As you may have guessed, we are passionate about talking to you about productions regarding sports considered minor in Italy, but the case of NHL 24 it’s a little different. In fact, it is a discipline which, for a series of reasons, is also considered niche overseas, where it is undoubtedly more famous and followed. Either for geographical reasons or for its greater aptitude for competitive animosity (which does not exactly make it a sport for everyone), ice hockey observes from a certain distance the public response to basketball, American football but also baseball. All disciplines that have benefited from decidedly interesting titles this year: from NBA 2K24 to Madden NFL 24, passing through two opposing philosophies of the diamond with MLB The Show 23 and Super Mega Baseball 4.
With this full awareness, EA Sports has never given up on offering its interpretation of this sport every year, thanks also to the charm of the historic NHL license. Taking the opportunities to make the series a real research and development laboratory for features then inherited from the other sports titles of the software house. NHL 24from this perspective, continues a path undertaken by previous iterations, offering an excellent chapter especially for new users.
NHL 24 is available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series from October 6th.
Version tested: PlayStation 5
Blades on ice
There is one thing that can make the series NHL rather nice to the audience of the old continent. Apart from a general structure that is based on a game with simple rules (and which tend not to be as alien as those of baseball, for example), the EA Sports title is designed to be enjoyed by both veterans and casual players.
In this sense, NHL 24 confirms the recent tradition of the saga, offering a wide range of customizations not only in difficulty, but also in the renewed control systems. We therefore move seamlessly from a lighter and more arcade approach (even in the setting of the more complex actions) to a much more refined and simulative one. In both cases, the pad experience in hand is simply perfect: you slide on the ice quickly from one point of the rink to another, preparing to manage poisonous triangulations to free the shot… or making your opponents feel too insistent.
The only thing that can be annoying is the defensive management of the matches, with its limited possibility of selecting the players to be able to control directly. Perhaps a “dross” due to our purely football-related European gaming habits, but above all at the beginning it is a little destabilizing and “out of place” with the almost total control of the offensive phases.
We assure you, there is fun to be had with NHL 24.
So if you have a pad in hand NHL 24 it succeeds in the most complex objective, we can only be satisfied with the visual sector and presentation. Even without a graphic impact, it is not at the level of attention seen in Madden NFL 24, EA Sports hockey is extremely clean and pleasant to look at, thanks also to the care taken in the rendering of the players and arenas. The role of the lion is played by the rink itself, with its ice surface visibly deteriorating during the matches.
However, not everything convinced us. First of all, there is a bit of a graphic difference between referees and athletes, which emerges all too clearly in the replays. Even the cameras are not always on time, “missing” a few too many frames or even the players themselves during the celebration phases.
In any case, however, the accessibility of the production makes it extremely easy to get into the frenzy of this sport, even if you have never attempted it. And a good part of the credit also comes from some important introductions.
Foul is when the referee blows the whistle (cit.)
Hockey, what an effort
The Frostbite graphics engine powers the new Exhaust Engine in this new edition of the franchise. It is, essentially, a “package” of technical innovations that exploits the dialogue between gaming systems to significantly improve the experience on the ice track.
The Sustained Pressure and Goalie Fatigue systems are a case in point, designed to recreate and experience the moments of greatest intensity of a physical sport like hockey. Both factors work in synergy to recreate the most heated moments of matches, putting the weight of accumulated fatigue and offensive insistence on the scales. In fact, thanks to Sustained Pressure, players who find themselves in a constant attack phase can benefit from a temporary penalty inflicted on their opponents. Due to the pressure, inattention will take over and they will be able to leave more space for movements and plays. Conversely, the attacking team will find itself able to carry out more incisive and precise offensive actions.
Goalkeeper fatigue makes the experience much more realistic and fun.
The Goalie Fatigue system, on the other hand, will cause the goalkeeper to fatigue when faced with constant interventions, reducing the ability to react to shots promptly and efficiently. This aspect, far from being a mere gimmick, contributes to increasing the realism of the matches especially with regards to offensive actions. In fact, the need to resort to “safe” schemes, which are almost essential for scoring in the previous chapters, is visibly reduced.
All this, combined with a renewal in terms of physics and animations (especially those of the goalkeepers), brings NHL 24 to mark a small big revolution in physical contact. Much of the credit is linked to a renewed system of body checks, much more realistic than in the past, thanks also to some small gems such as the possibility of breaking the glass by sending the opponent feet in the air. In this context, we are not faced with a “rich” product such as EA Sports FC 24but at the same time it seemed much more refined and less prone to bugs.
Nap time, dear.
Moments of glory
As per EA Sports tradition, too NHL 24 it is full of modes for every player.
Similar to the other sports of the American software house, we find World of Chel. It is the equivalent of the EA Sports FC Pro Club and introduces some appreciable innovations. For example, there is the new format of the EA SPORTS Hockey League playoffs, which follows what happens during the Stanley Cup (four wins out of seven games to lift the cup). The creation of your own player has been revised, making it both more practical but also more extensive thanks to the possibilities of the Battle Pass. The latter allows you to access many new objects and classes. Double positive note: not only can the acquired objects be transferred to the next chapter, but to date there are only cosmetic objects among the microtransactions. Honestly, we hope that everything stays like this, with the objects linked to the gaming features limited to free levels within everyone’s reach.
Customization is simpler but not without options.
It’s impossible not to also mention the equivalent of the Ultimate Team of NHL 24, or the HUT (Hockey Ultimate Team). Its functioning is generally similar to what is appreciated elsewhere but the development team decided to “dare” by experimenting with something new. It did so through the introduction of the new HUT Moments, which allow you to relive the most important moments in the history of this sport. It’s not just a matter of replicating particular actions, but of immersing yourself in the exact “moment” linked to the competitive memory, in order to be able to re-enact it. Not without great satisfaction, we admit.
Equally inevitable is the Franchise mode, in which you can manage your own franchise by drawing on the numerous licenses of the title (not only North American, mind you), as well as the now historic Be a Pro. And obviously all the most classic and traditional replicas of the real championships, with also the aforementioned Stanley Cup. On this front it would have been interesting to see some new solutions, but we must be honest: these are methods which, by their very nature, are victims of substantial immobility not only in hockey .
Finally, progress is made on the cross-play side. First introduced last year, NHL 24 has deepened the functionality by improving not only the social aspects, but also the technical infrastructure. However, there is still room for improvement, especially in the implementation with HUT, which to date still lacks some features (such as shared rankings).
Some modes are quite old, others have been pleasantly revamped.
Final comment
NHL 24 is the new iteration of EA Sports’ traditionally most experimental series. With this edition the development team does not deviate from the path undertaken over the years, bringing to the table a rich, extremely accessible and clearly fun title. Obviously, like all annual sports, the innovative scope is not as marked as one would have hoped. However, the greatest achievement is precisely having managed to convey the sensations of such a frenetic sport, thanks to the ideas introduced with the Exhaust Engine and beyond. A title that is therefore advisable for all hockey lovers, but also (and above all) for those who want to approach the rink for the first time.
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2023-10-23 10:41:26
#NHL #review #excellent #title #halfway #simulation #immediacy #4News
