The NHL franchise has always been the third wheel in EA’s series of annual sports launches after FIFA (now EA Sports FC) and Madden NFL. In 2021, the game finally made the leap from the Ignite game engine to Frostbite, and since then a series of incremental improvements have raised the bar for the storied hockey franchise after a long period of almost no development.
NHL 24 doesn’t appear to offer any quantum leaps, but it seems like there are enough upgrades that hockey fans should once again consider spending money on this year’s edition.
Canadian defender Cale Makar is this year’s cover athlete.
The Cover Athlete of the Year is Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, but while it’s a defenseman who headlines the game, many of the improvements come in the offensive zone. Senior Creative Director Mike Inglehart promises “a whole new gaming experience” thanks to the new Exhaust Engine. That’s obviously an exaggeration, but trying to capture the intensity and physical wear and tear of the sport seems to do wonders for the gaming experience.
The changes consist of two elements, a so-called Substained Pressure System and Goalie Exhaustion. Let’s start with the goalkeepers. If you manage to keep up a continuous pressure, they, just like the skaters, begin to tire and lose energy (which can be seen on a visible bar). Factors such as lateral passes, shot attempts and time in the zone push them to the limit and may ultimately be the key to pushing the puck past the many layers of protective gear and foam. But they can still pull off a miracle or two thanks to some new desperate saves, as demonstrated in a game clip showing Danish goalkeeper Frederik Andersen in full vigour.
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In the classic NHL games, the goalies were often monsters who ate every puck you sent at them; a consequence of the arcade style that led to an abundance of chances. The goalkeepers have seemed more realistic in recent games, but unfortunately this has also led to too many goals. Hopefully the new system will provide a more balanced experience.
The goalkeepers will now tire under sustained pressure, but can still manage to make miracle saves.
The Sustained Pressure System rewards teams that maintain pressure with quicker passes and an ability boost. AR graphics appear on the ice and count down from 30 seconds, which you can use to increase the pressure. At times it almost resembles a medieval siege, with the defenders shooting pucks like catapults and the wingers trying to attack from the flank. Hopefully, the new system will help the game’s meta move away from the back-and-forth style that has characterized recent releases.
The developers revealed the source of inspiration for this new feature with a clip from Dallas vs. Toronto from last year’s NHL season, where the Canadians were under pressure but managed to hold off. To stop the momentum, you have to get the puck out of the zone for more than five seconds (which is often enough time for a line change anyway) or get a face-off. Personally, I think it seems like a very promising system, but it definitely needs to be tested first.
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The contact system has also received an interesting overhaul. It is now possible to perform lighter tackles by giving a small movement with the right analog stick. Then the opponent gets off balance, and you or a teammate can grab the puck with the lever. This reduces the likelihood of a trip to the penalty box, but that doesn’t mean that those big shots where you pull the analog stick far back to speed up the puck aren’t useful. A well-timed punch drains the receiver of stamina, helping to tip the match in your favor.
A well-timed hit not only increases the amount, but also drains the recipient of stamina.
The last game addition worth mentioning is Total Control Layout , which makes it easier to perform Highlight Reel Moves and small cheeky details. There is also a Vision Passing System, which seems to focus on more realistic passes. The passing distance and the player’s abilities play a greater role in accuracy, while it has become a little more intuitive to execute the first passes that often turn goalkeepers and defenders into confused skaters. Finally, it is now easier to control the goalkeeper if you play as a goalkeeper in, for example, Be A Pro. You can now change position and then automatically move back into place as if you were held by a rubber band. This actually makes good sense, as it’s easy to get completely out of position with the classic controls.
This is where we leave the ice, and it immediately becomes less interesting, because during the presentation a whole bunch of buzzwords about live services were thrown around. There is now crossplay (but not across console generations) in World of CHEL (WOC) and Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT), WOC even gets a Battle Pass with seasons and loads of cosmetic items – at least you can transfer earned items to the next NHL 25 and apparently future editions as well.
I HUT Moments lets you play your way through classic NHL moments and earn rewards. In the selected scenario from 04/15/19, you play through Cale Makar’s NHL debut. There are three goals:
Take 8 snapshots
Score a goal with C. Makar
Win the game
If this sounds exciting, it’s great! But to me it sounds as boring as it gets, and I immediately think of the equally boring FUT Moments introduced in the FIFA series last year.
The audience will react more dynamically to what happens on the ice.
The presentation offers 75 new goal celebrations that allow you to behave in the most ridiculous ways after scoring, which will likely earn you a heavy slap from a frustrated opponent. Flex Moments EA calls this Fortnite-inspired add-on. However, it’s not just the players who go berserk, because now the spectators also become more lively if the opponent gets sent off, or call for a shot if time is running out in a power play, for example. The more engaged crowd builds on the whole idea of intensity that characterizes the extra games, and hearing the entire crowd roar as the home team got ready for a power play gave me a positive feeling.
While hockey fans probably won’t care too much about Battle Passes and cosmetic items, the new gameplay and atmosphere additions seem very promising, as they aim to capture the intensity and physicality that is, in many ways, the essence of hockey. Then it’s probably worth looking forward to 6 October when NHL 24 is launched for Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
2023-08-16 16:30:14
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