The single reason NHL 20 and the series is unplayable

[voodoo_magic]

I think mentioned earlier, something like the NBA2K badges and madden Xfactor could really help.

Every year I go and edit McDavid, Crosby, Ovi, etc, the real superstars and set most of their offensive categories like wrist shot acc, off awr, puck control to 99 and it helps some but they could probably be at 109 when you compare them to most players.
When they are coming down the ice it should feel scary if they get some space and get a good shot off.

Of course we need much better defensive ai that steps up at the blue line and doesn't just let you into the zone like they do right now. So I guess you could say it's a balanced game right now.

[MizzouRah]

Exactly... you need a trait system that boosts the ratings. That is the greatest advancement in Madden by a wide margin. I know when a SS or xfactor player is on the field and in the zone. You have to totally change your play calling.

[statum71]

You pint out valid areas. The game could be better just as any game. But I wouldn’t call it unplayable.


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[Drakar]

They are so many things the game doesn't capture. I think NHL series in general, since it's inception, never had any real differentiation between players and teams. In you compare to Madden, each team have their own playbook and they feel different. You know if you will play against Cam Newton, you may run more QB Spy on defense. The run is coming more often than a typical QB that only stays in the pocket. In NHL, every team plays the same. the A.I has the same behavior. This is one of the biggest issue with the game.

My 2nd grip with the game is the 1 on 1 battle and board play. This is hockey 101. This is the one of the fundamentals, win your 1 on 1 battle on the board. NHL 2K series did the board play very well. EA NHL, not so much. Not only does the A.I cheats on the board, you almost have zero option to win that battle against the board. It's almost pointless to try. You know, they will come up with the puck on the board.

my 3rd grip is puck possession and how A.I. is capable on holding on to the puck likes it's glue to the stick. You can lift stick and poke and somehow they always hand up with the puck anyway. When they do it to you however, you always lose the puck. Not only at they super efficient at it, they barely take a penalty for it.

and my last grip with the game is once again A.I but this is time hockey IQ. The 1st liner all the way to 4th liner all have amazing hockey IQ. There is no separation between Crosby and some 4th liner grinder, they will pivot and spin like they have been part of the ice capades before. they all have amazing awareness of their surrounding and amazing puck passing abilities. They also seems to have amazing speeds when not human control. It's almost impossible to catch up to Karl Azhneir (Ai controlled) when you have Connor Macdavid (human controlled). It's ridiculous at time. How much the AI can speed boost it's way on the ice and often get to the puck way sooner than you can ever dream of.

I think it's time to come to the conclusion that EA has not intent of fixing any of this. They are only interested in appealing to "influencer" in order to make more money. NHL HUT is now the primary source of revenue for the game. Who cares about the little guy who likes to do 15 season franchise offline. They are not buying collector card in the store, therefore, they are 2nd fiddle.

This is just a few of my issue with the game, I feel like I can talk for hours about all the things the game does wrong. I am not sure there is any point to it anymore. It's the only game in town, therefore, EA doesn't have to change. they know a sucker like me will buy it every year because I love hockey too much.