NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

[Chad0034]

Re: NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

I can't believe I'm saying this but I actually love the game this year. NHL used to always be my favorite franchise over a decade ago but it got so consistently bad that I stopped even hoping it would or could get good and didn't even pay it any attention.
Months ago on this board I was surprised by how many people were saying it was good, even guys that often complained in the past.
I let it go on sale and picked it up. OH MY GOD! Am I ever glad I listened to some of you guys. I used someone's sliders that I have eventually made quite a few changes too as I got better and my god guys what a game. In my opinion this is the best playing hockey game I've ever played. The sliders are extremely responsive in my opinion too. You can make it play however you want.

Im happy you're happy. I honestly wish I could say the same thing. Unfortunately my fix is playing online versus (until presentation is ramped back up so I can make it thru franchise mode)

And in online versus, with the current default sliders, this thing plays more like NHL arcade 94 than a hockey game you'll see in real life. You should see how much more excited I get when my team gets a garbage rebound goal compared to when we get a crazy no look behind the back cross crease goal haha

[leafs nation]

Re: NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

I'm with you on the music part of the presentation. They should allow as to put our own music in like they used to. Having the real goal songs would be huge. I'm good with the rest of the presentation though. I think the play by play is pretty good. I live in Canada so I never really liked when they went with the NBC broadcast because we never watch the American telecasts up here.
Hope you are enjoying online. I don't go online at all in my sports games. Offline franchise only.

[VeNOM3099]

Re: NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

I'm with you on the music part of the presentation. They should allow as to put our own music in like they used to. Having the real goal songs would be huge. I'm good with the rest of the presentation though. I think the play by play is pretty good. I live in Canada so I never really liked when they went with the NBC broadcast because we never watch the American telecasts up here.
Hope you are enjoying online. I don't go online at all in my sports games. Offline franchise only.

They'll never allow custom music ever again because of licensing. Especially now with how the music industry is cracking down on Youtubers and Twitch streamers: "Hey we figured out there's money to be made on vidya games so we want it all for ourselves!"

As for playing offline or online, it's all the same. I tried Franchise and Career. I got tired within 2 minutes of seeing my AI grab the puck in my zone, try to break out, have 1 or 2 lanes to pass it out but instead decides to double back into its own zone, smash into the boards and turn the puck over in its own zone. No amount of slider editing can fix that. Then in online play you have to deal with idiots quitting out as soon as there's one goal scored and then you have to PRAY you got the good bots on your team. Cuz if you didn't, welp, you might as well join those who quit out for all the help they'll be.

It's great that people can find enjoyment with the game. But for me it's like playing an F1 game where the AI constantly run off circuit or playing a Baseball game where they can have as many strikes as they please until they hit the ball outta the park. Fun...

[MizzouRah]

Re: NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

Every game just feels the same to me and while I enjoy the game play overall, I want authentic goal songs, which I know costs EA money but it adds to the presentation.

I've been playing M21 a ton because each stadium is unique and each game plays differently, even after 100+ games.

We don't have starting lineups, intros, or anything like that anymore. There is hardly any stat overlays or scores around the league.. it's just gotten stale. It's load up the game and play the same way each game.

They have done a good job with other franchise stuff and I appreciate that, I'm ready for other upgrades to the game play and presentation.

[The EVHL]

Re: NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

Every game just feels the same to me and while I enjoy the game play overall, I want authentic goal songs, which I know costs EA money but it adds to the presentation.

I've been playing M21 a ton because each stadium is unique and each game plays differently, even after 100+ games.

We don't have starting lineups, intros, or anything like that anymore. There is hardly any stat overlays or scores around the league.. it's just gotten stale. It's load up the game and play the same way each game.

They have done a good job with other franchise stuff and I appreciate that, I'm ready for other upgrades to the game play and presentation.

Especially for custom teams, the presentation is really dry. No crowd chants, generic goal horns, no props. intros, starting lineups, anything. Simply having a fresh coat of paint on the intro would add so much replay value to the game.

I agree about every game being the same too. The goalies and the way you score on them is just painfully mundane. Great plays foiled without even a rebound, generic diagonal-path wrister from the blueline snipes the goalie...just soooo boring.

[MizzouRah]

Re: NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

Especially for custom teams, the presentation is really dry. No crowd chants, generic goal horns, no props. intros, starting lineups, anything. Simply having a fresh coat of paint on the intro would add so much replay value to the game.

