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

[onlybygrace]

Re: NHL 21 Trial Available For EA Play Subscribers - Post Your Impressions Here

Played a couple games.

There are some improvements. You can definitely slow the game down easily by reducing gamespeed, player acceleration, and skating speed. You can make the game play like they're skating in molasses if you’d like.

Aside from the couple of noticeable AI improvements, its just boring to play at this point.

Playing one game is freaking exhausting by comparison to playing PGA 2k21 where I can play for hours on end.

I really miss loving NHL games and wonder if the day will ever come where the game is enough to elicit the same emotions or immersion it offered in the past.

I spent some time watching people play their BAP on YouTube and I must say that its a pretty impressive upgrade. Really impressive honestly.

Also...it sucks that we have to wait so long to get updated rosters based on the fact that we have no clue about the details of next season.

Ugh...

[The EVHL]

Re: NHL 21 Trial Available For EA Play Subscribers - Post Your Impressions Here

Played a couple games.

There are some improvements. You can definitely slow the game down easily by reducing gamespeed, player acceleration, and skating speed. You can make the game play like they're skating in molasses if you’d like.

Aside from the couple of noticeable AI improvements, its just boring to play at this point.

Playing one game is freaking exhausting by comparison to playing PGA 2k21 where I can play for hours on end.

I really miss loving NHL games and wonder if the day will ever come where the game is enough to elicit the same emotions or immersion it offered in the past.

I spent some time watching people play their BAP on YouTube and I must say that its a pretty impressive upgrade. Really impressive honestly.

Also...it sucks that we have to wait so long to get updated rosters based on the fact that we have no clue about the details of next season.

Ugh...

The neutral zone improvements are encouraging, but the game itself is just so catered to rushes (exactly like FIFA which is why FIFA is also boring) which makes it a really boring experience if you genuinely follow pro hockey. Pro hockey does not simply revolve around rushes. More than ever, teams are taking away the goalie's vision and scoring ridiculous tip/screen goals. The real NHL has "snipes" through screens that are so fun to watch. Usually a great screen, paired with a nice toedrag to change the angle from the vision side to the screen side, finished by a great placement in the upper corner and you have yourself a highlight reel goal.

Unfortunately for us, EA believes that an unscreened wrister from beyond the tops of the circles short-side is a "sick snipe" and will continue to cater to people who think hockey is simply played on the rush, or that "in-zone" offense consists of the puck carrier doing continuous loops in the corner until an AI defender inexplicably leaves his weakside assignment to open up a one-timer goal.

Hockey is a beautiful, dynamic game if you let it be. EA won't let it be, therefore the experiences are rather mundane. Can you imagine PES-like physics with the puck in this game? That would be insane!

[onlybygrace]

Re: NHL 21 Trial Available For EA Play Subscribers - Post Your Impressions Here

The neutral zone improvements are encouraging, but the game itself is just so catered to rushes (exactly like FIFA which is why FIFA is also boring) which makes it a really boring experience if you genuinely follow pro hockey. Pro hockey does not simply revolve around rushes. More than ever, teams are taking away the goalie's vision and scoring ridiculous tip/screen goals. The real NHL has "snipes" through screens that are so fun to watch. Usually a great screen, paired with a nice toedrag to change the angle from the vision side to the screen side, finished by a great placement in the upper corner and you have yourself a highlight reel goal.

Unfortunately for us, EA believes that an unscreened wrister from beyond the tops of the circles short-side is a "sick snipe" and will continue to cater to people who think hockey is simply played on the rush, or that "in-zone" offense consists of the puck carrier doing continuous loops in the corner until an AI defender inexplicably leaves his weakside assignment to open up a one-timer goal.

Hockey is a beautiful, dynamic game if you let it be. EA won't let it be, therefore the experiences are rather mundane. Can you imagine PES-like physics with the puck in this game? That would be insane!

This is probably the first year that Ill actually pass on this game since i started playing back in 94.

Its just completely exhausting to play just one freakin’ game. Cant get into it, even though both games went to OT.

[SocialAssassin]

Re: NHL 21 Trial Available For EA Play Subscribers - Post Your Impressions Here

If you do a franchise, remember to get rid of the kid they always put in the game. It's Aleph Wang this time.

[Keirik]

Re: NHL 21 Trial Available For EA Play Subscribers - Post Your Impressions Here

Is this going to be available at midnight tonight for those that, pre-ordered?

[centauris]

Re: NHL 21 Trial Available For EA Play Subscribers - Post Your Impressions Here

Do not buy this. This is the most 'copy and paste' EA has done on NHL in a long time.

