NHL 23 Review - The Final Verdict

Ultimately, NHL 23 feels best suited to series newcomers. It’s a solid release, with a wealth of fresh animations and finetuned AI delivering a more authentic experience but it’s likely to feel like DLC rather than a new game to players of last year’s edition.

[domwings]

Lol they throw the hats on the ice… they did this in games 20 years ago. EA took it out to add it later so it looks new smh

[tbonthe]

This game definitely does not feel like last years game other than the menus. The gameplay is so much smoother than last years. The passing feels WAY better than last year’s. The puck doesn’t just move through defenders like it has for so many games in a row. The graphics are slightly better with shading upgrades. The upgrade to setting strategies is an extremely nice touch. I wouldn’t pay full price. I don’t pay full price for any sports game. But if you are wondering if 23 is just a roster update, it definitely isn’t. The gameplay is so much better than last year. This year is definitely an upgrade.

[alexfalcon]

All you need to know about this game is brock boeser has a 89 speed rating where Ilya mikheyev one of the fastest players in the league is only a 87 LOL

[ElPolloDiabloCH]

Used to play these games a lot. Kinda miss it to be honest. Not gonna buy a console for just one game though. Wish they'd release on PC again.

[icemediapro]

It is time that NHL finds a new producer for this franchise. That is a fact There is a reason why major league baseball fired EA sports from ever producing another baseball game for them again

[rcchronicles]

Me and my mates used to play the crap out of NHL on the Megadrive. It was like nothing else for sports playability at the time 👌

[joshbradfield]

I never played 22 but played the heck out of 21. Here are several ways in which NHL 21 is a better game than NHL 23, (albeit we are almost a decade removed from greatness from this franchise.) Presentation… Sure this years game gives us the globe sticks in the stands, but that’s only about once every 10 games and lasts for 5 seconds. No longer do you get to see players stretching or coming through the tunnel, skating on the ice as fans cheer with loud music. You only get a brief national anthem. It doesn’t show who is in net or goalie stats anymore. Absolutely nothing happens to alert you when there is a change in net, so gone is the satisfaction of chasing a net minder. The cut scenes feel very rushed. The replay system is completely arcade and almost nonexistent compared to previous versions of the game. The referees for NHL games includes Asian women just to be woke. But hey, at least this game has referees. We can’t say that about Madden anymore. The only good thing they added was putting the roster names on the Stanley Cup. Let’s talk about gameplay. NHL 21 was better because you had to be careful not to take a tripping penalty when using the often overpowered poke check button. In this years game I can hammer that button all day long and never trip anybody even if I try. Goalies make way too many hall of fame saves to rob perfectly executed one timers close to the net. I guess that’s better than the drunk goaltenders we’ve seen in some of these games. NHL 21 got it just about right imo. The AI playing against the computer is just ok. I enjoyed 21 a little more. Players almost always skated to a logical place in a logical manner. This game only makes improvements in the places that don’t really matter if you only play franchise mode with real teams. I play offline and this game is geared towards the ADD driven online youngsters who don’t have the patience to enjoy a realistic presentation. Decking around defenders without loosing control of the puck is a lot easier in NHL 21. I don’t know how awesome you have to be at the game to make it fun and effective in 23.

[Martin-]

"It doesn't seem like EA Vancouver have done enough to cater to female players"

How many women are actually playing this game? Very few I would imagine.

[chrisdiggs]

I wish 2k would make a nhl and soccer game

[carlosmelendez]

I've always been into hockey since watching the mighty ducks as a kid and remember playing NHL 95 on super nintendo. I live in Georgia so not alot of places to play real hockey so this game might be right up my alley.

[EvanFilm]

Reading a list of advertising points isnt a review

[CHXIVXL]

Be a pro was not introduced in 21 but ok

[Venom_]

Pre game annimation cut scene is for 5 teams come on ea and it last 5 seconds

[shanefleming]

In the intro it said available on i got excited then realized nah... it isn't

[hansoloist]

If you pay full price for this, you fail

[veronicatash]

Wow. So many lies making the game seem more functional than it is. You cannot recreate the original 6 - you cannot have helmetless players offline "because it isn't realistic" but only online where it affects others. You cannot create anything in Gretzky's era because players cannot wear 99 period, while you could make that possible in 22.

[michaelburket]

This really looks like the same old stuff

[dannyarcher]

How do i get to the training menu to learn the tricks? Have they removed it in nhl 23

[croissant]

the reviewer is obviously a huge fan of trevor zehgrass

[Makedz]

As a noob, it seems like the game expects me to have fighter pilot reflexes and surgical precision with a mushroom... Have played NHL19 before, exactly the same game