NHL 17

 PlayStation 4
User Score
5.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 132 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 51 out of 132
  2. Mixed: 36 out of 132
  3. Negative: 45 out of 132
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  1. markjohnson2252
    Jun 22, 2020
    10
    I am currently in season 6 of my "franchise mode". I love being able to play the farm team as well. In franchise mode, you must manage and balance the NHL Team, the minor league team (optional), salary cap, draft picks, and the arena. I find managing and maintaining the arena a frustrating part of the game. You can also change the difficulty level of the opponent. I love this game.I am currently in season 6 of my "franchise mode". I love being able to play the farm team as well. In franchise mode, you must manage and balance the NHL Team, the minor league team (optional), salary cap, draft picks, and the arena. I find managing and maintaining the arena a frustrating part of the game. You can also change the difficulty level of the opponent. I love this game. There is always a challenge.… Expand
  2. CDannyZ
    Nov 22, 2019
    10
    Last NHL with International Championship. RIP IIHF in NHL series, they should revive it
  3. TatsMcGee
    Sep 8, 2018
    5
    What sport is it?

    Its a hockey game. Was it fun? No, huge disappointment. Are there any similar games? Yea, its like the other hockey games Would you play it again? I keep trying to play it and like it but I just don’t. Any complaints? Yes, I hate the skating engine in the game. Its like you’re skating in molasses, you can’t stop easily, it takes way too long to    What sport is it?

    Its a hockey game.

    Was it fun?

    No, huge disappointment.

    Are there any similar games?

    Yea, its like the other hockey games

    Would you play it again?

    I keep trying to play it and like it but I just don’t.

    Any complaints?

    Yes, I hate the skating engine in the game. Its like you’re skating in molasses, you can’t stop easily, it takes way too long to initially get moving and good luck turning.

    Now onto my next complaint, the passing. The passing engine doesn’t work well either. If you’re lucky, 70% of the passes go to the right person. Sometimes the passing, locks onto the wrong player and sometimes and does its own thing. What annoys me is that, I have turn assist off but its still obvious that it is still on.

    Finally, I hate the momentum based system. It makes come backs very difficult. A lot of fighting games have systems, to give the player a chance to come back with Marvel, “X” Factor or the V-Trigger system in Street Fighter V but with the NHL series, its difficult because you may not have given up but the players you’re controlling clearly have. They’re skating slower than before, they’re hitting their passes and often times the AI is just standing around and watching.    … Expand
  4. Iggyshow4351
    Nov 23, 2017
    6
    Thumbs in the middle. Had a lot more fun in the ps3 days .6666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666
  5. price_
    Jul 29, 2017
    0
    I honestly want to know how this game got a 73/100. There are indie games that are MUCH BETTER than this recycled bullsh*t, honestly. Nothing in this game is new.

    - The "create-a-team" was already in previous NHL installments (I remember playing it back in 2008 in NHL 07), and in the NHL 2K series you could also customize your custom team's arena. - The "Be-A-Pro" is been the same    I honestly want to know how this game got a 73/100. There are indie games that are MUCH BETTER than this recycled bullsh*t, honestly. Nothing in this game is new.

    - The "create-a-team" was already in previous NHL installments (I remember playing it back in 2008 in NHL 07), and in the NHL 2K series you could also customize your custom team's arena.
    - The "Be-A-Pro" is been the same since NHL 09.
    - The passing is atrocious (for some reason it looks worse online). You can't do a successful pass EVEN IF YOUR TEAMMATE IS LESS THAN 1 FEET AWAY FROM YOU. Get rid of the "pass" and "saucer pass" button and rename it all of that crap to "DUMP PUCK", because you can't make a successful pass in this game. The player just throws the puck at any direction. It's absolutely ridiculous how disgusting the passing is on this game.
    - Playing online means you're going to get matched with R1/RB spammers (the poke-check button) and you're connection will be sh*t (I've done 10 HUT games today, and I couldn't even do a pass without lagging).
    - The player overall doesn't matter. The only you'll notice a little difference is on their speed. I has completely pissed off when I saw that MY 99 CROSBY was slower than a SILVER 60 PLAYER FROM THE DËL LEAGUE, my regular Gold EVANDER KANE with 89 HANDEDNESS couldn't even deke pass a 70 overall player and that regular Gold KRONWALL got injured just because a player with 69 CHECKING just bumped him. It drives me nuts. This is what really grinds my gears.
    - The poke-check it's way overpowered. You always get matched with a poke-check spammer every online game you go to. It's almost impossible to have a good match without those kind of assh*les.
    - The Franchise mode isn't that exciting as shown on EA's trailer (as always).
    - The Goalie controls/animations need to be redone. They are a total mess.
    - The UI it's clean but it's very unresponsive. Every little thing you do, you need to wait for a couple of seconds. Remember when on last-gen you could go to you settings right away without having to wait? Good times.
    - The A.I. makes me sick. I lose the puck just because the an A.I. player passes next to me? Seriously? You got to be kidding me.
    - I just bought this 2 weeks ago and I already found a ton of bugs in this crap: A.I. just freezes in a random spot after the faceoff, some pucks that I shoot, for some reason, they hit the post and then they bounce back at like 200 MPH, i've already lost a game because I tried to do a cross-crease and my shooter just froze...
    - The soundtrack... thank you PlayStation for Spotify.

