NHL 22

NHL 22's various arcade modes have their charms, but it's an uneven installment that puts the focus in the wrong places.

NHL 22 relies on its superstar talent, and it's not impressive enough to give the gameplay the new life it so desperately needs

NHL 22 surprises by making its debut on a new console without removing any of its modes, but those who played NHL 21 may find this version a little too familiar. X-Factors on paper should be a game-changer but are mostly underwhelming. The switch to Frostbite does massively improve the fidelity of the rink – even if character models still look downright demonic – but should that really be the biggest change to the game? The ultimate question is: can the price increase be justified on the PS5? And given how little really has changed from last year to this year, the answer has to be a “no”.

It's a transitional year for NHL, then. It's arguably better than ever on the ice, playing a mostly authentic and enjoyable brand of hockey that implements some subtle, but worthy new features to satisfy hardcore fans. It also looks meaningfully improved thanks to the Frostbite engine (and clearly a lot of hard work). But in terms of content and game modes, it's largely the same offering as last year, and that gets pretty old after a while. Hopefully, now that the engine transition is out of the way, we can look forward to some ambitious new modes and features in NHL 23 and beyond.

NHL 22 doesn’t feel like the next leap forward for video game hockey. It barely feels like meaningful DLC.

NHL 22 on current-generation consoles is the best NHL experience that has released in some time.

I have long been a fan of sports games. Those who have read any of my other reviews will have no doubt come across a plethora of such reviews here on the site.

NHL 22's gameplay is substantially unchanged from its predecessors. The Frostbite engine brings a breath of fresh air to the graphics, but the gaming experience does not differ dramatically from what has been seen in the past. The result is a fun and full of game modes title, which however would need an update in the game mechanics to be able to take it one step further.

So at the end of the day, NHL 22 just feels like a transition to a kind of gameplay that would eventually feel even more real, probably not this year but in the upcoming releases. It's still fun to play, and the graphics are clearly the best improvement on new-gen consoles, but otherwise, those who want to get the game on old-gen wouldn't necessarily notice a massive refresh.

NHL 22 finally brings the series into the next-gen: the beginning is encouraging but we are still far from that magnificence that had characterized the EA series for long periods in its first thirty years of life.