Ben McDonald

Took a couple years off from the nhl series until this year and not much has changed. Mostly just a $80 roster update. Same facelift from the years previous save a couple new cool features like last touch and X factors. Also some minor quality of life stuff to minimize menu surfing which is painfully slow as always. The presentation is decent this year and feels more immersive. The gameplay though is numbingly inconsistent so far in online modes like HUT and EASHL. Some games you’re invincible and others you have 40 pound weights strapped to you. Winning feels dirty when your 75 rated player blows by McDavid like he’s standing still. Losing is extra aggravating when none of your players seem to be able to pick up a loose puck that game. After rebranding the same game 5 years in a row you would think they would have ironed out the inconsistencies. On the bright side, there’s always NHL 23.5 to let us down next year.