The scouting system is a standout feature, with a greater emphasis on needing to widen your database through manual, targeted and repeated scouting. This is the one area where some prerequisite knowledge of the NHL, salary caps, staff rosters and trade blocks and so on would be really useful, but it's not essential to enjoying the systems and process.
From the meta-scale of building a dynasty to the micro-scale of training, scouting, and how many toilets or car parking spaces the stadium has - I'm serious - it's deep, immersive, and rewarding. Building a dynastyĪmplifying the personal journey to a team journey, NHL 21's franchise mode is excellent.
However, the conversations do set the tone for something deeper than just a hockey play sim, and in combination with multiple skill trees, salary perks, specialty skills, and more, form the foundations of a great role-playing journey with real-life immersion. There could also be more jeopardy and tangible outcomes with the implications: for example, I can make a promise to a teammate, receive +25 in likability, fail in that challenge, and only lose that same 25 points in likability there is no real consequence. The addition of full voice acting with multiple teammates (not just the same one over and over) would be a great improvement. Still: when it sings, there's nothing more exciting and satisfying than using a well-timed bodycheck to get possession, stringing some smart passes together, and then hammering home a one-timer with a ping off the pipes.Ĭhats with your agent, management, and individual teammates help to shape the role-playing journey through the career. There's little finesse when a game gets into this pattern and, as a general way-of-play, it can get a bit monotonous. NHL 21 does have the best hockey gameplay going (by virtue of being the series' newest offering) but also lacks innovation and real progress.įor example, there is still a big emphasis on an arcade-centric, basketball flow of play: one team goes up the attacking end, then the other team goes up the attacking end, repeat. However, the gameplay also demonstrates the annual-isms of sports games. Skating is smoother than ever, the animations and movements are more refined, and scoring almost any goal is incredibly satisfying. The hockey play is, on the whole, great fun.
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