For the first time in franchise history, step onto the pond and compete in the EA SPORTS Hockey League, NHL THREES, Play Now and the brand new modes NHL ONES and Pro-Am.

However, when you group the constantly evolving skate and deke mechanics with improvements in collisions and overall animations, you get the sweet amalgamation of high-end visuals and compelling gameplay represented in NHL 20. Celebrate the greatest hockey player ever with the 99 Edition, available now for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Compete with and against over 200 of the greatest hockey legends, including Wayne Gretzky, all powered by the cutting-edge gameplay technology Real Player Motion Tech. The biggest reason NBA 2K’s MyLeague is still the king of all franchise modes is its customization suite.

In NHL 19, hockey returns to its roots by taking the game to the great outdoors.Play on outdoor rinks and journey from the pond to the pros in new and returning modes. © 2018 Electronic Arts Inc.  EA, EA SPORTS, the EA SPORTS logo and Ultimate Team are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. NHL, National Hockey League, the NHL Shield and the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. Presentation is a lost art in many sports video games, but someone forgot to tell the developers of the NHL franchise. It’s one of the best parts of NHL 20. Watch NHL® players compete against each other for a HUT Diamond item in the NHL 19 Ratings Challenge. Win the free-for-all to progress to new outdoor locations, unlock customizations and become daily king of the hill. NHL 20 includes 33 Alumni teams to add more depth to its already expansive set of teams.

I love that goalies aren’t simply indistinguishable 3-D characters with weaknesses that are too similar to differentiate. In NHL ONES, you and two other players compete in a 1v1v1 free-for-all gauntlet. It’s a quality you could easily overlook, but it adds to the realism. Speaking of ratings, speed feels even more powerful. As this year's Cover Athletes, these two superstars will represent the spirit of NHL® 19. Take a look at updated player ratings that reflect real-world performances from the first half of the NHL® season. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. © NHL 2018. Hands Down, The Best Presentation in Any Sports Video Game. Successfully dislodging the puck from the player handling it comes down to timing, angle and ratings. It’s like Fortnite hockey in that the tournament field begins with 81 players in 3-character matches. It is missing an element, but we’ll get to that in the bad section.
Watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs live on NBC Sports and the NBC Sports App.
At times in the past, poke checking has been overpowered. Apple’s famous slogan is “there is an app for that.” When playing NHL 20, it feels as though there is an animation for every situation. I’m not as upset as others that Ed Olczyk and Doc Emrick aren’t returning. Every video game series that considers paying homage to the real-life sport it emulates should take a page from the NHL series’ book. You may opt-out by. The journey to NHL® 19 has been built by stars who defined the game. Here is the good, the bad and the bottom line on NHL 20. When the World of CHEL was originally introduced, I didn’t care for it much.

While you’re not in this virtual community like NBA 2K (and I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing) the arcade-ish option does open up a number of other offline and online challenges. Goalies Don’t Feel Like the Same Guy in a Different Shell. Design your player and progress to earn gear, equipment and over 900 new apparel customization options, including lifestyle clothing like hoodies, jackets, winter knits and more. When you compare this to other sports games like Madden where there are obvious on-field situations that occur without an animation to represent it, you’ll appreciate NHL 20’s movement and collision detection all the more. You keep playing and winning these matches until there is one player remaining. There is a lot to do, but my absolute favorite new addition is the Ones elimination tournament.