NHL 23 completely revamps crowd reactions and adds women IIHF players and new desperation moves, and it all works splendidly to create not only the best hockey game in a generation -- but one of the best sports games ever.
The NHL series really needs some competition. Once again, we get improvements in just one game mode while the others gather dust. This year, however, the amount of joy that has been added feels greater than usual.
NHL 23 is a good step for the franchise this year, and there needs to be major praise for this. They have been great strides up the ice, but overall I just felt myself wanting something more.
Despite the addition of women players in HUT and tweaked mechanics like last-chance puck movements, NHL 23 barely feels it's changed from last year's offering. It's a fun but all too familiar hockey experience.
When put up against Madden, NBA 2K, or FIFA, NHL 23 lacks the fundamental quality that makes those titles so fun - the close approximation of the simulation to the sport.
It’s staggering how little has been done with NHL 23 to differentiate it from last year’s edition. Bugs that should have long ago been quashed remain, Be A Pro continues to be littered with spelling errors and conversations that make no sense, retirement and championship banners in arenas are as far behind as half a decade, and the list goes on. Despite all that, women being integrated into HUT and desperation plays are welcome improvements, as is the overhaul of rink atmosphere. Ultimately, while NHL 23 isn’t a step backward per se, the move forward is so small, so minuscule, that it may as well not have moved at all.
The addition of cross-platform gameplay is a very welcome addition to the franchise, but that is essentially the extent of meaningful changes made from NHL 22. While gameplay can sometimes be smooth and satisfying, there are still way too many bugs needing a fix. This game is the epitome of a yearly sports game being a glorified roster update.
Honestly, HUT is garbage. The matchmaking is way unfair. My 84 ovr team got matched with a 95 ovr team in division 5…. World of CHEL is kinda fun, but very raging at times. They haven’t done anything new to the Pro Career. Still feels like NHL 22 and 21 tbh, it’s fun in the pro career, but everything else is garbage.
It used to be the highlight of the year when NHL was released, I´ve bought every game since 1995, but it all stops after NHL23.
The past three games have been a disapointment. Bugs, glitches and many other thing that never gets fixed, We pay the price for a full game that should have been a DLC. Thats how bad this is.
The promises of the game this year where many but the failure was bigger.
HUT is not what it used to be. Its all about the money for EA.
The Franshise mode that was so hyped is the biggest dissapontment of all.
What is the point of a Custom leauge when you can replace a NHL team with a Euopean team but you are not able to change the AHL team, Here is HC Davos with an OVR of 65 and thier AHL team Eagles with a OVR of 75. Makes no sense. And hey, HC Davos home arena is Wells Fargo and their fans cheer for HV71 in the SHL,,,
This is the end, I will not buy NHL 24, I´ve uninstalled NHL 23 and it won´t be installed again.
I hope another company gets the license for NHL in the future. EA destroyed it.
I have owned every NHL game ever made. Since 2015 the NHL series has removed all that was good and started to implement new and fresh ideas that really doesn't compare to the quality of years past. The BAP bugs are still present, completely unchanged and boring now that you get to hear the same crap in a new year. Franchise mode has a cool new customization feature but largely pretty vanilla and not any better than last year. I hate HUT and think it should be scrapped for GM Connected.
I don't understand why EA can't do a 2-year game release with big updates throughout or a fairly inexpensive DLC to add new things. This would greatly improve the product and its playability.
For the first time in 29 years, I may not buy an NHL game but wait for it to be sold on a used website for a fraction of the cost so EA doesn't get any of my money.
Pure laziness and blatant robbery of our hard-earned money. I wish 2K would return to the NHL franchise. They always made the better games out of the two companies.
SummaryEA SPORTS NHL 23 is greater together with the introduction of mixed women's and men's teams in HUT, and planned for November 2022, the arrival of cross-play for players on the same platform generation in WOC. So grab your friends and gear up for the most connected version of Chel yet.