Although in Israel hockey is not a particularly popular sport. It’s always been fun playing for an NHL title over the years. While watching a hockey game on TV can be a little problematic. The disk is small and moves too fast, at a time when not every sports broadcast was in HD at all, it was terrible. But playing was always an experience. NHL 23 Recently received a first reveal trailer ahead of its launch in October. Tonight, EA released the first gameplay trailer that introduces several new features.
As we know, most sports titles are launched every year, meaning there is very little time to improve the game from one version to another. In most cases we get a slightly better looking version with updated teams and rosters. However, there should be significant changes every now and then, and this feels like that time for EA’s NHL. Big changes in the game’s AI, tactics and a variety of other features that we will like or dislike over time.
The trailer itself is divided into five parts, in each of which the game developers explain about the new feature that was added this year. The first among them is – Last Chance Puck Movement – meaning the player’s last move before he loses the puck.
When your player is pushed or about to fall by an opposing player, you will have a chance to make one last move with the puck before you lose it, when the player stumbles he will try to hit the puck to the rest or try to pass it to a teammate.
Another “new” feature is the addition of more strategies. In addition, NHL 23 will include a type of assistant for building formations and tactics, which will include an in-game pop-up window that will inform players if there is an opportunity to change to a more effective tactic during the game based on what is happening on the field. Which increases the competitiveness of the game. NHL 23 will also feature greater control over face offs with the ability to rearrange player positions before and after face offs. This feature allows the player to build from the tools in a more advanced way than in previous years.
In terms of animations and AI, goalkeepers will have more than 300 new animations, players on the pitch will have around 500 animations. The animations were previously only available to player-controlled players. This meant that goalkeepers would often make strange decisions, sometimes completely unrelated to the flow of the game. According to EA, we’ll see a lot less of that in NHL 23 as goalies will be better positioned ahead of time and have a better understanding when it comes to tracking the puck.
The other players will also behave more realistically with increased team awareness, (AI Awareness according to EA) just like you would see in a normal hockey game. The players will indicate to you which player is free and when and there is a higher chance of scoring. The skaters will also raise their sticks to show when they are changing positions on the court and more.
NHL 23 will be released onOctober 14th, for the PlayStation 4 and 5 consoles, Xbox One and Series. From what is known so far, the title will not be available on the PC. Unlike FIFA, EA’s hockey games will remain officially affiliated with the NHL organization. NHL 23 pre-order is now available on the game’s official website