NHL 16

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
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  1. Level7.nu
    Oct 16, 2015
    70
    NHL 16 might be a more complete game than NHL 15 was, but the series still lack the possibility to play good defense, and still struggles with its AI. NHL 16 is a good hockey game, but could be so much better with only a few changes.
  2. Push Square
    Sep 24, 2015
    70
    When you come right down to it, NHL 16 is an improvement over last year's release in virtually every department. Unfortunately, that isn't exactly saying a lot.
  3. USgamer
    Sep 15, 2015
    70
    EA Canada has worked diligently to bring back almost all of the features that were missing last year, with Be a Pro and EASHL being notably improved. The presentation has also received a really nice bump, and the gameplay on the ice is smoother and more exciting than ever.
  5. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Oct 22, 2015
    60
    New and better attempt – NHL 16 is NHL 15 how it should have been. Is this praise or a curse? That's for you to decide - depends what NHL game you purchased last time. [Issue#257]
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  6. Twinfinite
    Oct 5, 2015
    60
    If you’re a hockey fan, there’s no real reason you shouldn’t buy this game; it’s leaps and bounds better than the version we received a year ago and worth sharpening your blades for.

Awards & Rankings

71
#71 Best PS4 Game of 2015
58
#58 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2015
42
#42 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2015

User Reviews

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User Score
5.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 175 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 68 out of 175
  2. Mixed: 43 out of 175
  3. Negative: 64 out of 175
  1. joshjoh6
    Sep 16, 2015
    3
    I don't know how you can call this installment of NHL a good one. I personally find it allot worse than the previous year. Yeah they broughtI don't know how you can call this installment of NHL a good one. I personally find it allot worse than the previous year. Yeah they brought back EASHL and shoot out mode. I don't care about that. I care about good mechanics and the ability to utilize my team fluidly not what I have been experiencing which is fighting against my own team while playing in single player vs. online. I feel like allot of the control has been taken away as far as switching players and utilizing them instantaneously to do what I want them to do. I had a guy just score on me short handed while I had three players between him and my goalie and none of them could get the puck from him just cause he was pressing the protect the puck button? WTF there is no way a guy coming straight down the middle of the ice is going to be able to do that. This game sucks in my opinion. Worst 70 dollars I have ever spent by getting the deluxe edition. I say booo to this crappy version of NHL. By the way I have only lost 4 games out of 16 so far, so I'm not just saying this cause I suck lol.… Full Review »
  2. riggatone
    Oct 1, 2015
    4
    NHL is a wolf in sheep's clothing. It appears on the surface to be a return to form and a good game with plenty to entertain a hockey fan, butNHL is a wolf in sheep's clothing. It appears on the surface to be a return to form and a good game with plenty to entertain a hockey fan, but upon further examination it becomes clear that there are irritations, issues and bugs in practically every mode. Coupled with the fact that there are literally no new features this year which haven't been included last gen, it becomes impossible to recommend this game.

    EA have made a big point of highlighting that they listened to the fans this year in an attempt to win back favour of the majority of players who boycotted NHL 15. In reality all that was taken on board was that EASHL is a big draw for fans, and that people wanted a more even playing field. This has been achieved as now all you select from predetermined player classes which makes the mode much easier to dip in and out of without being hugely outmatched against players who have played nothing else. And to that degree its a success. But for me, that's where the improvements end.

    If you are releasing a full price game with absolutely no innovations at all you must deliver a great looking experience which is water tight in everything it does and is very playable, and here it cannot be disputed that NHL 16 falls on its face. If you bought it for drop in team games - be prepared for ugly menus, terrible lag, the same jerseys in 99.9% of games you play and regular disconnects. If you bought it for be a pro, be prepared to be scored a B- constantly even if you score 10 goals per game because defending is next to impossible given the terrible be a pro AI and your teammates making achieving some of the coaching tasks a frustrating repetitive experience. If you bought it for HUT be prepared for a vanilla soulless experience with horribly limited search and scrolling functions, some awful menus and a team management screen so cluttered and ugly you'll be sick of it straight away. And while I accept that EASHL's on ice experience is solid, the team customisation and editing is beyond basic and not close to the level found in NHL 13 and 14. And as final insult all throughout the game the menu lag and selection unresponsiveness can have you pressing X 3 or 4 times before the game responds.

    The presentation of the game is mix of laughable and solid in roughly equal measures. To have a huge majority of the NHL players not with their faces scanned is a joke in my opinion. And while I wouldn't expect every 4th liner or fringe player to be photo realistic, when starting goalies and top pairing defencemen are 'stock face 14' its embarrassing. The animations for the most part are smooth (although 75% of the cut scenes are reused from NHL 14 or before) and there are some nice touches at ice level. The NBC hosting has been improved and deserves some credit.

    There are numerous other issues (Poke checking being either spammed or useless depending on which tuner set EA have released, BAP defaulting to its stock settings whether you want it too or not, no autosave in places, regular crashes back to dashboard) that have been widely documented on any message board you could go on too.

    These failings alone could likely all be forgiven if there was evidence of EA giving the consumer something new and innovative, but as mentioned before this is missing entirely - what you have is a game which offers nothing new, and does nothing as well as its been done before. And that is never acceptable.

    I can remember being disappointed when EA released their yearly updates which played great but brought nothing new, but now I long for that. NHL 16 is a worse game than 15 in that it gets your hopes up, it lures you in and makes you think the magic is back, before deflating and frustrating you at almost every turn.

    Like getting back with an ex girlfriend, there is an initial high, but it doesn't take long to see the cracks that were always there and why you broke up in the first place.    … Full Review »
  3. CrispyLardon
    Sep 15, 2015
    10
    Vast improvement over 15. I would have given it an 9, but I wanted to offset the negative reviews that people are giving for no reason, so IVast improvement over 15. I would have given it an 9, but I wanted to offset the negative reviews that people are giving for no reason, so I gave it a 10.… Full Review »
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