NHL 16

 PlayStation 4
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
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  1. 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, 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 toNHL 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.    … Expand
  2. Grighead
    Nov 3, 2015
    2
    Sad, Sad, and Sad! 1 step forwards and 3 steps back. The game play in NHL 16 is absolutely terrible. Did the designers remove the players skates and replace them with running shoes! NHL 15 finally started to figuring out the dynamics of skating; balance, speed control, gliding etc. Now it is back to ball hockey. There is no flow anymore, the players seem to be able to turn on a dime at anySad, Sad, and Sad! 1 step forwards and 3 steps back. The game play in NHL 16 is absolutely terrible. Did the designers remove the players skates and replace them with running shoes! NHL 15 finally started to figuring out the dynamics of skating; balance, speed control, gliding etc. Now it is back to ball hockey. There is no flow anymore, the players seem to be able to turn on a dime at any speed and switch direction in a weird unnatural motion. This was semi entertaining before when you could hit, but now it is just a stick waving jungle in mid ice! Often not even worth passing to the lead man anymore with risk of losing the puck. It doesn't matter how many new or returned features you add, if the game play sucks the game sucks! I have traded in my NHL 16 game in utter disappointment.… Expand
  3. leonzon
    Oct 3, 2015
    0
    massive step down, the gameplay mechanics are dreadful, much less fluid motion, attacking is disjointed. goalies are either making absolutely amazing saves or letting in simple shots, very inconsistent. its been very laggy too, which is fair enough early on, but all this together, 0/10

    PS hope its improved through updates, but not holding my breath
  4. PlaystationRyan
    Nov 11, 2015
    0
    This franchise keeps getting worse and worse.

    Sure, the game modes are mediocre at best, but the gameplay is horrid. If you want to win any games online, you have to learn how to cheat and how to exploit the already extremely buggy game system. It is extremely easy to win NHL if all you do is press R1 all the time to poke check non stop, as it knocks the puck away from the carrier with    This franchise keeps getting worse and worse.

    Sure, the game modes are mediocre at best, but the gameplay is horrid. If you want to win any games online, you have to learn how to cheat and how to exploit the already extremely buggy game system. It is extremely easy to win NHL if all you do is press R1 all the time to poke check non stop, as it knocks the puck away from the carrier with 100% efficiency. There are very few ways to actually score in this game, as regular shots will be stopped 100% of the time. In order to score you need to learn the glitch goals, which are also extremely easy to score with and will get you a shooting percentage of around 80%. Definitely not worth the buy, game play is as awful and glitchy as it's ever been. EA, fix your game.    … Expand
  5. jaali
    Oct 16, 2015
    1
    If you enjoyed NHL 15 or any of the previous versions, do not purchase this game under any circumstances, it will ruin your experience completely. While the new features were nice and needed, they completely neglected the actual game play. Here are the reasons why you should not purchase the game.

    - If you enjoy passing the direction you are pointing, or to the player that you are    If you enjoyed NHL 15 or any of the previous versions, do not purchase this game under any circumstances, it will ruin your experience completely. While the new features were nice and needed, they completely neglected the actual game play. Here are the reasons why you should not purchase the game.

    - If you enjoy passing the direction you are pointing, or to the player that you are targeting, this game is not for you. After playing nhl 15 with a 75%-85% pass success ratio to 20%, this completely ruined the game for me. After a many 2 person break away with my player proceeding to turn around and belt the puck either into the boards or directly to an opposition player (a full 180 degree turn) rather than my player 6 feet away on the other side of the goal, I have since given up on the game.

    - If you enjoy your defense doing something, this is probably not the game for you. Your defensemen, regardless of difficulty setting, will 90% of the time skate away from any advancing player to give them a clear shot at goal. It is also common for the defensemen to go off and bump with people on the boards if the puck is behind the goal, leaving 2 completely open opposition sitting infront.

    - If you enjoy your goalie occasionally stopping the puck from direct shots, this game is not for you. Unless you have a top rated NHL goalie in the game (ie price), There is a particular shot if you aim low at the middle of the goalie, will always go through the legs. This appears to be irrelevant of difficulty level also. In a Human vs Human match, our record with this shot thus far is 11 from 12 shots.

