NHL 24 Reviews
NHL 24’s new gameplay features reinvigorate the on-ice action, but its collection of unimproved game modes has grown increasingly boring with each passing year.
Every year I poll my friends on whether they’ll buy the new NHL game. Last year was tough, and to play together we had to give a couple of people copies of the game. When I polled them this year, it was nearly unanimous. Anyone who had to play NHL 24 for work was getting the game, and the four other people had zero interest. That may not seem noteworthy, but that’s about $400 in lost sales for EA among my friends alone. That is four people who are looking for games that can bring our group together and give us a nightly social experience opting out because the price tag has long outgrown the product. I said as much last year, and this year remains no different.
NHL 24 is a decent game: not the masterpiece we dreamed of, but an honest simulation with renewed and accessible gameplay, especially after the corrections made by EA Vancouver. We liked the "on the ice" innovations, while the content ones are hard to judge. Be a Pro and Franchise are becoming obsolete: new things are needed.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Hard-hitting, fact-paced, and action-packed. NHL 24 has hit the sweet spot between challenging and enjoyable.
For the first time in years, NHL 24 feels like a brand-new hockey game made for a modern generation. The addition of some much-needed gameplay features makes for a great time, but relatively unchanged game modes make this more of a small leap than a big jump.
With no major changes in the game modes, NHL 24 shows some interesting signs of life thanks to some new gameplay features. With convincing graphics and sounds, which manages to immerse the player in the atmosphere of an ice rink, the matches are quite enjoyable, with a good rhythm and a truly well-thought-out renewed control system. There are still some issues, but those who live on bread and hockey will find a way to have fun.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Sports games are pretty predictable. From one year to the next, you'll see one or two sweeping changes and then a number of smaller tweaks, but beyond that, you'll by and large be playing the same title. By that logic, it's actually impressive how much EA Vancouver has managed to change this year given how quick its turnaround is from game to game. Less impressive is the implementation of said changes. Selecting your pass targets is a wholly welcome inclusion and a rousing success. The majority of the other changes, particularly the new checking system, leave much to be desired. Why do so many things feel like they took steps backward? Isn't this kind of problem usually reserved for the dawn of a new generation? What happened?
Regardless of the mediocre upgrades to NHL 24’s game modes, I must admit, the on-ice action is a big step forward for the franchise. The new hitting and passing systems need work, but the changes in how momentum affects the moment-to-moment gameplay have injected new life into the series. At the end of the day, I find myself wanting to step back out onto the ice. And that’s more than I can say for how I’ve felt over the last several years.
A fine game of ice hockey, NHL 24 improves upon last year's instalment, offering some slick new features, and all of the usual modes and other accoutrements you'd expect, all nicely presented.
'NHL 24' is definitely a step back in the right direction...While there are still some negative spots for the game, this is still worth the price of a ticket to play in the NHL and makes me feel excited for the future.
Fast-paced action is hampered by strange new presentation elements. Predatory pricing schemes undermine any legitimate improvements that have been made. While this is certainly one to recommend to those looking for a new experience, be warned in that you may not like what you find.
Gameplay updates enhance the on-ice action, and despite some of NHL 24's touted new features not being new at all, the game's atmosphere is still electric.
NHL 24 does do some things that make changes to gameplay in a positive way.
This new feature fares better than the introduction of a total control configuration that dumbs down how to execute fancy maneuvers and complicates the business of body checking your opponent. HUT Moments provide some added depth to the single-player experience within the game's card-collecting modes. It's a shame though that offline modes like Be A Pro and Franchise have received little attention during this development cycle. The looming prospect of a battle pass within the World of Chel that you will be required to purchase in order to receive certain rewards taints an otherwise stellar online mode.
EA Sports NHL 24 scratches the itch for a solid hockey title. There are significant improvements over last year’s title, but replayability, as always is up in the air for sports titles.
NHL 24 puts all of its pucks into the online play basket, so only players who fall into that category will find some excitement this year. The new controls and pressure mechanics leave something to be desired, and the complete lack of offline mode changes is baffling, as are the still incredibly slow menus.
EA Sports NHL 24 comes with new gameplay systems that bring new flavor to the game, but what holds it back is the lack of attention to its fan-favorite game modes.
NHL 24 is undoubtedly the best way to play hockey in video game form. That fact makes its obvious blemishes and lackluster improvements even more disappointing. If you’re looking for a good time playing hockey, NHL 24 can offer that in spades, but so can NHL 22 & 23. Here’s hoping that EA Sports can do more to excite the crowd in their next entry – presumably coming later this year – even though the franchise maybe would benefit from temporarily going on ice.
NHL 24 represents a welcome step forward for the series, with new offensive and defensive game dynamics that raise the simulation level of the series, an excellent implementation of cross-play support, and a very satisfying HUT mode that can be enjoyed even by those who don't want to spend extra money.
Review in Italian | Read full review
NHL 24 features a ton of minor tweaks and changes from the previous year, adding up to one excellent experience.