At others, a direct overhead shot means the arena’s lighting puts a spotlight overtop of stats, meaning they become so washed out they can’t be read. I appreciate the effort to overlay shot counts or powerplay effectiveness on the ice before a face-off, but frequently the system starts a little too left or right of camera and can’t truly be appreciated before it disappears off-screen. At other times using a saucer or a lighter touch, I’ll find the puck just skips over my intended recipient at other times, they’ll behave as if the biscuit is nowhere near them (mirroring the defensive problem I detailed earlier).ĮA Vancouver’s new augmented reality broadcast system is a mixed bag. Holding my joystick to its leftmost point and charging up for a hard pass, I am frequently astounded when I put the puck almost directly behind my player instead. In NHL 22, there are times where I simply cannot connect the puck with a teammate. I’ve played NHL for so long, I certainly rely on muscle memory in the minute-to-minute stuff. I can’t quite put my finger on it, and that’s what frustrates me the most. That all said, there’s something wrong when it comes to passing. In Threes modes, goalies just seem to turn off I’ve seen so many pathetic shots just trickle through an arm or five hole. AI goalies are the exception, becoming dumb as posts in online play and still quite susceptible to cross-crease passing and one-timers. Player AI seems improved upon last year (which itself seemed to have improved on the one before), with AI players becoming better at stopping cross-crease movement for cheesy goals. On the whole, being in the correct position means you’ll take away a potential scoring chance, though occasionally, your player will behave as if the puck isn’t around him. I also appreciate the ways in which NHL 22 rewards reading the play when it comes to defence. As a defenceman in Pro-Am, I appreciated how my centre would circle back and give me a bump on the gloves after the beginnings of a great shift between face-offs. Things seem fluid and fresh, and player animations are top-notch.
When it comes to gameplay, Frostbite generally delivers a boost as well.
#NHL 22 TRIAL UPGRADE#
Even playing the Xbox One version via backwards compatibility on my current-gen console, I can easily note the visual upgrade that NHL has received. Light and shadow exist like never before seen in the franchise, and there’s a newfound sense of realism that is hard to deny.
#NHL 22 TRIAL SERIES#
On Xbox Series X, NHL 22 looks beautiful. The obvious question here is simple: is an upgrade to the engine enough? Off a stellar release in NHL 21 and in a franchise where players are happy to take a year off, the answer is complicated.įirst, let’s deal with Frostbite. In the case of NHL 22, this year’s big drawcard is the move to EA’s proprietary Frostbite engine on both last- and current-gen consoles. Another year, another assessment of a yearly sports franchise and a decision on whether or not it’s a buy or a skip.
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