    - If you enjoy semi fluid line changes, this game is not for you. On several occasions a player controlled character will skate past the bench with the puck or receive the puck near the bench, and proceed to perform a line change and concede possession.

    - If you enjoy making onside plays, this game is not for you. If you are making an advance with a defensive player, one of your forwards will skate 3x faster that achievable if you control them to ensure they make the play offside. While this doesn't happen every play, it happens enough to be very frustrating.

    - If you enjoy setting up plays on offensive plays, this is not the game for you. If by some minor miracle a pass goes the direction you have targeted it, your defense men who are meant to be at the blueline will either skate backwards (before you gain control of them) to ensure that you are now offside and cant continue your play, or when they are onside the puck will go between their legs 70-80% of the time..

    The minor redeeming factor for this game is that it feels and plays quite smoothly. It has the potential to be really enjoyable game, however until you can actually play a hockey game rather than what appears to be the skill level of peewee league, this game will remain unplayable.    … Expand
  6. Eqqu
    Sep 22, 2015
    3
    No game deserves a zero.. neither a 10. This game is killed by absolutely disaster goalies, poke checking (it really needs to be nerfed) and slow puck movement. It tries to be realistic but instead its players playing hockey in a fudge pool, scoring with poke checks and goalies made of cheddar. As long as the difficulty is the hardest, games ending up 9-6, I am keeping this beauty inNo game deserves a zero.. neither a 10. This game is killed by absolutely disaster goalies, poke checking (it really needs to be nerfed) and slow puck movement. It tries to be realistic but instead its players playing hockey in a fudge pool, scoring with poke checks and goalies made of cheddar. As long as the difficulty is the hardest, games ending up 9-6, I am keeping this beauty in reserve. Been playing NHL since -95/96.… Expand
  7. 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 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 feelI 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.… Expand
  8. neprania
    Oct 19, 2015
    4
    I liked PS3 NHL games very much, but this is not anything like those, this is frustrate to play, there is lots of bugs, lots of menu logic and things like that are step back from old gen games and about anything is not real upgrade to old ones. Even Graphics do not make that big difference because you do not have time to count all those extra polygons other than slowmos and those areI liked PS3 NHL games very much, but this is not anything like those, this is frustrate to play, there is lots of bugs, lots of menu logic and things like that are step back from old gen games and about anything is not real upgrade to old ones. Even Graphics do not make that big difference because you do not have time to count all those extra polygons other than slowmos and those are things you want to skip most of the time (atleast i want) anyway.

