NHL 26 Reviews
NHL 26 is a fine take on the sport of hockey, but it largely fails to offer any significant jumps from last year’s game.
NHL 26 builds on last year's overhaul with improved gameplay and a revamped Be a Pro mode, but legacy problems still hold it back.
Reviews aren’t the place to weigh in on how to fix things, so I won’t do that here. Deep down I hope the developers who are making this are kicking down Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson's door asking for more time, budget, or anything really. Developers tend to be super fans who love making amazing games. I believe that about EA Vancouver, but this is not good enough and hasn’t been good enough for years. The players who return year after year deserve better.
NHL 26 isn't a massive overhaul by any means. The title fixates on a couple of key areas to improve upon, and unlike some previous entries, it succeeds. The new updates to Be A Pro, chiefly the World Juniors and voice acting, are incredibly welcome. Even more so, the tweaks to the hitting engine and especially goaltending are phenomenal. But that's a rather slight list of changes for a full-scale annual release. Pair that with poor online performance and difficulty of finding matches, and you have to ask yourself if the updates are worth it. Is this a better title than NHL 25? Absolutely. But are those changes enough to make this a good game? Well, that's a more complicated question.
NHL 26 doesn’t come close to reaching the heights of the series, but it isn’t terrible by any means.
NHL 26 is a game of ups and downs. It has its moments and can rely on a certain charm derived from a good pace and a fair amount of spectacle, but it continues to suffer from a whole series of more or less marked flaws that, especially for those who plan to play hundreds of games between skates and sticks, can become quite annoying in the long run.
Review in Italian | Read full review
EA Sports NHL 26 is a good base game with some decent improvements in their more niche modes. Players of those modes should be happy, but players looking for a larger leap in the game as a whole shouldn't hold their breath.
'NHL 26' is a revamp and refresh. However, to me, it's an incredibly hard game to justify buying from last year's installment...I do feel like we are a goalie that's been left out to dry in the third period late.
There's a lot to love about this year's NHL game. From the redesigned Be A Pro mode to the enhanced NHL EDGE authenticity, it's a notable step up from previous years. NHL 26 has perhaps the best 'superstar' mode of EA's current sports lineup, which is shocking considering how stuck in the mud it's been prior to now. If you've been on the fence about EA's pro hockey series, now's the time to jump in.
Hockey is family. Hockey is life. Hockey is a source of joy. NHL 26, less so. For all the good it does, this is an off year; this is certainly no NHL 17. I hoped for more.
Thanks to the next iteration of ICE-Q and massively overhauled X-Factor system, NHL 26 is a better version of NHL 25 that feels more player personalized. Everything looks and executes at a higher level, but improvements are subtle.
NHL 26 isn't a perfect entry, let's be clear, but it's a true starting point to relaunch the brand toward new quality standards. There are solid improvements across all the main modes, while the gameplay-despite a few nuances-strives for realism at all costs and gives the overall experience an exceptionally genuine sense of immersion.
Review in Italian | Read full review
NHL 26 is one of those games that will easily last you the year, working as a welcome return to the franchise. Whether you are a hockey fan or not, you’ll get thrills from the on-ice action, taking you back to the glory days of decades gone by.
NHL 26 pushes authenticity forward with ICE-Q 2.0 and NHL EDGE data, offering more realistic player differentiation and broadcast-style presentation. While core modes like Be A Pro and HUT see meaningful refinements, the series still feels evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
NHL 26 is a fun game that does enough to bring hockey titles in line with the advancements seen in EA's latest sports games. Both on the rink and in the modes, everything works well.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
With a number of improvements such as a new goalie crease system and NHL EDGE data being used to enhance player behaviour, NHL 26 is undoubtedly a great hockey game. Be A Pro mode still has some issues, though, and you can just tell that the series doesn't get as much love as the likes of EA Sports FC.
NHL 26 is a terrific iteration of the series, bringing together immersive, in-depth gameplay thanks to the ICE-Q 2.0 AI system, terrific visuals and a huge roster of modes.. It's puckin' great.
The annual hockey update arrived a little earlier this year, but it still feels very much the same.
Review in Finnish | Read full review
NHL 26 finally brings a significant improvement over previous editions, mainly thanks to smoother gameplay, smarter AI, and greatly improved goalies. The most important new feature is the revamped Be a Pro mode, which now offers an authentic career experience, from junior beginnings to competing for a spot in the NHL. On the other hand, the game still suffers from outdated graphics, poor animation variety, collision issues, and weaker off-ice presentation. Overall, it's a step in the right direction, but still not the revolution that fans would like to see.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Overall, EA Sports NHL 26 delivers very well again this year. The optimizations on the ice with ICE-Q 2.0 and the individual tendencies of the stars are likely to be appreciated primarily by true NHL nerds, but the optimized goalies, the tidied-up menus, and the additional options in Ultimate Team should appeal to a wider audience. The completely revamped Be-A-Pro mode is really nice, shining with stylish sequences, press conferences with sound, challenges, and versatile, influenceable systems. We make decisions, choose dialogue options, and use different activities to influence our player's path. The franchise, on the other hand, is once again very classic and menu-heavy, but as always comes with a lot of management options. A facelift with a little more spectacle would be a nice thing here. The presentation on the ice, on the other hand, is really impressive, whether it's the atmosphere with lots of action off the ice, the optimized graphics, or the dense soundscape. This makes it easy to overlook the somewhat wooden faces and movements in the stands. All in all, NHL 26 is an all-around successful installment in the series, but there is still room for improvement in a few areas.
Review in German | Read full review