Good morning, ladies, gentlemen, and those of a non-binary nature, my name is Daibhi and this is the Gamerhub Community. I’ve got to admit, I do love me some Ice Hockey. I’m not the world’s biggest fan, admittedly, but who doesn’t enjoy watching it from time to time? The games have a long and storied history of being good, so in anticipation of NHL 24 coming out onto the PlayStation Plus monthly games, the gods decided it was my turn to see whether this game was as good as previous instalments. Would this game leave it all on the ice? Or would it get sent to the sin-bin? Well, read on gamers, and I’ll indulge you.
NHL 24 is the latest game in the NHL gaming franchise (I think the first one I played was on the PlayStation 1) and is the 33rd in the series so far. It’s been developed by EA Vancouver and published by EA Sports. It’s available on the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series consoles and Xbox One. It was released in October 2023, and I think unfairly got lukewarm reviews from people. In light of the game now being able to be played by those not interested in Ice Hockey as a whole, let’s dive right into it!
Plot
Instead of a plot like you’d maybe get with other EA franchises, this game opts to go very much in the same shoes of NBA 2K24 and the WWE 2K24 franchise. You can, if you want, start as a rookie and work your way up the NHL until you rival the greatest of all time (GOAT) players, but this game isn’t interested in you doing that. A word of warning if you do this: the animations for people during the cutscenes give an “uncanny valley” vibe with the sounds not matching the movement of people’s lips, and the voice acting is basically non-existent. The animations for people walking are even worse, as I’m not sure what the developers were thinking but the movement is janky in a way that I wasn’t expecting from a game like this.
Let me carve the ice?
The plotline for doing this is barebones at best, but that’s because the secret sauce of this game is getting you to appreciate the sport by reliving its greatest moments with you firmly in control. For the base game, which is what I was using, and what you get on PlayStation Plus’s monthly games, you get to relive 50 of the sport’s most memorable moments. NHL 24 will lead you into each moment with video and narration, which will blend seamlessly into you playing the moment for real. For example, one of the moments I will probably remember for a long time after writing this is feeling the insane pressure of playing as Sidney Crosby, as he won a shootout victory against the Montreal Canadiens from way back in 2005. This game will literally make you feel as if you’re living in the history of the game, and I can tell you from experience, it’s not something you’re likely to forget in a hurry.
Gameplay
You’re not going to be short of things to do in NHL 24, regardless of your style of play. From a “pick-up-and-play” standpoint, this game is as arcade-like as you’d want, and being able to sit with a friend and watch them demolish you at this game is quite the experience. The game really will pull you in to this if you let it, and to say it’s entertaining would be an understatement. The range of teams is pretty broad, and the arenas don’t look as though they’re simply copied and pasted with different logos on them.
One stand-out point in the gameplay, if you’re just after a quick match is the “be a pro” camera mode. Whilst it takes a while to get to grips with, being able to play as each player in the team as you attempt to win a game against the AI is really worth the experience. The “Be A Pro” game mode, which is this game’s career mode, not so much. However, the camera mode makes this game really immersive, and honestly, I really liked it.
It’s the eye of the Panther, it’s the thrill of the ice!
Now for the online play. If you’ve ever played a modern EA sports game, you know what you’re in for here, but I’ll address the ones who haven’t. If that’s you: don’t start playing online thinking that you’re in for an easy ride, as the majority of people who play NHL 24 online have played at least the last few online, and will be able to put you away with ease. Master how to play the AI on the offline mode at the hardest difficulties first, or you’ll be me and be beaten solidly for ages. I’m good at some games, but I suck playing this game online. At this point, I’m just going to give the Canadians a shout, as they were incredibly patient with me as I tried to keep myself balanced on the ice, so to speak.
One thing parents of young gamers and the rest of us alike are thankful for is the absence of lootboxes. Want better hockey gear? Get the battle pass (what is essentially a new season of online gaming and an extra game mode) and you’ll get access to “World Of Chel”, which for me, was a highlight of this game. It’s a seriously addictive and time-consuming aspect of online play, but it rewards both veterans and newbies to this franchise alike, and actually offers helpful hints should you find yourself in my position: getting beaten by a lot of eastern Europeans, as it seems that NHL 24 is extremely popular with people from that region of the world. Oh, and for anyone who likes a bit of silliness with their sports gaming, NHL 24 has an animated facemask that makes you look like a Turkey. The sort of off-the-wall humour I was surprised to find, but grateful that I did.
Graphics
I could simply put “It’s an EA Sports game”, but that would be doing this game a bit of a disservice. This game is pretty danged beautiful some of the time, and to focus on the negatives isn’t really accurate in terms of whether you should get this game.
Let’s get the negatives out of the way: in terms of graphics, this game doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel: There’s nothing extraordinary about this game’s appearances in regards of some of the modes. However, the GOAT moments really shine. As I said before, this game really is brilliant when showing you some of Ice Hockey’s greatest moments and then putting you in them. It’s as if the game isn’t rendering at all, you’re literally in them in a way I haven’t seen that much of in the past, and well, I’m impressed hugely by it and I suspect you will be too.
Oops!
The arenas are all fantastic to play, and the amount of detail put into making the ice rinks look as real as possible is astonishing. Carve the ice during one play and skate nearby during the next play, and you’ll be able to spot where you carved the ice the last time. This game is full of these little graphical quirks which really do help the immersion, and I’m very impressed, to be frank.
Accessibility Options
NHL 24 is a bit more accessible that I had bargained for: the game lets you remap your controller to work whichever way you prefer (at least on the PlayStation side of things), which is ideal for us left-handed people. There’s plenty of options to mess around with the game’s gamma and brightness, which helps prevent eye strain, and I was a very happy gamer to find out that this game will change things for those with problems seeing certain colours. There’s also options to have your player’s name above their heads at all times, as well as a handy radar-like mini map, to let you know what action is going on.
Soundtrack
Fancy blasting Bring Me The Horizon while avoiding getting cross-checked into next week by someone? Check. NHL 24 has a superb mix of 34 songs, ranging from Metal and Rock to Pop-Punk and even Kenny Mason, but this game has decided to put some seriously catchy ear-worms in your ear. NHL 24 might not be Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy in terms of addictive songs to add on to your spotify playlist, but it is brilliant for what it is.
Purchasing options
Get this for Xbox here.
You can also get it for PlayStation here, but it’s currently free this month (July 2024) for Premium Pass subscribers!
As far as different versions are concerned, I’d recommend just getting the battle pass if you’re after that sort of gameplay, but this game will give you hours of entertainment, and I spent quite a bit of time enjoying this game.
GAMERHUB RATING: 3.9/5 Joysticks
For the Gamerhub community, I’ve been Daibhi and you are all legends.
See you out on the ice.