    So if you all ready have NHl14/15/Legacy for PS3/X360 there is no really need to buy this.    … Expand
  9. tonetone91
    Sep 19, 2015
    3
    This game is a huge step down from nhl 15.. the gameplay sucks compare to 15. The new added online content is cool and all but nhl 16 game physics is terrible. I have no idea how anyone can rate this game a 10. Is it only me or does this game even have worse graphics than nhl 15? big disappointment
  10. aspentitan
    Sep 20, 2015
    4
    A sloppy and cheatable game. Not much has changed from last year all the exploits are just a little different. They kept the same background menu music, kept the same commentary, removed fun features like video review and called it a day. The players in hut are largely uncontrollable and the gameplay is a random mess just a little slower than previous years. Hut is dominated by the sameA sloppy and cheatable game. Not much has changed from last year all the exploits are just a little different. They kept the same background menu music, kept the same commentary, removed fun features like video review and called it a day. The players in hut are largely uncontrollable and the gameplay is a random mess just a little slower than previous years. Hut is dominated by the same players who enjoy their special gameplay styles. Overall this is last years game with about 10 minutes worth of programming changes. EA is extremely lucky we are all hockey fans and crave this product as its the only hockey game on the market. I really think they feel they are doing a good job, may the heavens help us all.… Expand
  11. choderman
    Jan 19, 2016
    0
    Do you like NHL16? Do you like interactive chat? Do you LOVE laggy streams?! Then hop on over to twitch.tv/lucast3. His streams will make you want you want to cry in joy because of how entertaining they are. Otherwise game was trash.
  12. rugman
    Sep 15, 2015
    0
    Game was disappointing. Skating feels like you are skating in quick sand. Goalie is impossible to control, they took out custom attributes. Waste of money.
  13. here4thebeer
    Sep 24, 2015
    0
    While the game at first glance is pretty fun, if you delve a little deeper you will hit bug after bug. Every single game mode is loaded with bugs. In typical EA fashion, while there was good communication with the fan base up to release, since launch they have gone completely silent.
  14. jlgervais
    Sep 25, 2015
    0
    Horrible, i did not buy any EA product, since they released that awful MLB 2008 and never made up for it,
    I gave em another chance, bought a PS4-NHL16 bundle, it's getting worse than it was before, players move like they have something up their ... they skate by the puck not reacting (they call that realist ?) it's awfully hard to check another player, fighting is anything but fighting,    Horrible, i did not buy any EA product, since they released that awful MLB 2008 and never made up for it,
    I gave em another chance, bought a PS4-NHL16 bundle, it's getting worse than it was before, players move like they have something up their ... they skate by the puck not reacting (they call that realist ?) it's awfully hard to check another player, fighting is anything but fighting, just rock the R joystick and hope.
    When you begin HUT, it's easy enough to win 15-0, then after 2-3 games BOOM every CPU shot scores, you loose 6-0, no progression, AI just decided it wins !
    They actually forgot this is a game, not a movie, if i want to watch a game, i'll watch it on TV, when i PLAY, i want to have FUN.
    I was hoping NHL 94 would be available for PS4, nope, you can't have fun here !    … Expand
  15. VideoGamerFan
    Sep 16, 2015
    0
    I'm not a fan of this game. The AI does know what it's doing.. The skating is too slow. There are way too many glitch goals. Just an all around bad game. Hopefully they improve for NHL 17.
  16. RedWulfr
    Dec 27, 2015
    4
    The controllers of the game is still totally incompatible with my FIFA-brain. The fast paced graphics is to fast for the PS4 and too much focus is around these incredible boring fistfights.
  17. Newton
    Feb 13, 2016
    2
    EA Sports forgot how to make a fun to play hockey game. Player physics is beyond lame, difficulty setting suck. You either play as rookie and win games 21 to 2 or level up to pro (which is one step up from rookie) and get beaten 8-1. You never have a feeling of fairness in the game, your teammates are incompetent morons, the CPU cheats like mad (CPU poke checks you, it keeps the puck, youEA Sports forgot how to make a fun to play hockey game. Player physics is beyond lame, difficulty setting suck. You either play as rookie and win games 21 to 2 or level up to pro (which is one step up from rookie) and get beaten 8-1. You never have a feeling of fairness in the game, your teammates are incompetent morons, the CPU cheats like mad (CPU poke checks you, it keeps the puck, you pokecheck CPU, puck flies away to get taken by another CPU player).

    Broke my game CD in half in frustration of spending 5 hours getting a gameplay setting that works and feels fun, there is none. It just sucks.

