I don't make the comparison to NHL 15 lightly, as I consider it probably the worst sports sim of the past decade-an entry so bad that it didn't even include EASHL, far and away the franchise's most popular mode. It sets out to mirror the triumph of NHL 14, but it feels more like a desultory bookend to NHL 15, the entry with cuts that would make even the Ottawa Senators blush. To put it mildly, NHL 21 feels like a sloppy, rushed product this year, particularly when it comes to Be a Pro, which should be its star feature. Add in a decent presentation and some strong legacy features like EASHL-its popular online co-op team mode-and NHL 21 would seem primed for a good season.īut like the hyped contender that secretly has a few too many holes in its roster, NHL 21's weaknesses quickly become apparent once it's on the ice. But the biggest feature of them all is a revamped Be a Pro-something I've been calling for since the beginning of the generation. Franchise mode now has a trade deadline minigame that lets you make deals hour by hour, and there's a new arcade-style competition called Hockey Ultimate Team Rush. Building on last year's generally entertaining gameplay, NHL 21 adds the series's customary array of balance tweaks and updates, including a handful of new dekes. Its feature set is certainly promising enough. Clearly, EA is hoping that this year's release can be the PlayStation 4 / Xbox One equivalent of NHL 14-an entry that's still held in high esteem by fans thanks to its fast action, wild hits, and nostalgic tribute to NHL 94. As in 2013, NHL is once again skipping the generational transition, instead choosing to focus on putting out one last great entry on current systems.
#Nhl 21 digital series#
Like the rest of us, the series would prefer to pretend that 2020 never happened.īut where other sports sims are looking ahead, NHL is looking back. In EA's latest hockey sim, the season is commencing as normal the fans are in the stands, and the release of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 is still at least a year away. Like so many other sports games right now, NHL 21 exists in an odd parallel universe.
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