This year’s iteration of EA Sports’ NHL series is the deepest, most polished version in the franchise’s history, combining balanced gameplay with a dearth of modes that will leave fans no shortage of choices. This is the definitive NHL experience, delivering longtime fans a title that’s in the conversation with some of gaming’s greats in the NBA 2k, FIFA, & Madden NFL series.

So what makes NHL 19 just so great? It’s simple, really. EA built upon last year’s sturdy foundation and added more customization to fold, along with a new online hub and quite a bit of fun to go along with it. On the ice, you’ll find little deviation from last year’s product in NHL 18. Everything feels quite similar in your standard in-arena game. Thanks to the game’s many sliders that can help balance the gameplay, you can play the game as authentic or as arcade-like as you want to. New Tuner Sets are available for download consistently, providing players with a constantly tweaked set of sliders that help to refine the gameplay. If there’s one complaint to be had, it’s that poke checking is too volatile in the form of tripping penalties. In the past, it used to be too powerful of a tool, allowing players to knock the puck off of opposing player’s sticks rather effortlessly. The pendulum has swung too far back the other way, unfortunately. Carrying over from last year, the brand new Defensive Skill Stick can be useful at times, but isn’t as effective as one might hope.

NHL 19‘s greatest accomplishment is introducing the World of Chel, which brings together the game’s best and most popular online game modes under one hub. The menu system in the game is just like last year’s, utilizing a page of blocks that shows you every game mode all on one screen. You can even customize this dashboard to make it your own, picking three of your favorite modes and pinning them. Under World of Chel, you’ll find four primary game modes: NHL Pro Am, Ones, Threes, & the ever popular, long running EASHL. Upon entering the World of Chel, you’ll be able to create and customize a player and a club. The club pertains to the EASHL, where you can join or create one and play in leagues with your friends (or in a pick-up setting with strangers, which is also enjoyable).

Customization reaches a new level never before seen in NHL games. In terms of aesthetics, players will have over 200 face & head templates for both male and female. It is scary how accurate my NHL doppelganger is. In addition to the visual aspect of your created character, you can now edit Loadouts, which adds an RPG-like element to your player. Some presets include Sniper, Power Forward, and Puck Moving Defenseman, just to name a few. Once you select or change your preset, you can add unlockable traits to your chosen Loadout, such as “Laser Passing” or “Good Stick.” Depending on your choices, certain attributes will be boosted. As you progress, you unlock rewards in the form of hockey bags. Opening a hockey bag will give you goodies to use in the World of Chel. These items can be “common” or “rare” and are generally used in Ones. You’ll unlock NHL-licensed apparel for your player to wear, new announcer taglines, and equipment. If you played Star Wars Battlefront II, you’ll recognize this as a borrowed system – Battlefront II’s controversial crates were payable by real-life currency at first, but became free shortly after the game’s release that was flooded with downright brutal PR. Thankfully, NHL doesn’t contain any paid hockey bags. Everything is earned by playing.

In World of Chel, NHL Pro Am is a delightful game mode that lets you play with and against NHL stars. Taking your created player to an outdoor 3-on-3 game, you’ll play challenges focused around a specific NHLer. Some of the early challenges include “Light Up Luongo,” “Beat The Boeser,” and “Too Much To Yandle?” Each challenge has a different assortment of players. In my first game, I played alongside Jack Eichel. Past the snappy, creative challenge titles, the players in the game have little consequence, where each scenario simply comes down to winning the game.

NHL 19’s new flagship mode is entitled Ones, an exciting free for all that pits three standalone players versus eachother in a rush to score goals out on the pond. There’s a goaltender, your created player, and two opponents – that means just one net for everyone to try and score on. If you ever played “take back” as a kid when there was only one goaltender, this is sort of like that, but you don’t need to tag up. For instance, I can shoot the puck and have the goaltender make a save, only for my opponent to sweep in the rebound. The goal counts for the opponent. There’s no way around it; you need to be on your toes every second in Ones. Though it doesn’t have the panache of Threes, it’s still a riot in its own way. Going from defending to the offensive and back to defending in a matter of seconds is thrill. Often times, I found at least one of my opponents not quite strategizing correctly, leading to an easy goal for our shared opponent. As time goes on, I imagine players will carve out some nifty strategies.

The outdoor setting of the pond hockey is gorgeous, giving a wondrous feeling of nostalgia for many of us that grew up playing either street or pond hockey. The snowy backdrop, the wood cabin in the back ground – all of that, coinciding with the large coat and beanie hat dress code of the skaters, makes for simply put, a fun atmosphere.

Last year’s ultra popular breakout mode, Threes, returns. It’s just as addictive and exciting as last year’s adrenaline fueled romp. In Threes, you’ll play an arcade version of 3-on-3 hockey where there are no rules other than score. When starting a game, you can choose to play with a clock or set a number of goals to play up to. Additionally, money pucks will appear from time to time, each one having a different outcome. The majority of goals will count as one point for the scoring team, but some pucks have boosters and/or negative values. If a puck has a flaming “3” on it, the next goal counts as 3 points. If there’s a freezing “-2,” the scoring team gets 1 point and the opposition loses 2 points. Add in a goofy PA announcer, ridiculous body checks, and the occasional appearance from NHL Legends and Mascots, and you have another thrilling season of Threes on your hands. It’s the best arcade hockey since the early 2000s’ NHL Hitz series.