    Note to EA: Most gamers don't want to memorize 234 different button combination just to pass a puck. Game controls are getting ridiculous.    … Expand
  18. dwayner
    Mar 27, 2016
    0
    Ive been playing every nhl franchise since the sega genesis nhl hockey back when it was fun BUT this game is complete garbage, it isnt even fun when you win and its far from hockey! these players are dummies skating around doing crap you might see in a peewee or atom hockey game! i dont know how the critics can give a 8-10 star review on a game thats complete garbage! i swear when playingIve been playing every nhl franchise since the sega genesis nhl hockey back when it was fun BUT this game is complete garbage, it isnt even fun when you win and its far from hockey! these players are dummies skating around doing crap you might see in a peewee or atom hockey game! i dont know how the critics can give a 8-10 star review on a game thats complete garbage! i swear when playing this game u have to push the button 2-3 times just so the game responds, even on the menu screen! I just dont understand why EA would make a game that forces players to miss or over skate passes, skate offside on purpose and force icings that the puck easily just ease's through all 10 guys on the ice for icing all the time! when does this ever happen in the NHL? it doesnt even happen in the beer leagues!
    The PASSING is just god awful! cant pass 5-10 feet without it mysteriously going through everyones stick on the ice for an icing as always! brutal. Down 3-2 with 10 seconds left in the game on a 3 on 1, the player passes the puck 25ft infront of the guy for an icing that will cost you the game...this becomes the frustrating! (knowing you outshot the opponent 33-9 to lose the game and out attacked them by over 10 minutes) THE PASSING IS SO BAD THAT YOU SHOULDNT EVEN BOTHER TO AIM YOUR PASS BECAUSE IT WILL JUST GO INTO THE WRONG DIRECTION %60 OF THE TIME ANYWAYS. You can make a pass to the guy and it will go through all 10 guys on the ice for icing! Unbelievable. When simply doing a d-to-d passing or a nice easy slow pass to the guy beside you or for the break, the player automatically skates forward or backwords 3-4 strides and totally wiffs on it. NOBODY can make a pass when under pressure, even when the players or sticks are no where near and it just makes you wanna smash walls! The passing is so bad it will only force you to pass to 2 guys although you do have 5 guys on the ice, they are never ready to take a pass as they will suddenly over skate the puck every time! (this is why its tougher to play a ranked game against a team that has 2-3 online players playing because they take those passing options away) when a team is all over you in your own zone, your players become stupid over skating pucks, making stupid passes, skating outta position! Dont bother passing it to your defenceman in the offensive zone unless you are %100 sure! the D-man will either skate backwords offside taking the pass, or when you do receive it, it will just hit their player with a shot for them to have a clear breakaway. How come their isnt even no give and go passing in this game? instead its give and watch them go...
    SKATING in this game is complete garbage! it basically forces the player 2 skate into 2 directions, it also forces players to skate into hits which gets old because they seem to be skating with weights across their ankles or somthing. The skating in this game doesnt allow you to skate freely, if you are skating to not where you are suppose to be skating the computer will fling you back with some kind of elastic or somthing.
    HITTING - why bother to use this button? you may have great hits lined up but for some unknown reason the player will just suddenly avoid the hit %80 of the time for a clear path.
    GOALS are garbage... now i do understand the glitch is needed for goals but when you lose to a player online rank match who scored 7 goals on just 9 shots (while i had 2 on 26 shots) on the short blocker side everytime it makes u wanna reach through the tv and punch him right in the face! what fun is this? its a joy to play those who play the game of hockey like its suppose to, but if winning meens playing stupid, it just ruins the game!
    PLAYER SENCES - MOST ANNOYING THEN EVER... THE COMPUTER TEAMMATES DO THE STUPIDEST CRAP BEHIND THE PLAYS WHERE IT ALWAYS LEAVE GUYS WIDE OPEN FOR ONE-TIMER GOALS... why the heck would my fellow defenceman chase a guy behind the net leaving his man wide open when i already had that guy covered? how about 3 on 2 on offence when you drop it to the trailer but he just mysteriously skates off for a line change? or skates to the corner to pick his nose or somthing! how many times have you watched replays and just shake your head on how bad it really was. the offsides are garbage, icings brutal and the collisions are just stupid.    … Expand
  19. Bignastydre77
    Jan 18, 2016
    0
    Passing is bad. Enough said jLOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLĹLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLĹLLLLLLLLĹLLLĹĹĹLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLĹLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
  20. ctn1187
    Oct 10, 2015
    0
    Is it better than NHL 15? Yes. As an avid hockey fan and a big time gamer, hockey video games are pretty much my favorite thing. I play all games, but I love hockey so I always have an urge to play a hockey game.

    I've been playing hockey games since I had a SEGA. I was a top 500 ranked player on EASHL, for the 09,10,12, 13,and 14 versions of the NHL series and I also delve in HUT as    Is it better than NHL 15? Yes. As an avid hockey fan and a big time gamer, hockey video games are pretty much my favorite thing. I play all games, but I love hockey so I always have an urge to play a hockey game.

    I've been playing hockey games since I had a SEGA. I was a top 500 ranked player on EASHL, for the 09,10,12, 13,and 14 versions of the NHL series and I also delve in HUT as well.

    This years version of the game is being propped up in praise due to the disaster of NHL 15. Fair, but without any real competition, EA sports does not have to try anymore. And, of course, people like me, who continue to **** about how bad the games are, continue to give EA my hard-earned money. The AI is still bad and really makes some truly puzzling decisions during online play. HUT is truly a money grabbing scheme by EA. I would love to see how much money they are making from people buying packs. it sucks to because I have played over 150 HUT games so far, so I've earned most of my coins the old fashioned ways and out of about 30 packs, I've gotten 2 players worth over 20 k.