I agree about every game being the same too. The goalies and the way you score on them is just painfully mundane. Great plays foiled without even a rebound, generic diagonal-path wrister from the blueline snipes the goalie...just soooo boring.

Exactly... it's a great game for newcomers to the NHL series, I'll give it that. I've been playing for many years and a reboot/new direction is LONG overdue for this series.

I even thought the superstar and x-factor stuff from Madden could add some player individuality to the NHL series.. or something similar to make players standout. We don't even have roster sharing.

[The EVHL]

Re: NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

Exactly... it's a great game for newcomers to the NHL series, I'll give it that. I've been playing for many years and a reboot/new direction is LONG overdue for this series.

I even thought the superstar and x-factor stuff from Madden could add some player individuality to the NHL series.. or something similar to make players standout. We don't even have roster sharing.

I'd get so much more into rosters if they had a vault like The Show where I can pickup my rosters from yesteryear. I also agree on the X-factor thing. Tie it to dekes, one-timer success rates, auto-saucers, rebound control etc.

This game just lacks "soul" lol. CPU plays the same, cheating way it has been for a decade. AI is still very far behind being "good" imo for offline gaming, lack of pre-game energy just literally doesn't get you excited to play the game, and goalies and puck deflections and AI tendencies are just way too static and predictable to really have fun for more than 2 games at a time. I run my own league, I'm very committed to playing NHL offline, but seriously I can't play more than 2 games without switching over to something else for awhile. I'm someone who can play multiple other games for 2-4 hours straight on a weekend when time permits, but NHL...the game I WANT to be able to do that, I simply can't! It's too stale, too predictable, too "meh" man it's just so vanilla. Literally bores/bothers me to death.

There's just something so robotic and generic about the gameplay. Like, it's way too hard to find a sweet spot with the sliders where great players can shine, while also not being OP, while also not having the non-stars be completely useless. Same with goalies. Goalies are either a scary combination of Hasek, Brodeur, and Roy or they're the 8th string U18 Bulgarian national team goalie. It's seriously the hardest part about making a slider set imo...especially as a RL goalie haha.

Hopefully frostbite will bring some much needed life to the look and presentation side of this game. I think if the pre-game intros were cool enough to wake me up a bit, I could muster 3, maybe even 4 games a session rather than my hard cap at 2.

[kerosene31]

Re: NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

As a long time fan of this series (I think I've owned just about every copy ever), I stopped buying the game at launch, waiting for it to be on sale. Now, I wait for it to be free on Game Pass or EA Play. I just downloaded it, played a game and uninstalled.

There's zero teammate AI in the game. My teammates stand facing the wall waiting for a pass, only to spin slowly and turn it over. Nobody is moving, forcing me to hot dog it up the ice, which works mostly because the CPU AI isn't very good. They cheat with the stick and can knock the puck, but once you get some space, you are gone. The game is no hockey sim, but isn't even fun as an arcade game either.

It is sad because I think there could be a decent sim in here if they only worked on the AI.

[The EVHL]

Re: NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

As a long time fan of this series (I think I've owned just about every copy ever), I stopped buying the game at launch, waiting for it to be on sale. Now, I wait for it to be free on Game Pass or EA Play. I just downloaded it, played a game and uninstalled.

There's zero teammate AI in the game. My teammates stand facing the wall waiting for a pass, only to spin slowly and turn it over. Nobody is moving, forcing me to hot dog it up the ice, which works mostly because the CPU AI isn't very good. They cheat with the stick and can knock the puck, but once you get some space, you are gone. The game is no hockey sim, but isn't even fun as an arcade game either.

It is sad because I think there could be a decent sim in here if they only worked on the AI.

I make sliders with CPU strategy adjustments at 0/6, then set them to the settings I believe capture real hockey better, and it definitely helps get a little more challenge out of the CPU AI, but I agree with you about the teammate AI. Why does your AI not want the puck? The CPU AI is very quick to react and sprint towards loose pucks but your AI just stands still and needs to be handheld to do anything.

They could not touch a single thing gameplay wise other than the AI and they'd have a massive improvement in terms of fun, enjoyable gameplay. The AI is light years behind the tech in this game. They can add whatever new animations or dekes they want, but until the AI is even semi-competent, this game really won't progress at all.