Threes expands to be executed on an even better level this season, giving depth to an already superb mode. The Threes Circuit is less daunting this year and therefore more appealing, where you can play through the Western and Eastern circuits in defeating every NHL team. You earn a score by way of experience points and for every victory, you’ll unlock that team’s jersey, arena, legend, and some players to add your roster, the “Fridge Raiders.” My last victory was against the Dallas Stars, where I unlocked goaltender Ed Belfour. Of course, nothing is more hilarious than seeing an NHL Mascot absolutely destroy another player, or go end-to-end and roof the puck. Ones might be the mode that EA is selling in the store window, but it’s Threes that will keep players coming back time and time again.

Hockey Ultimate Team, the games hockey card-based mode, is back and largely unchanged. Higher value cards appear to be easier to unlock than in past iterations, but the fact that microtransactions exist here make the mode less appealing than it would otherwise. In the HUT Marketplace, players spend NHL Points to purchase packs of cards that include current players, gameplay abilities, and the most impressive Legends roster ever with more than 200 to unlock. That being said, you can purchase NHL Points with real world currency, with bundles ranging from $.99 to $99.99 USD. You read that correctly. $99.99 sounds a bit absurd, but thanks to NHL 19’s overall depth, it can be avoided and tucked away in a corner. Sure, unlocking Markus Naslund is neat, but I’m not spending actual cash on a mode such as this. To each their own, I suppose.

Be A Pro is sadly still just limping along at this point (thankfully I was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres first overall. Take that, NHL 17 & NHL 18 version of me!). A true “live the life” mode like we see in NBA 2k, Madden, and even FIFA now would likely make a future version of NHL the most complete version ever. Draft Champions is back but loses its novelty pretty quickly. You are able to select from 4 different groups, featuring different kinds of players such as Speedsters and “Grizzled Veterans.” After this, you’ll get the option to draft 12 players to your randomized team of minor leaguers. You’ll get four games to play after drafting. The more you win, the more rewards you get to cross-utilize in HUT. This is a take it or leave it sort of mode. A new mode that flew under the radar a bit in the lead-up promotion is the Champions Hockey League, where players can play in a tournament based on the European Club Championship. Its addition to the game is rather minute, but it doesn’t hurt having it there. One mode I wish we would see return is Winter Classic and it seemed like that was coming with the emphasis on pond hockey. But alas, not this year.

Aside from Threes, I found that I spent most of my time with Franchise Mode. Thanks to the aforementioned bevy of customization options, creating the NHL’s 32nd franchise (my “Seattle Emeralds”) was an absolute joy. I easily spent 4-5 hours crafting every detail for my new expansion team, from the team’s logo & jerseys to every nook and cranny of the arena. Choosing a goal song and song to play just before my powerplay is a little touch that I as a passionate hockey fan appreciate. Once I created my team, it was off to the expansion and entry drafts. Trying to stay in salary cap compliance while building a contender in the shadow of last year’s Vegas Golden Knights run was thrilling, challenging, and rewarding all the same. Signing free agents and making trades is more realistic than ever (unless you’re the Montreal Canadiens). One such aspect that aids in this fact is something EA calls Fog of War, where all player attributes are blind to the player, just like it would be in real life. You can assign scouts to be very specific in their assignments, helping you to gain better understanding of the players you choose to pursue. Additionally, players and teams seem to negotiate with a much more specific mindset than in years past, and that makes things more rewarding when you can finally land that star center you always dreamed of, or cleared a bunch of cap space thanks to trading an aging veteran.

A common theme in NHL 19 is progression, whether that’s chipping away at a new game on the Threes Circuit or trying to upgrade your player in Ones. Retention is a key component of most successful, ambitious games, and NHL 19 certainly possesses that. It’s important to be appealing to players outside of your opening few hours of gameplay. What’s more is most progression systems give the player a feeling of attainability, meaning grinding through meaningless levels of games isn’t present. Outside of the game, the Xbox’s Achievements and Playstation Trophies are some of the best in years, and feel more balanced than ever before. That’s a good thing, because it rewards players who fancy all different kinds of game modes, instead of focusing on only certain modes such as Be A Pro or EASHL.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t comment on the wonderful soundtrack that is featured in NHL 19. There’s something here for everyone due to the diverse lineup of musicians. Some artists to note are Panic! At The Disco, Imagine Dragons, twenty one pilots, and the popular Canadian group Arkells.

FINAL SCORE

8.75/10

NHL 19 is the most complete hockey game ever created. It’s as diverse as it is deep, providing hours and hours of gameplay for fans of any level. Though imperfect, Ones shines in its debut and bolsters the fantastic addition of Threes from last year’s game. NHL 19’s ridiculous level of content provides fans with an impressive amount of value.

+ Ones is a worthwhile addition with an atmospheric version of pond hockey that brings a sense of nostalgia.

+ Threes is still king.

+ 12 different game modes.

+ Deep customization.

+ World of CHEL

– Be A Pro and Presentation.

– Occasional issues with Defensive Skill Stick sensitivity.

Josiah LeRoy is The Geekiverse’s resident NHL fanboy. You can catch him on Twitter, counting down the days until the debut of the Buffalo Sabres shiny new savior, Rasmus Dahlin (24 days).

NHL 19 was reviewed on an Xbox One X. It is also available on Playstation 4.

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