NHL 21

Worthy of a celly.

NHL 21 provides more of the same, and with the uncertainty of the real world season, even less of what few changes fans come to expect of yearly releases.

NHL 21 has taken the best of what has been offered this generation in the series and sprinkled goodness on top. Be A Pro is a much-needed change and is the first innovative offline mode since implementing the expansion draft. It's deep enough and feels fresh and could rejuvenate buzz into the series. HUT remains HUT with just more ways to grind for cards. Franchise Mode's new coaching options are a good update for the league, but it's only a surface change. The NHL series can no doubt benefit the most from a next-gen overhaul, but there's enough here for yearly NHL players or those that have s...

In a normal year, this would be the time when we could all look forward to our favorite players lacing up their skates for another season of NHL action. But in case you couldn’t tell, 2020 has been anything but “normal.” Hell, the COVID-shortened 2019-2020 season just finished three weeks ago! Knowing that the start of the season will be on ice (see what I did there?) until at least the start of January 2021, this may be our only trip to the rink for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, EA Vancouver looks primed and ready to impress with their newest entry in the NHL franchise.

Those Be A Pro changes are great and all, but it isn’t too much of an incentive for those who already own NHL 20 to go out a grab NHL 21. While there are some new gameplay features, it doesn’t really feel like it differs much from last year’s installment. If you missed out last year, now may be a good time to check out EA’s take on hockey, but if you’re looking for something new and exciting, maybe wait for a next-gen entry.

I appreciate the shots that NHL 21 takes at improving the formula, but at the end of the day, most of those shots are too little too late, and end up making the overall experience just barely better than mediocre.

NHL 21 is an exercise in consistency, providing the usual improvements to graphics, sound, gameplay, and features while having the usual hindrances. Be A Pro is the real All-Star of this game but like every pro on the ice, there was still room for improvement and falls short in some very easy to notice ways.

For better or worse, NHL 21 lives up to the same quality of work it's known for in previous generations. While there are some attempts to push the series forward, the ones that could elevate it to the next line fall short of scoring any significant points. Just like most EA sports titles, you'll enjoy this if you're a hockey fan. Just don't expect too much, as it's pretty much another roster update with small quality of life tweaks.

NHL 21 is at its best when I’m playing the wacky modes in World of Chel or the new HUT Rush where I can just go end-to-end while trying to pull off skill moves. The new Be A Pro additions are also significant and help to get that single-player experience more in line with other modern sports games. However, it’s aggravating that during this whole console generation EA never managed to move past legacy issues like ping-pong passing, a lack of creativity in the offensive zone, and a narrow set of player ratings make that the gameplay feel stagnant. On top of that, there is still no roster share ...