NHL 23 Technical Test Highlights Subtle Gameplay Changes

[ChaseB]

The recent release of the NHL 23 technical test over Labor Day weekend gave people who...

Written By: Kevin Scott

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[LegendKillerOne]

Good Feedback, For me I can not find out if I will purchase until we get to see more. I only care about how people score. in 22 it felt like the AI (I only play franchise mode) went to the goalie and shot from right in front of the net. Did not matter if it was power play or not. I need to se people setup on the power play, take shots from the point. score other ways. WAtching me collaspse three defenders into the front of the net and the AI still just went to the same spot was a real downer

[VeNOM3099]

Maybe I speak for myself and am guilty of being harsher on the series than most... But for me the 23 technical test was a complete wash and after only a couple of hours I was thoroughly done with it.

In some ways the GUI and menus, which were basically copy-pasted from NHL 22, didn't instill me with any great joy to behold from the get go. Then getting into matches, you get the familiar matchmaking issues of not enough players to fill up a 6v6 unless you try a bajillion times. Even in 3v3, it may take a few tries to find people to play with, but then other issues crop up. Like getting saddled against a team of al LVL "I have no life" players while your team is composed of all LVL 1 players... This was a problem 10 years ago, it's still a problem in the test. Worse even, when I'd find a match 3s match and there was a goalie on the other side, rather than lose the match (because players quit), I'd back out to try and search for the same room, being a human goalie this time, but the search would find an entirely DIFFERENT room. Even if there was over 1m30 left to start the match in the original room, I would never be able to find it again. Why??? There's a room with a human goalie, I'm searching AS a human goalie, match me up with it. That too much to ask? Why do I gotta find 10 rooms back to back, all different ones, with NO GOALIES?? Doesn't make sense...

Then there were the gameplay issues. The AI may be better, but it's not like there were many opportunities to sample just how much better they are. For the most part they were competent enough when I was in nets, but I only got to see the AI when my teammates would get a penalty, which was I think once or twice in about 4 or 5 games. I did try defense, and it did feel better to move around a bit, but I cheated and used a forward build (TWF). Poking or DSS didn't feel any different to me, but then again I was never the type to just hold my stick out on D or mash RB all the time except when I was in good position. I did try out if it's possible to play actual defense while playing defense by trying to rub out a player waiting in front of the net for a pass... nope. Instant penalty for lightly tapping him on the shoulders. On the other side if the 7'5", 250 LBS Enforcer D comes barreling from the goal line to the blue line and lays you out (with or without the puck), apparently THAT's not a charging penalty. It's ok because he has the TRUCKULENCE x-factor whatever the hell THAT means...

And last but not least, the Human goalies.... *sigh*

Look, I don't care about AI goalie, because cheating AI gonna cheat anyways. If they have to make impossible save after impossible save, and then let in a muffin from the red line, that will happen. With or without any input from anyone.

But when there's an actual person behind the goalie trying to control it, it's just as bad, if not WORSE than it's ever been. In fact, after the first day, when I went back to check if there were a few drop-ins to play... Where on the first day there were at least most rooms with a goalie, the 2nd day there were NO goalies at all. I ended up searching for 30 minutes, and found 1 room with a human goalie, plus 2 forwards vs my room with 1 defense and myself as a goalie. I waited the 1 minute and 50+ seconds for more people to show up, none ever did and the matchup was canceled due to insufficient players on both sides. So just to keep up the score here, by the 2nd day of the test, people already where NOT playing as human goalies. That's how GOOD the position is...

When I did get to play as goalie in 6s, I was able to pull my weight mostly off my own experiences as an actual goalie, plus the experience I already had in this series. For the most part, I had the same complaints I've always had about the position since NHL 16 on the XB1/PS4: goalies don't make saves, they ALLOW goals. If the puck is anywhere but 100% dead center to your body, you will struggle to get a save animation, let alone a GOOD one. Sometimes I'd get a wild kick save when I was out of position. Many times I got NO save animation while the puck sailed a few inches from my face without so much as a twitch from my avatar on the ice. One thing I did notice and liked was that now goalies were much better at rotating their bodies to stay square to the shooter. But it doesn't do much good when you're basically allowing most snipes to go in.

I know scoring is fun.... When you're a Foward, perhaps. When you're a goalie, making SAVES is what's fun. For a shooter, getting 50% scoring is amazing (it's actually downright ludicrous as even the best scorers in the NHL rarely get over 15% during a season). For a goalie, ending up with 50% save percentage SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSUCKS!!!!!

So goaltending during the Test was a huge letdown and I'm not confident EA will change anything for the actual game.

All in all, the test was another chance for EA to let me down. And, boy! Did they EVER deliver on that premise! I never got to play another game past the ones I did on the first day and by the afternoon of the 2nd day, there was 35GB of brand new space on my Xbox hard drive.

Eyes were not batted. Not one tear was shed... Oh well.

[tinpanalley]

I played the technical test for a couple of days. I honestly don't understand how we're meant to get a sense of what the game plays like by being given the wasted time of online play. Whynot just give us a variety of exhibition match situations? How are we supposed to test the gameplay and the CPU with online play only ? I don't get it. Anyway, I wasn't able to test, try out, or provoke any of the new animations or anything so all I can say is that all I see is NHL22. Even the UI. There you have it for whatever that's worth.

