What NHL 20 Needs to Do on the Ice to Succeed

[TNKNGM]

I say it every single year.......STRIVE TO BE LIKE MLB THE SHOW

MLB The Show sets the bar for sports games, they nail the little things and the gameplay is as good a representation of the sport as any sports video game ever produced. They focus on the simulation of real baseball and the arcade type features are secondary to the sim type features

I thought NHL19 played a pretty damn good game of hockey, with properly tuned sliders

1) Focus on the actual gameplay, then focus on the gameplay even more....little improvements go a long way

2) Improve the realism - focus on gameplay and real hockey concepts
....a) Offensively - spacing, dumps, cycles, drop passes
....b) Defensively - spacing, active sticks, board battles
....c) Powerplays - so many teams use that "bumper" PP now....add it to the game
....d) More team specific play styles - make teams play like their real life counterparts
....e) again, little improvements to these areas with go a very long way

4) Improve the players likeness, no reason you shouldn't be able to have 75% of the NHL players have faces that look 100% accurate

5) More goalie masks with closer to real life paint jobs, more goalie equipment, etc

6) More team specific arena atmospheres

7) Roster sharing, slider sharing, created player sharing - again, replicate MLB The Show and have a "vault" where people can upload to

8) Custom music - replicate how MLB The Show does "Sounds of the show".....allow us to have custom goal songs, replicate the home teams entrance and allow us to have the real music teams hit the ice to

9) Stop with the gimmick features and focus on the reason people buy the game - #1 priority should always be to improve the core gameplay and relpicate real life hockey

[coachmac75]

Hi

For me a feature I would really like to see on the ice is the possibility to substitute a player for faceoff (to manage lefty / righty matchup or simply get a better player for faceoff in ST when the C is in the cage)

[jack72]

I think NHL 20 will need to be free in order to succeed. But earlier then when they made NHL 19 free.

[scagwi]

Please make a PC version again

[Sportsgamefan]

I only ever play offline and franchise mode. I'm mostly interested in the team building and drafting, things like that.

On the ice the difference between players and teams would be vital to keep the game interesting. It takes all interest out of building a team, when it makes zero difference who is on the ice for you. I agree with the article in that the AI is stupid, players do not follow the tactics/instructions in any way. They turn their back to the game, and what always makes me crazy is the defense leaving the offensive zone way too early and then dropping back all through the neutral zone no matter what.

PP/PK AI is atrocious.

The game needs a more live puck, like in hockey. It needs basic ice hockey IQ. It definitely needs players with different skills/traits. (look at all the tendencies in NBA2K. Even drafted players there feel like individuals)

In any game of hockey these days, look out for how many times each game the puck is cleared/attempted to clear out of the defensive zone. In EA NHL it's only an option for the PK, never when 5 on 5.

I always find sliders I like, get the stats as close to real as possible. Still the fact that ALL players play a like, and the AI issues that can't be affected with sliders make me bored way too soon. I always found the sliders kind of backwards too. Why isn't the game as close as possible by default and then you could arcade it all you want..?

[Fiddy]

NHL 20 needs to embrace what it is and I've been saying it now for a decade. "Embrace that they are an arcade game with simulation elements sprinkled in!"

Then people wouldn't be so bent out of shape, me included.

Woke up this morning and turned twitch on. Watching a guy in HUT season 43. Both teams, get puck on stick and spam the Left Trigger and skate backwards up and down the ice waiting for each other to poke check and draw a tripping penalty.

That's not hockey! EA allows it. Why? Because it's an arcade game with simulation elements.

The last few weeks I started playing offline again. Heck I went a long time not playing. But I've been playing online 3's with NHL teams versus mode. That lead me to complete the two circuits and now working on the Legends one. Having fun. BUT, zero reason we can't use all these legends etc in a season. Zero reason!

Bah.

[PhillsPhan26]

They need a team that lives, sleeps and breathes Hockey. Those who develop this game now just don't have it. I say it all the time, when someone isn't good at their job/ profession. More times then not that company will replace/fire you.

[johnnyg83]

One thing I wish they would go a little further with -- the NHL 94 idea they tried a few years ago. I liked the concept but I didn't think it worked because the gameplay wasn't the same and the contemporary graphics didn't feel right in trying to replicate the technology of the '90s.

I would suggest that they go back to 16-bit sprite-based graphics and gameplay mechanics with ALL the off-ice features that that offer now ... stats, free agency, franchise relocation, uniform customization, awards.

I'm not saying it should replace the current game, but I think it could be a popular option.