NHL 27 Review

And we are back with EA Sports’ latest entry, NHL 27. Currently, there is a massive buzz for ice hockey in the UK, myself included. EA has made headline additions this year rather than the few minor updates we tend to get year on year, and I am excited to spend more time with them.

Like most EA Sports games, booting up guides players through configuration settings to tailor the experience to their skillset. Whether you are a newcomer or a veteran, you will find a middle ground in terms of difficulty, with fully customisable options available whenever you fancy a change. Once you have selected your settings you are then presented with a great amount of content.

Game Mode Breakdown

• Quickplay: Perfect for a quick 5 to 10 minute fix, allowing you to jump straight onto the ice for a rapid match without worrying about long term management or progression.
• Connected Franchise & Offline Franchise: Franchise mode receives its biggest update in years with the return of Connected Franchise, allowing you to run full online leagues complete with custom rules, trades, and commissioner tools. If you prefer to play solo, offline Franchise mode lets you take full front office control of a team, managing salary caps, scouting, and contract negotiations across multi season campaigns.
• Be a Pro: The traditional single player career experience where you build a custom skater or goalie, draft into a team, and shape your own individual hockey dynasty while earning ice time and coach feedback.
• Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT): The primary card collecting mode where you build a dream squad of current stars and historic legends. You can take your custom lineup online against other players or complete single player offline objectives and challenges to unlock new player items.
• World of CHEL (WOC): A fast paced, arcade leaning hub focused on casual and competitive 3v3 or 1v1 play. It offers rich character customisation, seasonal Battle Passes, and unified XP progression.
• Licensed International & Minor Leagues: A vast roster of real world leagues beyond the NHL, including major European competitions, the PWHL, and lower tier North American development leagues, usable across exhibition and tournament modes.

Presentation has also received a massive facelift. Arena and broadcast elements are completely overhauled. Pregame intros feature music matched arena lighting, on-ice projections, dynamic camera angles, and stadium props that make every match feel like a major event. All 32 arena atmospheres have had a glow-up, complete with authentic, licensed goal songs, team chants, and crowd reactions that capture the true essence of game-day culture. Best of all, the mascots can be seen hyping up the arena during powerplays and breaks in play. Paired with a brand-new broadcast package featuring commentary from John Buccigross and Darren Pang, matches carry a genuine TV-style energy and deliver an impressive package for pure ice hockey immersion.

A significant improvement is the implementation of Cohesive AI, designed to make teams behave less like isolated individuals and more like unified lines. Teammates and opponents react and adapt to one another dynamically. Whether executing a dump and chase, applying forecheck pressure, or hustling back on defence, every movement feels smarter and more purposeful. Stronger teams lean heavily into this feature, showing tactical awareness that requires high pressure or clever puck movement to break down. The AI scaling remains fair across difficulty settings: Rookie grants enough space to learn the basics, while Superstar is aggressive, fast, and highly disciplined with positioning.

Team Specific Playbooks are included for all clubs and are built on real-world positional data, meaning every team reacts differently during fundamental plays and tactical setups. These variations lead to far more dynamic matches, encouraging you to choose a squad that fits your natural playstyle or adapt your strategy on the fly.

While there is a lot to love, NHL 27 can still feel familiar underneath its fresh coat of paint, as is common with annual sports titles. Nevertheless, EA has knocked it out of the park by overhauling match-day presentation and refining the AI to feel robust, fluid, and attentive.

NHL 27 is another solid, highly enjoyable entry in EA’s flagship hockey franchise. The inclusion of Connected Franchise answers a long standing community request, while arena overhauls and tactical playbooks bring much needed authenticity that is genuinely impressive to experience first hand. Plenty of game modes to get into and have a change of pace whether you want something a bit arcade and fast paced or trying to build a super team to lift the Stanley Cup there is enough here to lose countless hours. Accessibility features continue to welcome newcomers with open arms, and hardcore online league fans will be thrilled. Even if you are strictly a single player gamer with little interest in online leagues, you will be glad to know you can play alongside the CPU and still thoroughly enjoy the upgraded experience.