NHL 15 is a mixed bag: on one hand, it’s one of the best hockey games up to date, on the other, key features of the game are either missing or butchered.
Why the love?
It has the best gameplay in the series, no question about it. From the tumble of the puck to the goalie’s tell, NHL 15 offers a more realistic experience. The graphics are amazing. The players even have believable facial expressions. When it comes to playing a hockey, NHL 15 nails it.
Why the hate?
NHL 15 is great but where’s the rest of it? Looking at the long list of missing features, one can only wonder what the hell is EA doing? These are features that were in previous titles so it’s hard for us to see any reason for them to be missing. Even if it was promised that some of the features will be included in future updates, one can only think that EA is trying to see what’s the bare minimum they can include in a game without it affecting sales. In the end, the game still feels like a downgrade from NHL 14 so why even bother?
What now?
Hopefully, EA will invest more effort in future NHL games. If it doesn’t, there might not be future NHL games… I guess as long as they have Madden and FIFA which outsells any hockey game by a longshot, us hockey enthusiasts might have to go retro. Blades of Steel anyone? Maybe we’ll be lucky and 2K will try their hand at making a hockey game again. One can only hope!