    Pros:

    Graphics are good.
    Crowd is really impressive.
    Game modes are definitely improved

    Cons:

    i have a digital download, the game crashes at least once a day.
    HUT online play is bad and needs several patches
    EASHL AI is even worse.    … Expand
  21. Nel
    Nov 28, 2016
    4
    NHL game is sadly yet another year far lacking in the be a pro section, not a possibility to get trader after you join NHL, and no national team. FIFA another EA game does this mode a lot better, strange how they can NAIL it in FIFA, but just be such a disappointment in the NHL games
  22. GodianX
    Oct 13, 2015
    2
    Кошмарный ИИ. Когда играешь карьеру профи, то складывается ощущение, что ты должен делать все за свою команду. И шайбу из всех углов доставать, и отбивать ее, и толкать всех противников. А твои товарищи по команде (тк), только и делают что катаются туда.. сюда.. туда.. сюда. Никак не стараются как-то помочь тебе. Если товарищ пересекает синею линию один. То он просто бьет в борт. И теряетКошмарный ИИ. Когда играешь карьеру профи, то складывается ощущение, что ты должен делать все за свою команду. И шайбу из всех углов доставать, и отбивать ее, и толкать всех противников. А твои товарищи по команде (тк), только и делают что катаются туда.. сюда.. туда.. сюда. Никак не стараются как-то помочь тебе. Если товарищ пересекает синею линию один. То он просто бьет в борт. И теряет шайбу. Не понимаю, как можно было на столько сделать это все плохо. Потом физика. Ну слишком она странная. Шайба летает как ненормальная. Бывают такие моменты, что вратарь отбивает ее и она улетает со скоростью пули в другую часть площадки. Или очень часто шайба застревает между колен у вратаря. И если его не толкнуть, то у игры происходит глюк: Все стоят и смотрят на дергающегося вратаря. А голкиперы вообще отдельная тема. Складывается ощущение, что они спят. очень часты голы просто между ног. Было такое даже со своей зоны. Случайно пасанул вперед, никто не взял шайбу. И она медленно прокатилась между ног у вратаря. Все это вызывает полное отвращение к игре, разве что с живым игроком играть еще можно. А против ИИ нет, так как играют только твои противники, а товарищи по команде стоят и смотрят.… Expand
  23. wapakalypse
    Dec 10, 2015
    0
    DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. At least do not buy it from a retailer... find it used from a private seller (kijiji). EA does not deserve any of your hard earned money for this pathetic excuse for a game. It looks great, thats about the only positive thing I have to say about this game. I have spent a good amount of time playing it so I am able to give an accurate review of NHL 16.

    I only play    DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. At least do not buy it from a retailer... find it used from a private seller (kijiji). EA does not deserve any of your hard earned money for this pathetic excuse for a game. It looks great, thats about the only positive thing I have to say about this game. I have spent a good amount of time playing it so I am able to give an accurate review of NHL 16.

    I only play two game modes anymore, GM mode and HUT.

    GM mode is absolutely hilarious. The game literally cheats. It changes the settings on you in favor of the AI, it creates invisible force fields around opposing players making them impossible to hit (even with hit assist cranked), it has this hilarious magnetic board play glitch that allows the AI to push you into the boards from 10 feet away and it even turns your player around, so you are facing the boards and then holds you there until that player is irrelevent, then when you are trying to switch to the player closest to the puck, it gives you control of a player that is not even in the play. The AI also parks its players in front of your own, impeding you players movement, making it impossible to race for the puck. Basically you either have to play with the AI too easy or an AI that impossible to enjoy playing against. Its a huge waste of time, but one thing I have enjoyed doing is getting a good amount of games under my belt to expose the **** that this game produces so I can make a valid argument against it. Its no fun. Literally will be fun for one or two games and then it flips a switch, changes the settings and you are getting completely destroyed, to the point where there is no point even fighting it, you might as well sit back and enjoy the ride; there are a lot of time where you just know the AI is going to score no matter what you do and no matter how dusty the goal is.

