NHL 26 Review

And we’re back with EA Sports’ latest entry in the yearly NHL series with NHL 26. In order to keep interest alive in Canada’s favorite sport, EA Vancouver tries and figure out ways to keep the game fresh and keep gamers coming back every year and also attempt to reel in newcomers. Let’s see what the developers brought to the bench this time around.

Akin to the last few years, when booting up the game, it will guide players through a few configuration settings to tailor their experience to their skills. Whether it be you’re a newcomer or a yearly dedicated player, you’ll find a just middle in terms of difficulty settings tailored to your skills.

First off, yes, as with previous years, the game is jampacked with game modes. You can play now by jumping in a quick game, play through a season of PWHL, a revamped Be a Pro mode, Franchise mode where you lead to your team to the top, tournaments, IIHF tournaments (World Junior Championship, World Championship, Women’s World Championship).

The Ones Now brings the action outside in a 1v1v1 situation. The player with the most goals once times is up, wins. Whereas NHL Threes lets you play with fewer players, Season Mode and Playoff Mode. Ultimate team where you can create your dream and work your way to victory. Test your metal in the world of CHEL. You can also take your skills online against other players.

EA Vancouver improved their Be a Pro mode. They basically applied the same template they did with Madden 26. You’ll start in the minors and work your way up to the NHL; before jumping on the ice, you’ll go through a questionnaire like scenario that will establish your player’s position and skills. For each match, you have the choice of how much time you want to spend on the ice; given you’re playing “yourself”, you’ll spend some time on the bench or in the penalty box.

As you play through each game, you’ll improve your player’s skills à la RPG making you a better player. You’ll also be prompted to have multi conversational choices with teammates, your agent or the press for example. Depending on the answers you’ll give, certain criteria will improve. Focus on being a good team player, you’ll improve your relationship with your teammates.

Another new feature is the ICE-Q 2.0 powered by NHL Edge. This new features improves overall player movement by making you play more reastically. Each player has their own attributes and tendancies such as accelaration and top speed making each player feel different and unique. EA Vancouver also improved the Goalie Crease Control System with close-range saves, poke checks, and upgraded A.I.. The Ice-Q 2.0 presentation gives inner detail of replays.

Much like the last few years. NHL 26 looks great but visual improvements are getting barely noticeable. At this stage in the current console generation, EA Vancouver, along with other developpers, are progressively plateau’ing in terms of visuals. Players look great, crowds look reasonable. The audio side of things is great. The crowd noise is solid and responds accordingly to the action on the ice. The commentary is on point and brings me back to a time I’d watch Saturday Night Hockey; makes you feel like you’re watching a game on TV. The soundtrack heard during menu-ing is interesting and diverse, a step above Madden’s.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with NHL 26, it’s just the same old thing. While they do manage to improve and tweak a few things here and there, innovations are far and few between. It basically felt like playing a shinier version of NHL 23. While this allows newcomers to join the yearly franchise at any point, it also give little no reason to buy it on a yearly basis unless you’re adamant about playing almost up to date roster; rosters are up to date, but trades can happen anytime.

NHL 26 is another enjoyable entry to the long lineage of EA’s flagship hockey franchise. There’s enough content to keep hardcore players hoooked and more game modes that you can shake a stick at. Whereas the game’s accessibility features can tailor the experience to welcome in newcomers with open arms. Long time fans of the series are sure to be quite happy with this latest entry. But Be a Pro mode aside and the addictive Ones Now, there’s isn’t much that justifies buying it if you already have NHL 25 and/or NHL 24; unless you’re OCD and need to complete your collection.