NHL 22

NHL 22 really takes a big stride forward in the franchise. Having it on a PS5 is a big part of what makes the difference in some ways. The haptic feedback really gives the game another level. NHL games have gotten stale in years past (15-18 come to mind in some ways). Over the past few releases, EA Vancouver has taken it to newer heights and this is a leap in a great direction. I haven’t been this excited to try and run a franchise into the ground because I have no idea what I am doing, or go pro and take on the greats for the cup.

NHL 22 didn't do a whole lot to improve on its predecessor, but it didn't have to. The important part is that the development team didn't do anything to change the game for the worse. The franchise was already a ship sailing smoothly, all anyone needed to do was keep it steady.

NHL 22’s gameplay is substantially unchanged from its predecessors. The Frostbite engine brings a breath of fresh air to the graphics, but the gaming experience does not differ dramatically from what has been seen in the past. The result is a fun and full of game modes title, which however would need an update in the game mechanics to be able to take it one step further.

It's odd that it took EA this long to bring their flagship Frostbite engine to their NHL franchise, but now that it's here in NHL 22, the wait was certainly worth it, as the game has never looked or played better.

Making a debut on new hardware has its pros and cons, but for NHL 22, the overt emphasis on Superstar X-Factors was a huge gamble to take that did not pay off. If this is your first NHL game in a while, then there is a solid foundation in NHL 22 with various game modes that can appeal. For fans who are hoping for more, however, it is disappointing to find little to no improvements despite all the hype, just like a draft pick that turned out to be a lemon.

NHL 22 puts a lot of energy into promoting Superstar X-Factors, but even giving big-name players unique special abilities doesn’t have the significant gameplay implications you’d expect. This is a strong year for out-of-the-box balancing, though, and the various arcade modes have their charms, even if they’re just limited sidebars. It’s an uneven jump into a new generation visually. Plus, the choppy commentary, inconsistent tone, and repetitive cut aways during stoppages make it harder to become immersed in the hockey than it’s been at the series’ peaks.

NHL 22 surprises by making its debut on a new console without removing any of its modes, but those who played NHL 21 may find this version a little too familiar. X-Factors on paper should be a game-changer but are mostly underwhelming. The switch to Frostbite does massively improve the fidelity of the rink – even if character models still look downright demonic – but should that really be the biggest change to the game? The ultimate question is: can the price increase be justified on the PS5? And given how little really has changed from last year to this year, the answer has to be a “no”.

I gave it a ten because it’s the best NHL from EA that I’ve played in years. Realistic score? I would say 8 but I know the trolls and fans you can’t please will be on here giving it 0’s. No matter what your stance is on this game, denying that’s it’s leagues better than 21 is ridiculous. The gameplay on the ice is fluid and a joy compared to 21. Is there still plenty to work on? Absolutely. But this is a solid step in the right direction.

I actually really dig the new gameplay! The passing and player movement is much, much better than any other previous game. Some people will complain about it, but, personally I think the realism of having a backhand saucer pass being slower and more innacurate, is what this game needed. Not super accurate backhand laser passes up and down the ice when holding R2 for .2 seconds like in previous versions. The be a pro is still lacking, still very boring cut scenes/dialogue. I wish they would make be a pro like they did for the Fifa series where there is an actual storyline and other characters that play a role in your career. I'm sure the rating will change for me once I encounter the inevitable drop in moron who calls for a pass every millisecond, but, for now, I like the more realistic gameplay and I can see myself having more fun playing solo modes than ever before. I have yet to test how impossible 'All-star' difficulty is yet, but if it is manageable and challenging without having to customize sliders, that will be a huge win for this game. I don't really play HUT as it is a 'pay to play' mode, so can't really speak on it. There is no cross-play yet, but, frankly that doesn't bother me very much, I don't need to knit pick and cry over things that aren't available upon release. I'm sure this issue will be fixed, and even if it isn't, I'm happy with playing against PS5 only players. Overall, although there hasn't been many changes in gameplay modes, the gameplay itself feels different than the last 10 years of NHL games. More realistic feel that rewards players that have accuracy in saucer passing over someone who prefers easy/automatic passing. If you're and NHL regular and up for a more realistic NHL gaming experience I'd recommend this game. There's definitely more that could've been done, but this is definitely an improvement and heading in the right direction as a franchise.

