NHL 23 review: "Prioritizes small refinements over reinvention"

Sports games with annual releases often face the same problem of functioning more like an update to the previous year's installment rather than being a completely new experience. There are rare instances when an entry will give a significant overhaul to features or add something that breathes fresh life back into the series – such as the surprisingly fresh FIFA 23. Unfortunately, its studio-mate NHL 23 falls victim to the genre's yearly release cycle, and prioritizes small refinements over reinvention.

That's not to say that NHL 23 is bad, per se. The refinements have definitely made improvements to the on-ice gameplay, making this the most enjoyable installment in years. There's always been something zen-like about passing between teammates to set up a good one timer and deking around your opponent, but it's been made all the more engrossing with the new last-chance puck movements. 

Previously, taking contact momentarily stopped your character in their tracks, which rewarded strong defensive play but overall disrupted the game's flow in an unrealistic and frustrating way. Now you can keep control of the puck while stumbling on the ice after getting bumped and shoved. You're also able to dive after loose pucks, leading to white-knuckled moments where you just barely manage to bank a pass, or score a goal while slamming into the ice. These new animations help ensure that every match maintains both a proper sense of realism and momentum.

The feminine touch

The biggest change to NHL 23 is the inclusion of women players from the IIHF in Ultimate Team's roster of unlockable athletes. It's a long-overdue addition, but a welcomed one nonetheless, and being able to have mixed-gender lineups offers even more ways to customize your dream team and create tighter synergies between players. That, however, comes with the caveat of dealing with HUT's microtransactions. HUT isn't necessarily pay-to-win, and it does offer opportunities to earn packs through gameplay, but you stand a better chance against an opponent's team if you speed up the process using real money for pricey packs with increased odds of drawing strong hockey stars. 

Be A Pro continues to be a missed opportunity, especially when compared to the single-player campaigns offered by the FIFA or NBA games. The dialogue is stilted, cringey, and completely unvoiced. You're offered RPG-lite choices but cutscenes are disconnected from them. I angered a teammate for refusing to go bowling the night before a game because I didn't want to gorge on soda and hot dogs – which cost me likeability points with the rest of my team – yet we still fist bumped each other as if we just had a friendly interaction. 

I love the idea of starting as an underdog and working my way up over the years into becoming an iconic hockey star, but Be A Pro's weak structure dampens the fun. This is the third year in a row since Be A Pro's revamp and it's functionally identical yet again. There've been no improvements to the writing, mechanics, or presentation. The mode continues to come across as an afterthought rather than a main attraction and it's a real shame for anyone looking to live out their NHL fantasies.

World Of Chel is largely unchanged apart from the addition of cross-play which, while unavailable at launch, should hopefully shorten the lengthy matchmaking times. Curiously, cross-gen multiplayer is excluded; Xbox Series X players can only match against those on PS5, and vice versa for those on Xbox One and PS4. You also aren't able to team up with friends on other consoles and instead get restricted to playing against them. World Of Chel, frankly, has traditionally had something of a toxic player base, and not being able to play with friends on another console to avoid getting teamed up with aggressive randos is a huge sickener.

Pucking frustrations

Online play has been a mixed bag so far, with frequent failures to connect to servers and disconnects during matches. But the game's also a technical mess in its offline modes. There have been so many instances where I've loaded into a Be a Pro match only for the screen to suddenly turn completely black and force me to relaunch the game. I've had the entire game freeze after matches. Players still get stuck inside of each other and sometimes their legs decide to have intense spasms.

Bugs can always be squished with patches but the main crux of NHL 23's shortcomings is its familiarity. Last-chance puck movements and the much needed inclusion of women players in HUT are great but they don't change the core gameplay in a way that makes this significantly different from NHL 22  – especially since the new IIHF stars are completely missable for anyone that isn't interested in playing HUT. 

I'm torn on my feelings toward NHL 23 as a whole. The game is without a doubt a fun time, yet it's also one that feels just a bit too lacking. It's an easy recommendation for newcomers or those who've skipped the last few entries in the series but returning players won't really be missing anything by skipping it. We're now two years into the next generation of consoles and rather than taking a needed step forward, NHL has its skates planted firmly in the past.

NHL 23 was reviewed on PS5, with a code provided by the publisher.