Entering the catalogs of a new generation of consoles is not always easy for sports games, and the franchise NHL Electronic Arts (EA) is no exception. We only have to remember the transition to the PlayStation 4, which gave us a NHL 15 stripped of many features accumulated over the years and yet loved by gamers. With NHL 22, EA has not repeated the mistakes of the past. No game mode has been sacrificed, and the result is an improved, yet familiar experience that stays on track.
This year, we are also entitled to a switch to the Frostbite game engine (used for years for other EA sports titles). The change will seem trivial to some (Frostbite is not new to the market), but overall it is positive. While the basic experience does not change drastically, the visual presentation, such as the icy surface and the lighting of the amphitheatres, clearly wins. But the gain is not only visual, since Frostbite offers a gameplay generally more fluid.
The better management of the clubs is here the first notable improvement that we wish to highlight. In previous titles, sticks had an unfortunate habit of behaving strangely and passing through players’ bodies, which has largely been fixed here with new, more realistic animations and collisions between objects on ice. .
Other than the new game engine, the list of new features is quite short, however. Regarding the game mechanics, we note the inclusion of X-Factor skills (which, again, already existed in Madden, another EA franchise). These skills – many and diverse – are reserved for certain star players and allow them to deserve this status by making a difference in a match.
Presented as an addition that transforms the way we play, these special skills often seem more like a hook on aspects of the game that already existed and that would previously have been attributed to a “random factor”. That said, the end result is certainly a plus, if only for the quality of the presentation which is enhanced. Although it has been integrated into all game modes, we find that the impact of the X-Factor is most felt in modes like Be A Pro and World of CHEL, where we only control our custom player on the rink.
Speaking of the Be A Pro mode, despite appreciable additions, we believe that there is still a lot of work to be done on this side. Scriptwriting and sports games don’t always go hand in hand. A good balance between gameplay and intrigue is difficult to achieve; it is easy to do too much, or not enough. EA has added a significant amount of new story lines that have a real impact on the way we play. And this time around, the appeal of the narrative goes beyond our player’s rookie season. But a certain repetition is still being felt, and we do not know if we will find the interest of playing beyond a few seasons.