    HUT mode...heres a game mode that is never consistent in terms of connection speed, despite having great internet connection. This game mode favors those who suck and those who have credit card teams. Ice tilt is for sure a real thing, this is coming from someone who has played hundreds of games. I think I am pretty good at this game too, which is ironic because I absolutely hate this game, but somebody has to give an accurate critic of this piece. The games are predetermined. 100% without a doubt. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. EA sports needs to go down and the only way this happens is if people stop buying their **** games, at least stop buying them from retailers.

    EA sports has to go. I could go into more detail but I do not want to waste anymore of my time than I already have. Play it and discover the horrendous BS for yourself. This is a broken game. Its a game that should have actually been NHL 15. It is absolutely worth a zero on this rating system, and I would consider any rating over a three to be an outlier and should not be counted. Anything positive other than the graphics that has been said about this game is a lie and most likely from a paid critic.

    Buy a pair of skates and learn how to skate and shoot a puck. Or buy Black ops 3, its pretty sweet. You will have a much better time doing that than playing this pointless game. This is a video game that actually cheats, its in the programming, it is literally programmed to be frustrating and something you will not enjoy. Sounds crazy right? Its a joke that I am sure the developers are still laughing about. Do not give them your money, they deserve to be spit on.    … Expand
  24. SirPoopsAlot
    Jan 7, 2016
    2
    This game is garbage all it is is cross-creases and some f***ing EA logic this game's graphics are ok but the game play is s***t for example: your guy will pass the puck right into his own net or the kid your playing will pass shoot the puck from their zone and score on you it's just bulls**t. DON'T BUY IT SUCKS IF YOU PLAY ON LINE. finial
  25. VapnoM85
    Sep 13, 2016
    3
    NHL 16 is quite bad in my point of view. AI inteligence is horrible, especially in defence, which makes almost impossible to defend more skilled online players. Defenders are doing stupid and totally illogical moves. Goalkeepers are moving in extremes. They can catch impossible shots on one side but do not catch easy shots and even passes on the other side. Attackers are very slow inNHL 16 is quite bad in my point of view. AI inteligence is horrible, especially in defence, which makes almost impossible to defend more skilled online players. Defenders are doing stupid and totally illogical moves. Goalkeepers are moving in extremes. They can catch impossible shots on one side but do not catch easy shots and even passes on the other side. Attackers are very slow in changing from defence to offence and back which makes very hard both to establish a fast counter-attack or make pressure on opponents defence. Also, attackers are quite chaotic and slow in movement in offensive zone. The overall experience is very poor and I hope that NHL 17 will be much better.… Expand
  26. tggjordan
    Jan 19, 2016
    3
    nhl 16 good game not really but if you enjoy checkout lucast3 on twitch but otherwise this game wasn't anything special just about as enjoyable as 15 e
  27. ChaotikCanadian
    Feb 24, 2016
    3
    Its a real shame it seems like EA does not listen to their fans. Ive came up with a list of pros/cons
    Pros- The graphics in this game are pretty amazing, from details on players, arenas, etc.
    - The on ice trainer was a pretty good idea as it helps new players adapt to the game and just generally makes the game abit easier on those harder levels. Cons -Overall the gameplay sucks! You    Its a real shame it seems like EA does not listen to their fans. Ive came up with a list of pros/cons
    Pros- The graphics in this game are pretty amazing, from details on players, arenas, etc.
    - The on ice trainer was a pretty good idea as it helps new players adapt to the game and just generally makes the game abit easier on those harder levels.
    Cons
    -Overall the gameplay sucks! You got way to many tripping and slashing penalties. Do they even have crosschecking or elbowing? Doesnt seem like it when 95% of penalties are trips! With that being said! Spamming that pokechecking button is sll this games about! Its nothing but ice of sticks waving all over the place! The Ai are complately stupid but as for the CPU they are 10x more intelligent I guess? When you play online your AI does not play posistional hockey at all! Had EA even watched a real hockey game? Its frustrating when I play and they let people go by, float in areas theyre not suppose too or cant recieve the basic pass EVER! One more thing, The skating is horrible! You have bags of sand on your feet and the realism in the skating is bad. They are trying way to hard to make it realistic but theyre actually missing the point completely! Your player will stand in one spot and not guard the puck and takes long strides when hes barely moving!
    Overall EA needs to do something! Because they are losing my respect as they cannot listen to the fans! And they should do one of those party modes like 2k had im pretty sure!    … Expand
  28. aawdamico
    Mar 17, 2016
    1
    Frustrating. Understandable that EA hangs it hat on the if it is in the game it is the game, with this installment, there may be a little too much real game action going on. The poke check is just awful. It really takes the fun out of it. You may be able to deke around one or two poke checks but in the online game you literally have to out deke five poke checks, make that six (goalie). TheFrustrating. Understandable that EA hangs it hat on the if it is in the game it is the game, with this installment, there may be a little too much real game action going on. The poke check is just awful. It really takes the fun out of it. You may be able to deke around one or two poke checks but in the online game you literally have to out deke five poke checks, make that six (goalie). The game is just truly not fun. I found myself more angry than anything. Real Hockey plays are nearly impossible to create. 90% of the time a break out pass goes for an icing. The offside is unbelievable. I do not have countless hours to practice the glitch goals. The game shouldn't be so difficult. I am on my way right now to return my used copy that I have played non-stop for six days. It hasn't gotten any better. I want it out of my life.… Expand
  29. Anoir
    Mar 20, 2016
    2
    Still an unfinished piece of ****