I would say this game feels like NHL 21 if they would have made a next gen version last year. I do like how playing defense feels with this version. Be a pro seems to have a little more detail this year as well. Nothing revolutionary with this game, but still a fun game with minor tweaks and upgrades.

I'm a bit late, but I recently decided to play a bit of hockey on my PS5 and pop up NHL 22 (given by a friend) and damn are hockey games (and sports game in general) disappointing in general. The good (there's some): It is playable and by messing with the sliders you can literally transform the game into NHL Hitz and it's funny as hell. Graphically, it's good too. The bad: Huge lack of content and substance. TILTED ICE : when you're supposed to lose, you will lose be your 96 OVR goalie letting in 6 goals in 15 shots while their 74 OVR goalie stops 60 shots out of 64). Your player losing the puck at the slightest push by the opponent while every opposing players seems to play with a magnetic puck that sticks to them no matter the direction of the pokecheck. TONS OF BUGS: Fans of the opposite teams with your name on their sweater (and it's like that for EVERY single fan). Achieving a coach challenge and get a failure nonetheless in Be a Pro. Numerous bugs concerning overlay texts during games, here's some examples: when they show my pro stats and the opponent best scorer stats, the number of goals are identical for both players. Let's say I scored 30 goals, 20 assists and their best player had 14 goals 10 assists, the text will show 30 goals 10 assists for my opponent. Another bug after the period highlights, they show the score but, from time to time, it will show the period score NOT the game score. Like it's 2-1 after the 1st and then we score 4 goals in the second the end of period scoreboard will show 4-0 and not 6-1 LACK OF SUBSTANCES: About 2-3 types of interactions with your coach during a game (they were WAY much interactions in previous games, like 4 years ago I think); not being able to see what's going on in the league in Be a Pro (like trades, signing or whatnot), the best innovation to have been created in the past still not back (Connected Franchise), lack of choices in dialogue (1 to 4 choices, all of them mostly boring... remembered being able to rip some teammates after a bad game (now, you seem to be the only player affected negatively **** outcome... I got negative XP even though I scored 4 goals in a game but I was on the ice in OT when the opponent scored in a 7-6 loss). Anyway, that's what a monopoly does to a IP (look at what happened to Star Wars during the Dark Times of EA monopoly).

Don't know where to start with this game and how to even deal with it. The game itself is relatively good, it's just a causal ice hockey experience like most sports games brought out to consoles. I love playing the game and think its got awesome graphics and the players look great. However lets get to the problems. First of all, the CPU players on your team, are garbage, and the CPU players on the other team, are too good. They move to the right spots and work their way around the puck, and the CPU players on my team, always just seem to wonder off and not do anything even if I change the strategy. The goalies are just terrible. Unless you have a 99 rated goalie, they are going to have a save percentage of below .9. I got Fluery in franchise mode and he let abot 5 goals in a game, even on easier modes and when the defence is relatively strong. Absolutely impossible to win games on the harder modes if the goalies are just rubbish, but the goalies for them can stop anything you put on them unless you make a really good play. The umpiring is just so bad man. Pre much poke checking is just always a trip, and when my players get boarded or interfered with, even on the other end of the ice, its no penalty, but as soon as I try and poke check whilst the player has the puck out in front of them and we are facing, they fall over and its a trip. Makes no fricken sense. I avoid going into the settings of the game, simply because it takes about an hour just to get from the game to switch something like the camera view and to get back. Am I not mistaken that EA makes 2k and other games like fifa and all that? Why is NHL22 loading screens so long even when the 2k franchies are a bigger game? They put so much effort into career modes and in those games and NHL22 career mode is just useless. You could be terrible and still get drafted as Number 1 to Sabres, and when you play career mode, there is no fun involved like 2k with neighbourhood and all the cutscenes and decisions you have to make. NHL22 career mode has a couple of these conversations and decisions, and they are all just like the best player of the team your playing for coming over and talking, with no audio, asking if you want to go sightseeing or something, then it just cuts back to the main screen of career mode with nothing useful happening. Player's don't deke when they are supposed to, when I use the deke control and they decide to do something else, the game is full of glitches and its so slow. Whilst I still play because I love ice hockey, it never ends happy unless you play on semi-pro mode. Do not pay full price for this, if you can get it discounted then get it if you truly want it, but do not pay full price. It is not worth it. Fix it EA, make it as good as 2k, or give it someone else who will make it better