARELY DOES ANYTHING NEW EVERYEAR, and they make tiny little improvements that they could've done in the past, and they decide thats enough to satisfy us, and they also bring stuff back from the past that they took out for now reason. They're playing around with it, its like they're focusing on distracting everyone from their issues rather then solving them. Also, just a couple other things in NHL that piss me off. So in Online versus I had a game where i had 4 min 56 sec Time on Attack with 4 shots on goal after one period. My opponent had 4 shots on goal too, and had 2 min 29 seconds Time on Attack. I had 6 faceoff wins, opponent had 1. He was up 4-0 on me after the first, all 4 of his predictable shots went in. Then the gave started glitching out and it gave me the message that I got disconnected from the Online server. I swear Ice tilt is even more present in online modes then they have been. And Ice tilt will always be controlling more and more aspects of the gameplay, the more and more EA tries to make their games flow like a real life simulation. Because basically, the game is constantly trying to us the Ai to generate "realistic" outcomes everywhere on the ice. They're trying to make the game play appear realistic more then trying to let people have options and creativity, to succeed you basically have to do everything the game wants you to do, which becomes so f****ng repetitive. The game streamlines you into making the decisions it wants you to make, and if you try and play complex or more unorthodox type of playstyle, the game will just say f*** you and will use your own AI and your opponents AI to destroy you, and at that point, your battling more against the game then your actual opponent. Thats ICE TILT in a nutshell, battling the game because the algorithm has turned against you. And the only reasons that algorithm exists is, one, because they need to make the gameplay appear realistic as I said, but also because EA wants to tug on everyones emotions. A noob player will feel like he's almost good at the game because the game will hand cookies to them everywhere, and because of it, the noob will be hooked because he constantly feels like he's improving and like he's kissing the tip of success. Whereas a very skilled player will have ICE TILT thrown against him and therefor it'll make everygames a challenge, even if he's playing a noob, and therefor the skilled player will never be bored. That's EA's motto for their game, its just a simulation algorithm thats pretty much controlling the flow of the game and giving the users half of the freedom they used to have, it's like the games practically playing itself, but at the same time there is an emotional aspect where the game is making everything an emotional rollercoaster so that people think the game is more fun then it really is. In reality, the game is so bare boned that you basically just skate into the zone and look for the same scoring opportunities every time because there's only a few main ways to score. It's like constant mindless repetition, and when you think really hard about it, you realize the game is basically a complete mental waste of time to play, but you play it anyways. Lastly, they actaully said in one of their trailers that a big improvement was that you can now open Hockey bags faster in EASHL and also that the Cross platform thing will make the search times quicker. Both of those were flat out LIES. Hockey bags still take just as long, and the wait times almost feel even longer Queueing up into a lobby, and the games fresh out of stores. Also, anyone notice that the game feels choppy when you're in the main menu, and that the game constantly has to Sync before games start, and also that the game is pretty buggy in general? I had EASHL freeze on me twice already, I had an error during the middle of a game, and free skate doesn't even work in EASHL. Also, wtf is with them calling EASHL EEEESHOL. Also, no one has to tell me that BE a pro is the same, I know it wasn't improved and they'll just let it rust for a few years. Also, why is there still no Suspensions, its an easy features that they used to have. EA will probably re introduce it soon like its something new. To be honest, the only thing about NHL 23 that I actually liked was the fact you can make a 48 team league in franchise mode. That says alot when EA makes new presentation features and showcases the last chance puck movements and some more tickity boo Zegras moves, and out of everything they added, the only thing I enjoyed from it was a mini feature in one of their offline game modes. Also, all of EA's trailers were so stretched out, they were just trying to fool people. Everyone was so pumped for every team having a pre game ice presentation, and it's only for 6 teams and lasts for 7 seconds!!!!?? I already don't care anymore, so to me, that feature aint looking to new to me. Also, yeah, the new last chance puck movements never happen, poke checking feels a little weird, also the new interception animations were basically a scam because they never happen, and the goalies barely utilize all those new animations they put in the game. I agree with this person too how the goalies are very bad in this game. Inconsistent, and I know EA's trying to do that to make it appear more real life like, 'How any bounce can happen" type of thing, and I suppose it allows for flucky goals to happen, but within one week of playing the game I've noticed so many swiss cheese goals that the goalies were flat out supposed to save. The cover of the game too, its alright, I wouldn't say its good, and tbh it seems like they choose tropical colors and it makes the game appear more "childish" rather then professional, idk if childish was the right word to use. The cover is whatever though, I can't really care to much because the cover isn't part of the game. But I'm not sure if I like the cover though. Anyways, *OVERALL* I'll rate this game a *5.6 out of 10* . It's basically just BLAH. I think certain others would rate it 3.9 out of 10 and those who really like the game would say 7.4 out of 10. I think EA is the most 👹video game company around, because it seems like they just want money and they don't seem like an honest video game company compared to most others.