    After playing this for more then 3 months, I can list out over 100 issues with the game Bigger ones: - Menus freeze, in HUT, in Be a GM, and you cannot refresh them or play the game till you reboot the whole game from 0. - AI is HORRIBLE. The AI in NHL 15 was the worst AI I have ever seen in any sports videogame, ever. NHL 16 AI is better, but    Still an unfinished piece of ****

    After playing this for more then 3 months, I can list out over 100 issues with the game

    Bigger ones:

    - Menus freeze, in HUT, in Be a GM, and you cannot refresh them or play the game till you reboot the whole game from 0.

    - AI is HORRIBLE. The AI in NHL 15 was the worst AI I have ever seen in any sports videogame, ever.
    NHL 16 AI is better, but still so so far behind of any other sports game franchise

    - Be a GM, Be a Pro, etc are all so unfinished, unflavoured, no-effort put into any of them. All the attention from EA goes 100% into HUT, and it clearly shows in the game.

    I could spend more time listing what's wrong and bad about the game then actually playing it. I could sit here for 10 hours and write a list but this game is simply not worth it.

    NHL 17 will be exact same old **** with brand new HUT features and nothing else.

    79,99 PLEASE    … Expand
  30. NHL16Hater
    Mar 23, 2016
    0
    This is the worst video game I have ever played. It is far beyond broken. The skating , puck control, passing, and shooting rarely work as they are supposed, which makes playing online one of the most frustrating things ever. Every other sports video game has its faults but at least they function properly. EA really needs to figure their **** out if they want this franchise to continueThis is the worst video game I have ever played. It is far beyond broken. The skating , puck control, passing, and shooting rarely work as they are supposed, which makes playing online one of the most frustrating things ever. Every other sports video game has its faults but at least they function properly. EA really needs to figure their **** out if they want this franchise to continue successfully… Expand
  31. sglas
    Jan 28, 2017
    1
    Good Luck with this game. Deleted it after a couple days defense is non existent. Offense was okay but the horrible defense made it so I could barely even make it through a game without wanting to rip my hair out.
  32. FEASGOLIE
    Apr 20, 2016
    0
    SOOOO DOES ANYBODY LIKE PLAYING GOLIE MODE??????? I DO!!!!!! WITH THE CHANGES I READ ABOUT BETWEEN 15 AND 16 I THOUGHT THAT THERE WOULD BE SOME CHANGES!!!!!!!! NOPE!!!! GODDAMN WHEN THE COMPUTER WANTS TO WIN THEY WIN!!! I'VE BEEN PLAYING NHL SINCE 2012 AND HAVE PURCHASED EVERY YEAR SINCE!!!!!! I'M NO AMATEUR BUTT **** CHRIST!!!! I AM A GOOD GOLIE BUT YOU CAN'T STOP AI AND ALGORITHMS THATSOOOO DOES ANYBODY LIKE PLAYING GOLIE MODE??????? I DO!!!!!! WITH THE CHANGES I READ ABOUT BETWEEN 15 AND 16 I THOUGHT THAT THERE WOULD BE SOME CHANGES!!!!!!!! NOPE!!!! GODDAMN WHEN THE COMPUTER WANTS TO WIN THEY WIN!!! I'VE BEEN PLAYING NHL SINCE 2012 AND HAVE PURCHASED EVERY YEAR SINCE!!!!!! I'M NO AMATEUR BUTT **** CHRIST!!!! I AM A GOOD GOLIE BUT YOU CAN'T STOP AI AND ALGORITHMS THAT DENY YOU WRIST SHOTS FROM THE POINT!!!!!!! **** YOU EA AND THE NHL GAME LEGACY I HOPE NOBODY BUYS YOUR **** 2017 VERSION!!!!!!OH AND BT DUBS BESIDES ****CAGO FANS, EVERY HOCKY FAN **** HATES JONATHAN **** FACE TOWES. WHY THE **** YOU PUT HIM ON THE COVER IS BEYOND 99% OF HOCKEY FANDS MINDS.… Expand
  33. wfaler
    Jun 19, 2016
    2
    This game is actually worse than the horrid NHL15.
    Tackling has almost been entirely removed, players seem to mostly glide around each others tackles as if the other player wasn't even there. The same thing goes for breaking up play and intercepting passes: whether a pass can be intercepted or not seems to be based on a coin-toss, as the puck seems to glide through sticks at times, and    This game is actually worse than the horrid NHL15.
    Tackling has almost been entirely removed, players seem to mostly glide around each others tackles as if the other player wasn't even there. The same thing goes for breaking up play and intercepting passes: whether a pass can be intercepted or not seems to be based on a coin-toss, as the puck seems to glide through sticks at times, and stick to the defending stick as if glued at others.
    Goalkeepers now make more saves than in '15, but the balance is shocking: they'll mix wonder saves with letting in goals that should be standard saves.