[LegendKillerOne]

Quote: Originally Posted by tinpanalley

I played the technical test for a couple of days. I honestly don't understand how we're meant to get a sense of what the game plays like by being given the wasted time of online play. Whynot just give us a variety of exhibition match situations? How are we supposed to test the gameplay and the CPU with online play only ? I don't get it. Anyway, I wasn't able to test, try out, or provoke any of the new animations or anything so all I can say is that all I see is NHL22. Even the UI. There you have it for whatever that's worth.

That might be intentional so you will buy it first. I am not sure just who knows with EA

[BenVenom]

It’s not a demo or even a beta that they are looking for player feedback. It’s strict a technical test for their online servers. I wish we would get a beta like Madden’s and Fifa where you always get ample time with the game and most of its modes, plays now, franchise etc.

[MuzzUK]

I just wish they'd go back to the gameplay we had in NHL 19 and earlier as far back as NHL 11.

There's a distinct change in the AI behaviour in NHL 20, 21 and 22 where the AI has become really direct. Essentially the AI's focus is to stake into your zone and try to shot the puck from as close to the middle of the net as possible. I understand the need for the AI to be aggressive but we've lost a lot of the behind net play and puck cycling the older games did better.

Sure games like NHL Legacy and older have a few AI defensive problems but at least the game looked and play more realistic. The fact the AI is so direct takes away those subtle little things that make it a hockey experience. The AI will never take the puck behind their own net and wait for a line change like you see at real hockey games. They'll never go behind your net hold up and try to bring others into attack either and they'll only skate behind if you make them by defending. Dumping is really hit and miss too. I used to enjoy in older games how the AI would take the odd random point shot or shoot from obscure angles occasionally catching the goalie unawares or getting a scrappy rebound goal... you just don't get this much unless you really defend with pressure. I understand the need for skill cap etc I've played ultimate team and done quite well but I just prefer coop and franchise mode to playing randoms online. Sliders seem the only way to fix issues BUT they don't change the AI tendencies enough.

The AI basically just wants to get into the zone and shoot as centrally as possible or get a breakaway. Pop NHL Legacy or NHL 2K10 on harder difficulties and you'll see what I mean about puck cycling and movement.

Being in the UK I'm not as hardcore or as knowledgeable about ice hockey as others why does the NHL series get less love than say Fifa? There's enough expertise in the gaming industry to hire good AI coders... sure Fifa has a much bigger audience but I doubt the salary of a couple of AI coders is that costly.

Don't get me started on the separation and differences between player types lol. These games do so much well but the basics let them down sure they look amazing and animations are great but get the little things right and don't remove them like EA seem to do. Why do they strip features like GM Connected why is TRAINING not an option since NHL 12?

[tinpanalley]

Quote: Originally Posted by MuzzUK

Being in the UK I'm not as hardcore or as knowledgeable about ice hockey as others why does the NHL series get less love than say Fifa? There's enough expertise in the gaming industry to hire good AI coders... sure Fifa has a much bigger audience but I doubt the salary of a couple of AI coders is that costly.

Doesn't matter where you're from, you are spot on with surgical precision about what hockey is, what hockey gaming is, what hockey gaming was, and what is sorely lacking in today's video game. I turn on Legacy every now and then (and it helps with up to date rosters) I play a game and I marvel at the realism in the gameplay. I may very well just play my season with Legacy this year for that very reason. Even NHL09 on PC one of my absolute favourites just gets hockey so right. No game is perfect, but those two do far more right than wrong.

To answer your question, it is purely turnover and market penetration. There are simply not enough people that play NHL as there are that play FIFA and it comes down to popularity of the sport but it would be wrong to not acknowledge the popularity of the respective game series'. NHL the video game's popularity was largely, if not entirely, founded on and created by the popularity and ubiquitous nature of the Genesis years specifically from 93-97 when people who didn't even like sports found themselves playing NHL. In North America that had an enormous popular culture influence and a massive influence on how all sports games were developed from that point on. Even FIFA's first 3/4 angle was a variation on the usual look of the football pitch from previous years (mostly up and down or side to side) which was aided by looking at NHL and saying, "well, that non-side to side view of the rink worked well, how about an angled look of a football pitch to show you more of what's going on." It worked so well, they did it with the early NBA games as well.

My point is, I would argue that part of what makes FIFA more popular today is that what once made NHL so popular has since faded as the generation that played the 90s NHL has aged and perhaps left gaming or only continued playing the older game. FIFA on the other hand has developed over time. I would say that it's truly global appeal didn't really hit its stride until football from around the world started becoming more watched around the world and where local brands and jerseys weren't only familiar to people of that region. So, one could argue FIFA became the juggernaut it is today sometime at the end of the PS2/XBOX era when both itself and PES had to do different covers for different regions with different athletes. That doesn't happen anymore for anything other than special edition covers. Mbappe gets a cover all over the world, it doesn't change to a more local star when you're in Argentina or Japan or Canada.

On last exploration of sales, I remember seeing NHL selling vaguely just under 1 million copies per year, all consoles combined. FIFA sells several times that. It's as simple as that. There are parts of the world that simply have no cultural reference for getting into ice hockey. Just like most North Americans have absolutely no connection to pro cricket and pro rugby.