[hyacinth1]

Re: NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

Why did they overpower the pokechecks in 21? I thought last year it was perfect.

[Money99]

Re: NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

I make sliders with CPU strategy adjustments at 0/6, then set them to the settings I believe capture real hockey better, and it definitely helps get a little more challenge out of the CPU AI, but I agree with you about the teammate AI. Why does your AI not want the puck? The CPU AI is very quick to react and sprint towards loose pucks but your AI just stands still and needs to be handheld to do anything.

They could not touch a single thing gameplay wise other than the AI and they'd have a massive improvement in terms of fun, enjoyable gameplay. The AI is light years behind the tech in this game. They can add whatever new animations or dekes they want, but until the AI is even semi-competent, this game really won't progress at all.

I haven't played an EA hockey game in a while.
But the last version I did (17?), I noticed that the CPU is programmed to attack the human player with gusto, but to leave CPU controlled players alone.
Play My Player or with player lock and you'll see this.
Pass to a teammate and the CPU leaves them alone. As soon as you get the puck, it attacks you like you owe it money.

They have to give the CPU some kind of boosts or advantages to make games competitive because their developers can't or won't programme good AI.
And they never will.
This is EA hockey. It's been this way for decades and won't be changing anytime soon.
There is a greater chance 2K makes a hockey game again than EA programs realistic hockey AI.

Sent from my MAR-LX3A using Operation Sports mobile app

[metallidevils]

Re: NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

So I just picked up this game, I’m absolutely awful at it. I can’t sustain any pressure in the offensive zone and immediately turn the puck over. The only way I can score is the occasional wrister from like 20 feet out. Any basic advice or sliders that would help the cpu lay off the pressure a bit? Also my AI teammates don’t help or try to get open...

[The EVHL]

Re: NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

So I just picked up this game, I’m absolutely awful at it. I can’t sustain any pressure in the offensive zone and immediately turn the puck over. The only way I can score is the occasional wrister from like 20 feet out. Any basic advice or sliders that would help the cpu lay off the pressure a bit? Also my AI teammates don’t help or try to get open...

I've found that turning attribute effects to 10/10, acceleration down to 15, speed down to 40, and agility down to 40 using game speed 3 to produce a much more realistic pace. I have a whole list of slider edits that I haven't uploaded yet, but this is where I'd start. The CPU on default sliders moves way too sporadically which ultimately leads to them breaking physics imo which severely mitigates your forecheck. Also, turn CPU pass accuracy to 0 otherwise they'll never miss a pass.

Start there, see if it works. Check out other slider posts around OS as well to see if anything feels right. Mix and match elements and also take your skill and preferences into account in-order to find your preferred game style.

[mkharsh33]

Re: NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

I really want to absolutely "love" this game. I just can't. So many deficiencies, that no matter how many slider adjustments you make, the game is just "stale". I'll play a game, and then just not touch this for another 2-3 weeks, and I deeply love hockey. Many years into this, we all know this series is what it is, and it's not going to improve. From dumb AI to the repetitive gameplay aesthetics - it's just vanilla and boring.

[metallidevils]

Re: NHL 21 Has Been Released - Share Your Impressions with the Community

I've found that turning attribute effects to 10/10, acceleration down to 15, speed down to 40, and agility down to 40 using game speed 3 to produce a much more realistic pace. I have a whole list of slider edits that I haven't uploaded yet, but this is where I'd start. The CPU on default sliders moves way too sporadically which ultimately leads to them breaking physics imo which severely mitigates your forecheck. Also, turn CPU pass accuracy to 0 otherwise they'll never miss a pass.

Start there, see if it works. Check out other slider posts around OS as well to see if anything feels right. Mix and match elements and also take your skill and preferences into account in-order to find your preferred game style.

Thanks, I’ll try this.

There are things about this game that are just so bad. They have alumni teams, support putting those alumni teams in season mode (why can’t they have a ‘replace all’ button...) but the commentators have absolutely no context as to who the players are, so someone like Gretzky scores his first goal of the season and the commentators talk about how it is his first ever goal and not much is expected of him offensively. Rinse and repeat this for every single player.

The commentary overall is the most barebones awful commentary I’ve ever heard in a sports game.

The fantasy draft, they show you stars instead of attribute ratings. It makes absolutely no sense.