NHL 24 Review: Total control and arcade-like deju vu

Back onto the ice we go...

NHL 24 is out now in early access to those with its X-Factor Edition, and today begins our review (in progress) of the yearly hockey title.

This year’s biggest features are mostly detailed by EA Sports itself in an opening blurb (as captured in our own video, below), but we’ll recap ’em anyway.

First, a new exhaustion system will change how skaters and goalies alike react. A team in the offensive zone of the other will force pressure upon it, which of course extends to the defensive goalie. The longer an offensive team applies that pressure on the other, the more heightened gameplay will (presumably) be. With only three full games under my belt at the time of writing, I’m not sure how this system actually impacts NHL 24 on the whole as yet, though I’ve scored a number of goals — perhaps coincidentally — as the pressure counter appeared on-ice.

I mean, I understand how this pressure could result in a goal, but the same is true for possession and shots on. Is this the chicken, or the egg? I can attest to new goalie animations looking both realistic and overly crazy in equal measure, so at the very least, the exhaust engine provides entertainment.

New physics-based contact — and ragdoll effects — are potentially to thank for some of that newfound goalie magic, with NHL 24 promising “hits that will break the glass”. While this will certainly provide entertainment for those playing (and if I’m being honest, would also do the same if I was watching a real-life game), I’m curious to see how frequent these events will occur. While repeated glass-breaking is admittedly neat, I’d argue it wouldn’t be all that realistic.

On the presentation side, new flex celebrations and highlights are immediately apparent, adding a new sense of flair to the NHL franchise. You can see one in the video above after I put one in the net as the Florida Panthers.

These new tweaks are coupled with new commentary from Cheryl Pounder, who is immediately a breath of fresh air. I say this because for every change to NHL 24‘s presentation, there are elements that remain stale as all hell. Be a Pro opens the same it has for years, and James Cybulski drones on with the same content that signified the mode’s brand-new look and feel. I did note some new elements inside Be a Pro — including your player in his shoulder pads rather than his jersey when fielding questions — but if you’re looking for some engaging new angle or storyline in the mode, be prepared for disappointment.

A change that’s not so much advertised when you start NHL 24 but factors into your basic setup is a new way to control your skater. The familiar old skill stick takes a backseat to a control mode EA Sports is calling Total Control, and it’s certainly catering to arcade players rather than simulator enthusiasts. In this new control scheme, you skate with the left stick as normal, but can opt to either use your right stick or face buttons to perform a shot or hit. On offense, the B button on Xbox will perform a behind-the-legs shot, the A button — sometimes — will perform a one-handed tuck, and so on.

I completely glossed over this in my video below — it’s all still stick, all the time up there — but I did jump into practice mode to get a far better sense of what to expect. In short, I’m not loving it so far. For one, it’s super easy to pull off moves that normally took some dexterity — so far more arcade-like than something resembling a simulation — but it’s also really hard to figure out how to actually aim your shots. Do I need to use the right-stick, somehow? Does my left-stick factor in at all? I’m still not sure.

Skating behind the net, those using Total Control can now hit the Y button to begin the process of a lacrosse shot. I couldn’t find a tutorial that actually explained where I should try to initiate the move from in order to pull off a goal, but I eventually figured it out. It’s certainly neat — and incredibly entertaining — but also cheapens the experience. If people are pulling off lacrosse goals and breaking panes of glass in each and every game, is this really NHL hockey?

As I detailed this morning, Hockey Ultimate Team leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I mean, it always does, but this year seems particularly egregious with bigger cash grabs attempted than ever before.

In a similar vein, I ventured into World of Chel to finish up today’s play session and was thrown into the Store tab before I did anything else. Right beside that was a tab for NHL 24‘s newly introduced Battle Pass… because why not throw in more functionality that’ll have you reaching for your wallet?

Right now, the changes made to my yearly hockey game seem flashy and a little less NHL than I’d like… but who knows? Maybe they’ll grow on me. I’ll keep playing and updating, and we’ll figure that out together.

Update (6 October 2023): While the changes to NHL 24 aren’t as chaotic or arcade-like as I originally believed, it’s still a mixed bag. First, new goal celebrations — in which a spotlight shoots over the goal scorer and carries on for far too long — are just that: too long. They can’t be skipped, and they also sometimes don’t make that much sense. While a crazy celebration suits a goal that puts your team up late in the third, it’s not as special when you’re already four goals up… or worse, four behind. In playing HUT Moments as the Edmonton Oilers, I kept losing faceoffs because I couldn’t actually see when the ref dropped the puck over the insane-o flying Oilers lightshow that was blasting over the faceoff dot.

My glass-breaking tally is at three, or once per day. Whilst that’s way too many broken panes of glass for the amount of games I’ve played, it’s not all that noticeable, nor entertaining. It just is. The same is true for Total Control scheme moves — if you see someone going through the (incredibly slow) motions of a lacrosse goal, you simply lay them on their ass.

That is, if you can. The new checking system takes a bit of getting used to, but I quite enjoy it. It’s very risk reward — if you pull back on the right-stick to make a big hit and then mistime it, you’ll certainly be caught out of position and vulnerable. After some time (read: almost three full days), I’m getting much better at it. I’m still not perfect, and while I can deal with that, it’s a hard pill to swallow when forwards can hit a single button to pull of some crazily sick moves. While there is a hit assist button, it’s usually a pretty weak follow through — and you know the one if you’ve been playing NHL for a while. You’ll knock the player off the puck, but you’ll largely take yourself out of the play too… except for that your opponent seems to recover far faster than you can.

Here in Australia, online play remains the same as it always is. Prepared for high ping and feeling like you’re skating through molasses.

All up, NHL 24 introduces some new elements that may seem to steer the game into an arcade-like direction, those in single-player can choose to adopt or ignore them as they’d like. Fast-paced action is hampered by strange new presentation elements. Predatory pricing schemes undermine any legitimate improvements that have been made. While this is certainly one to recommend to those looking for a new experience, be warned in that you may not like what you find.

Expect NHL 24 on Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PS4 and PS5 from 7 October. Pre-orders of the X-Factor Edition include three days of early access starting 4 October.

NHL 24 was reviewed using a retail code on Xbox Series X, as purchased by the reviewer. Click here to learn more about Stevivor’s scoring scale.

NHL 24 7 October 2023 PS4 PS5 Xbox One Xbox Series S & X   Buy on the Microsoft Store: Xbox One, Xbox Series, X-Factor Edition