Is NHL 19 a Stanley Cup winner?

This review will be extensive, bias-free. It will cover every aspect of EA’s latest installment of the NHL series. Is NHL 19 the breath of fresh air the series needs, or is it another uninspired effort? It’s time to find out!

About NHL 19

NHL 19 is the 28th installment of the NHL series. It was developed by EA Vancouver. It attempts to provide an authentic ice hockey experience on consoles. It was released worldwide for the PS4 and Xbox One on September 14, 2018. P.K. Subban is featured on the North American cover of the game. Subban is a 3x NHL All-Star and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defensemen in the 2012-13 season. Finish and Swedish versions of NHL 19 feature rising stars Patrik Laine and William Nylander respectively. The “Ultimate” and “Legends” version of the game feature hockey pioneer Wayne Gretzky as the cover athlete.

Developer

NHL 19 was developed by EA Vancouver. Fans can expect decent post-release support for this title. As of this writing, there have already been two tuner updates. However, EA Vancouver can be slow to release roster updates containing missing players/rookies. Tuners and patches will continue to be released over the course of the NHL season. Full tuner and patch notes can be found here.

Story Mode? Not This Year

If you’ve played any of the other EA Sports flagship titles, you may be surprised to learn that NHL 19 does not feature a story mode. Both Madden 19 and NBA Live 19 have modes dedicated to taking players on a journey through the life of a professional athlete. However, according to NHL 19 Creative Director, William Ho, a story mode wouldn’t have been a wise investment for this year’s game. While the development team considers this addition annually, World of CHEL was the major focus and selling point for NHL 19. Maybe next year.

Gameplay and Presentation

Ever since the NHL series debuted on the 8th generation of consoles, fans have been waiting for the game to take a leap in gameplay. Last generation, NHL 07 was a breakthrough year that changed the course of the series forever. NHL 19 has a similar feel, from a gameplay standpoint. Skating has finally received the update it desperately needed. Players no longer feel like they are gliding on the ice. Players have a sense of weight on the ice now and that is worth celebrating. But the most important thing about the skating changes is that for the first time, Johnny Gaudreau and Zdeno Chara have completely different skating animations and strides. EA Vancouver used motion capture this year to completely revamp the animations each skater uses, depending on size and skating ability and it shows.

Gameplay is much smoother this year. Puck pickups have been re-worked and deking has seen a slight bump in responsiveness. Defensively, the effectiveness of poke-checking has been adjusted, which helps to balance the game. However, gamers have complained that this has caused an excessive increase in tripping penalties, which has been a topic of heavy discussion since the game released. Hitting feels great this year. In fact, I would go as far as saying that it’s the best it has ever been in the series. It’s that good. The subtle bumping off the puck you see in real hockey is more prominent and the frequency of big collisions has been reduced. The question is whether hitting is a bit too effective this year. Only time will tell if this is adjusted. For now, I like how it works within the wider aspects of the game flow.

On the flipside, goaltending could use some improvement. It is still serviceable, and goals are earned, but when you take an honest look at how much skating was improved, it is apparent that goalies didn’t receive the same amount of love. Maybe next year, folks. Graphically, NHL 19 is solid but not outstanding. This is especially noticeable when you look at the other sports games on the market right now. If you look at NBA 2k19 compared to NHL 19, you wonder why there is such a graphical gap between the two titles. Even Madden NFL 19, which is also developed by EA Sports, is a much prettier game.

Commentary duties are reprised by NBC’s Doc Emrick and Eddie Olczyk. If you’ve played recent versions of this series, you won’t nice much of a difference here. The commentary is fine, but not exceptional. Presentation is stale and needs a fresh coat of paint. There are new subtle touches like five-man celebrations and you will occasionally hear new dialogue, but that’s it. Presentation is solid, but very familiar.

Multiplayer

The standout addition to NHL 19 is World of CHEL. World of CHEL is a centralized hub where you take a created player online and compete with others in various game modes. The focus was on creating a festival-like atmosphere with this mode. Games are played outdoors at resorts and players can be customized from both playstyle to aesthetics. What I love most about this mode is that it is essentially microtransaction free. To get rewards such as new gear for your players, you must play the game. Since sports gaming has used microtransactions as a very profitable way to boost revenue, this is refreshing and places the focus back where it should be: on fun competition. Hockey Ultimate Team also returns this year. It’s a decent offering if you enjoy card collecting modes. It isn’t my cup of tea, but it adds flavor to the overall online product. Both current NHL stars and legends can be collected and added to your team. There is a lot to do here and it is fun to see who players decide to use when building their teams.

Franchise Mode (Offline Quest/Mission System)

For several years in a row now, franchise has been familiar. Yes, expansion mode was added last year, I know, but beyond that, it was the same. This year, EA Vancouver focused on revamping its scouting system. This is a welcome change and it provides a lot of depth. For hardcore franchise players (such as myself), the inclusion of Fog of War is an overlooked but excellent addition. This concept—borrowed from text-sims like Out of the Park Baseball and Franchise Hockey Manager, forces the user to scout teams to reveal their players’ hidden attributes. This change brings you closer to facing the true difficulty of being a hockey general manager. Should you gamble on an aging star you haven’t scouted in a while, or trade for a prospect you’ve given a few good looks at? The power, risk and reward are all in your hands.

Price

As is common with AAA titles, you can expect to see NHL 19 in stores at $59.99. It is available for the PS4 and Xbox One. As was previously mentioned, the rewards system online is not micro-transaction dependent, so you do not need to worry too much about spending additional funds.

Final Verdict

Pros:

+ Gameplay hasn’t been better this generation
+ World of CHEL gives online a fresh and exciting feel
+ Franchise mode has finally received some new wrinkles

Cons

- Presentation hasn’t received many noticeable improvements
- Graphics lag behind other sports titles