EA Sports’ NHL hockey video game series has been the standard for over 30 years – dating back to its initial emergence for the 16-bit cartridge-based Sega Genesis – and there have definitely been some high (and fewer low) points along that trajectory. The past couple years’ releases have been quite disappointing, often taking multiple software updates to get the gameplay back to the level it reached at the end of the prior game’s life cycle. Thankfully, that is not the case with NHL 25. Given the moniker ICE-Q, the game’s artificial intelligence has been improved by leaps and bounds, resulting in a far more satisfying playing experience. From AI-controlled teammates to opponents, every aspect of the gameplay feels meaningfully more refined. Whether it’s carrying the puck along the blue line in the offensive zone or doing battle with an AI-controlled opponent along the boards, the player interactions (and the results of those interactions) feel far more realistic and fluid.
Controlling the puck on the power play is a much-improved experience, giving a more realistic sense of actually having that man advantage. And passing is overall quite excellent, particularly when utilizing the icon passing tool. The standard “pass” button (R2 on PS5) delivers an inconsistent experience at this point. If you pass up and to the left on the joystick when passing from the center to a left wing rushing up-ice, it’s more than a little possible that the AI will assume you actually intended to bank a 3-board-pass back to yourself along the right wing boards. As I gain greater control of the icon passing, it becomes more and more likely that I’ll abandon my reliance on merely pressing R2 and hoping that the AI will correctly interpret my intention.
As far as game modes go, I’ve spent the lion’s share of my time with the game within the HUT (Hockey Ultimate Team) mode. What I’ve found is that the gameplay (within Squad Battles and Challenges) is vastly improved, but that the “grind” to upgrade your team is far more severe than in seasons past. In my case, the goal is specifically to assemble a roster of players who are also on my fantasy hockey team, so I’m working with a very limited pool of 34 players to fill 20 spots. Thus far, I’ve been able to obtain cards for virtually all of my team’s core players, but the sticker shock was real when picking up the likes of Miro Heiskanen, Michael Nylander and Kirill Kaprizov, all 83 OVR cards that cost between 75k and 100k coins (typically cards at that level cost around 15-20k at launch).
It’ll be interesting to see how the player market changes over time; my hope is that the improved gameplay will keep the player base active and keep the market fluid. Last year, most of my hundreds of hours of gameplay were clocked after multiple software updates had been released (I found the initial release to be unplayably bad), and so I missed out on playing when participation was at a higher level. This year, there’s good reason to believe that a much stronger gameplay engine will keep a much larger number of fans active and engaged throughout the hockey season.
The Verdict
NHL 25 thankfully addresses many of the issues that plagued NHL 24 at launch, and its substantially-improved gameplay delivers a far more realistic (and fun) hockey experience. While the HUT marketplace is an important aspect of the modern NHL hockey video game, it’s a distant second to gameplay, and that’s where NHL 25 shines (especially in comparison to its recent predecessors). It sparks hope that the series is back on track, and that we’ll see it push current-generation consoles like the PS5 to their limits in the future. In the short term, hopefully we can expect a much larger (and more engaged) fan base to stick around and enjoy the improved gameplay. It would be great to see NCAA hockey added to the game with real-life players, coaches, uniforms, arenas, bands and fans. And it would be great to see a more complete effort with regard to inclusion (see below). While this game might look quite similar to its predecessors, its gameplay is on a much higher level.
Rating: 4 Pucks (Out of 5)
Inclusion Missteps Yet Again
One expenditure in the auction house did leave me disappointed yet again. Inclusion has been a big part of the NHL series over the past few years, from adding female players to a wide range of referees. But when you choose your coach in HUT, the personnel on your bench still doesn’t reflect that choice after at least 2-3 seasons. I spent 5,000 coins to add coach Carmela Murray to my team, but when you look at my team’s bench, she is nowhere to be found, with three men in suits behind the bench…
Making matters worse, the photo used for coach Carmela Murray in NHL 25 is the exact same photo used for Jadzia Sisko in NHL 24. Not a great look, neither for inclusion nor continuity.
Inclusion of this sort is really important, because it establishes new standards for what is possible. Little girls growing up without a WNBA to strive for weren’t working with the same motivations as little girls who grew up watching the WNBA, and today you’re seeing the seismic impact of that first generation of little girls to grow up with a WNBA (Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, etc.). If a little girl picks up NHL 25 because she dreams of being a hockey coach one day, seeing a coach running the bench who looks like her (and not three men in suits) is crucial.