NHL 15.8 , totally agree with the skipping the game part this year. The game has become unbearable with no changes worth talking about in 8 fucking years 😖🔫.

I am looking for a new sports game. I’m interested more in the single player career mode and the games nowadays seem to be moving away from this ( NBA, FIFA ). How is the career mode in this one ? Is the draft for real or do you get drafted by your fav, team ? Is the career progression any good ?

I'm already working on my NHL 26 wish list

When EA makes NHL games it seems to be the same pattern They'll put out a game that is way different than the last game they previously made and on that game each year for the next four to five years the little bit of content each year for the next four to five years then after the five years are up they revolutionize there product again Some more than likely 24 or 25 the gameplay is going to be so different and they're going to add a lot more content so my advice is if you buy 24-25 week 3 years and get that game because otherwise your wasting your money because if you get NHL 24 or 25 remember your basically buying a beta for 29 or 30 which is the full game that's one of the ways they get you

For me the best NHL game was 99. Man I loved that game, the way you could tackle and destroy the team. Haven't played in a few years now, felt like they were all the same

I own nearly every NHL game. I'll tell you right now. Those older goalies had more realistic equipment. The masked actually looked the goalies mask in real life.

EA scammed me when it showed that u can customize ur own ice rink with lights and stuff and totally lied straight to my face

Women to hut is trash. They would get smashed. Literally an figuratively

The line and team strategy editing in franchise mode is so dumb now like how do you save it for the whole season not just one game?

Thats okay. The actual NHL is mocking its own fan base with their animated ads on the boards. "Don't watch the game, watch these annoying fucking ads instead.......suckers!"

ESPN NHL 2K5 is still the best hockey game in my opinion

Woukd you guys suggest to buy it for only 40 bucks ?

As a Rangers fan, seeing Zibanejad still have short hair, and seeing Chris Kreider with 50 goals and over 20 tip ins not have big tipper still, I think this is a sick joke. You can't even sell this as a roster update because the players didn't get updated, just where they moved to. It's not a roster UPDATE it's a CUSTOM roster with a new gimmick mechanic or two.

Why cant they just release an update for the nhl 22 if its going to be the same. I might buy it just for the use of the Reverse retros 2.0 update

Man I really feel like this game plays so different than lasr year.. The goalies seem way better and dont let in every single cross crease pass like in 22..

The menus have been the same for nhl 20 19 18 and 17 and i think 16 and 15 and maybe 14 also in nhl 22 if your were on ps4 and did not have plus you could not join world of chel and there were offline mode SO WHAT THE DUCK in nhl 22 they added manual line changes ON THE SHOOTING BUTTONS so if i say clicked square or circle on a one timer or just a time when you u wanna pull the puck back for a wrist shot (holding square) it would make you change your line its so annoying when you have a open net

I actually would like to have the option to choose your commentators, unlockable teams and player's, also I want EA to bring back the intro to the game (like NHL 2000 with the live action/CGI while "Push it" by Garbage is playing).

Does the ps5 controller makes cool sounds with like how fifa 23 did? And is it any good?

I wish they would implement raising your teams banner after you win the cup, not having it feels like such an empty accomplishment without it.

I swear even if 2k made an NHL game every 5 years. They would outsell EA HANDS DOWN. EA is simply a joke now. These games are garbage and have been for a long time. Won't even buy this junk anymore.

I ended up buying the game it’s legit the same game as 22 just like three new things and update graphics and roster. But I did mange to buy for $40 bc it was on sale. Which was okay it was like normally $80 or $90 idk

Please tell me why they removed hat throwing and visible injuries from fights from chel 21 to chel 22 to begin with...

I think they should add a park feature like NBA 2k does. I think that would be so cool using ur created player and going around different ice rinks and playing games to earn rank and stuff. I think that would make the game more fun and competitive

i think the huge problem is that ea has zero competition when it comes to nhl or madden for that matter, it would be great if another studio could get their hat in the ring and push some innovations, but sadly this is all us hockey fans have. probably won’t buy but it will be in game pass sooner than later