    There are also several glitch-goals: one-timers are ridiculously effective (as always). Shots from between the circles likewise as long as the shooting lane is clear. Goalkeepers rarely seem to save high shots on their stick-side, while the glove side saves 100% of shots.    … Expand
  34. GamerGuy88
    Jun 29, 2016
    1
    DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS FRANCHISE!!!! There are so many serious flaws in this game, they haven't made a good game since NHL 11. I just finished an online ultimate team game that was so laggy it was unplayable, I had only two options though continue suffering through even though it wasn't even registering half of my button inputs or quit and lose the game adding a blemish on myDO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS FRANCHISE!!!! There are so many serious flaws in this game, they haven't made a good game since NHL 11. I just finished an online ultimate team game that was so laggy it was unplayable, I had only two options though continue suffering through even though it wasn't even registering half of my button inputs or quit and lose the game adding a blemish on my record when the games count. The game play is just awful, the AI is very unintelligent, your own plays get in your way and stay in your way contently, passes don't make any sense most of the time, there is no defense mechanic so don't think you can tie someone up in front of the net or be physical at all because you can only try and block the path of the puck... there are so many flaws its hard to say them all. The difficulty on single player is a joke, pro is ridiculously easy, every game is like 15 - 1 but if I move up then its stupid, not because I play bad but because their way of turning up the difficulty is by cheating, things like the opposition have perfect passes every time through numerous players creating traffic and pucks defy physics and change directions to lock on their stick, I still usually win these games but it is just annoying. Trades are a joke and you can basically create an all-star team from nothing. I am going to do a hard stop there because I think I made my point but there are many more flaws with this terrible game.… Expand
  35. SportsPhan8
    Mar 13, 2019
    0
    This game is god awful, I recommend not buying it, save your money. The passing is atrocious. I go to pass it to the guy in front of me & it ices the puck, it randomly pulled my goalie, despite having a lead early in the third period and the overall gameplay is horrible.

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

Critic Reviews

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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
  1. CD-Action
    Dec 16, 2015
    80
    A very enjoyable game rich with well-designed modes, none of which feels forced or redundant. [12/2015, p.55]
  2. PlaySense
    Nov 23, 2015
    80
    A fun and elaborate hockey game that manages to be both accessible to newcomers and challenging to veterans. Online you'll definitely encounter a couple of hick-ups, but none of them are bad enough to ruin the experience.
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  3. 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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