[Travolterjohn]

Re: NHL 21 Trial Available For EA Play Subscribers - Post Your Impressions Here

Do not buy this. This is the most 'copy and paste' EA has done on NHL in a long time.

It always goes this way every year with the most Customer. First they say that they don’t buy, short time before the release they pay for the preorder or buy it at the release date. After some weeks they find out that it is the same mess with maybe more bugs as the previous Game and than they say that never will buy it again. As long as the sales and micro transactions are not falling down in a massive way EA doesn’t have to work for a better game. So at the end it’s not EA’s fault, its the Customers, EA is doing only a minimum what is necessary to do. It’s a pity !

[Therebelyell626]

Re: NHL 21 Trial Available For EA Play Subscribers - Post Your Impressions Here

Got about 10 games in so far. Overall pretty much ‘20 with some add on’s as most have said.

My only real complaint with the game is the same as it is every year. The CPU has to basically cheat to win games and their AI are capable of doing things the human and humans AI teammates just can’t do.

- It takes me almost a full 3 seconds to get back up to full speed from a stop. The CPU can stop on a dime and burst up to full speed as if they never stopped moving

- hits are way way way over done this year. The littlest piece of incidental contact sends bodies flying through the air

- speaking of hits. I can have the CPU defender beat and dead to rights. They check me from behind barely making contact and my offensive player goes flying. Good bye breakaway. While I could literally be committing a charging penalty and my defender will just bounce off of the CPU skater while he continues to skate un-impeded to the net.

- overall I think the “neutral zone” and AI improvements you guys are seeing are a placebo. I think the developers just really juiced the CPU abilities this year to make it seem that they are situationally aware, when really they can just do things you cannot do. There hasn’t been one play yet where I am like “you know the AI really played that right”. What I am seeing is instances of the CPU clearly cheating when beat to make it seem like they are playing defense. Even with all of the cheating I am still beating the CPU 5-2, 6-2, and 7-2

- on a positive note the CPU goalies do seem to be much tougher and playing way smarter. They just can’t sufficiently make up for the boneheadedness of all AI defenders, user and CPU

[Freakywwe]

Re: NHL 21 Trial Available For EA Play Subscribers - Post Your Impressions Here

I'll say the neutral zone improvements have stood out the most for me. CPU defenders actually stepping up and pressuring me as opposed to waiting for me to cross the blue line before initiating. It's still way too easy to get past them with speedsters like McDavid and such but I've definetly been feeling it when my lower skill guys try to rush up the side boards. I've actually had to play some dump & chase when those guys are on the ice.


It leaves me a little hopeful with player and slider adjustments you could actually make a pretty good game of hockey. Just wish we had roster share to make that process easier. Oh well

[stooge 1010]

NHL 21 Trial Available For EA Play Subscribers - Post Your Impressions Here

I saw a video on YouTube, Rangers vs caps. What is the name of the camera view from side view that looked like a real game. Nhl 21 gameplay


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[Sauce12]

Re: NHL 21 Trial Available For EA Play Subscribers - Post Your Impressions Here

I saw a video on YouTube, Rangers vs caps. What is the name of the camera view from side view that looked like a real game. Nhl 21 gameplay


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True broadcast

[stooge 1010]

Re: NHL 21 Trial Available For EA Play Subscribers - Post Your Impressions Here

That game I watched on YouTube looked so real, I’ll have to try true broadcast when I play. I have played up and down view for a long time, broadcast view will probably take some getting used to


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[Freakywwe]

Re: NHL 21 Trial Available For EA Play Subscribers - Post Your Impressions Here

That game I watched on YouTube looked so real, I’ll have to try true broadcast when I play. I have played up and down view for a long time, broadcast view will probably take some getting used to


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True Broadcast is nice, just takes some time getting used to. I can't really play with it, I get disoriented. But it's great for CPU vs CPU

[Jatt96]

Re: NHL 21 Trial Available For EA Play Subscribers - Post Your Impressions Here

That game I watched on YouTube looked so real, I’ll have to try true broadcast when I play. I have played up and down view for a long time, broadcast view will probably take some getting used to


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Link the video that made this game look like it was watching a real life hockey game. I'd love to see it.

[stooge 1010]

Re: NHL 21 Trial Available For EA Play Subscribers - Post Your Impressions Here

Link the video that made this game look like it was watching a real life hockey game. I'd love to see it.

I typed in nhl 21 gameplay on YouTube and it is video of capitals vs Rangers It’s from sports gaming universe


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