    I've been playing every NHL video game religiously since NHL 2001 and I can say that the last one that I enjoyed playing it was NHL 10. The rest is completely utter sh*t... and it gets worse every year, since EA is recycling their video games. Removing content that was available on older installments and releasing them as "new features". You should be making FUN games. The recent sh*t you've been releasing it's horrible!
    I got this on a sale and I gave only $10, but I regret it. Buy another stuff with your money because this crap isn't worth any of your money and time.    … Expand
  6. Armands
    Jun 21, 2017
    1
    worst passing i ever expired, golies are dumb
    The gameplay is HORRID. It's impossible to hit your player with a pass
    NHL games for such a long time and it's sad to say that this is the worst entry in the series. It is the only NHL game I returned. There is no difference from last years version other than the new modes which don't offer anything fresh
  7. SuomiSoldat
    Jun 17, 2017
    0
    I like to play NHL mainly offline, as I rarely have a chance to know I can finish a game without having to pause in the middle. The game is otherwise quite all right except the AI totally ruins it. Pro is easy as you might expect, but the problem I have is with the all-star AI. Yes, I can beat the AI most of the time on all-star, but there is no joy in that as the AI cheats like aI like to play NHL mainly offline, as I rarely have a chance to know I can finish a game without having to pause in the middle. The game is otherwise quite all right except the AI totally ruins it. Pro is easy as you might expect, but the problem I have is with the all-star AI. Yes, I can beat the AI most of the time on all-star, but there is no joy in that as the AI cheats like a motherf... you know. AI pulls of moves like you never could, it will defend against you with 2-3 players and most of the time keep scoring basically impossible, and then depending on your predefined luck a chance of 1-6 times a game to score on easy one-timer or so. The most-of-the-time amazing defense would be fine if you could get your own AI to doing something useful on defence, but instead you basically always end up on 1v1 situation instead of 2-3v1 that the AI does... And you also pretty much always lose all board-plays as the AI executes like the machine it is... Also really fun feature is that the AI also sticks like a glue on you when they shadow. And when they come for a tackle it is like a train, which you can't avoid, even if you quite often get to a situation that you really can't tackle. I can't explain it, the defenseman you are operating just won't tackle just instead skate next to the AI player in an awkward stance.

    Other things that are broken are the player editor. I dare you to try to change the potential likelyhood of any player. I dare you. Every now and then it might even show it changed, sometimes even to that color you set... but it didn't, it just seems like it until you go away and come back and the potential likelyhood is back on red or whatever it used to be instead of green or so you tried to set.

    The menu is also the most sluggish Ui that I have ever used. It's so slow it is really amazing. It's even slow on places where there actually should not be any reason to be sluggish. Let's say you want to save a franchise game... it will take 15-30seconds for you to be able to choose wether you'd like to create a new save or override... seriously, why did I have to wait for that? There is no need to do a expensI've read/write operation on disk for that. Especially since the menu will let you try to create a new save even if you have used the maximum save capacity for the game. So it didn't even check that's during that 15-30sec you waited... Terrible design by the team...

    The online game is actually quite fine when you get to play. Except when EA has problems with their servers which is surprisingly often when you think it is year 2017 and most of the competitors do not have that frequent issues...

    So why I still play the game, you ask? Because I really like hockey as a sport and I need my "fix". If there was any competition I definitely would give them a chance.    … Expand
  8. Zmetekk
    Jun 7, 2017
    8
    This is first nhl I played since nhl07, so I will not be comparing and rather say, that this is great hockey game with all features there is to offer, great and innovative control (skill sticks), good and quite stable multiplayer, decent singleplayer even though there is a bit unfairness when you are losing to opposing AI team. And at last and least a really bad soundtrack, I get thatThis is first nhl I played since nhl07, so I will not be comparing and rather say, that this is great hockey game with all features there is to offer, great and innovative control (skill sticks), good and quite stable multiplayer, decent singleplayer even though there is a bit unfairness when you are losing to opposing AI team. And at last and least a really bad soundtrack, I get that creators tried to pick music for everybody, but hockey is a quick game with lots of hits, so there should be pumped up music that makes your blood boil.

    Overall I think it is a must buy for all nhl fans and great sport game.    … Expand
  9. camsnewtons
    May 27, 2017
    8
    This game is a decent surprisingly fun one. The be a pro mode is a pretty good one that should but doesn't have a good story to go along with it. The online mode is pretty good with the draft champions mode not being as good as madden. The new ESHL is a pretty fun game mode which like FIFA let's you stage your own championship bracket. The shootout mode is the best mode both offline andThis game is a decent surprisingly fun one. The be a pro mode is a pretty good one that should but doesn't have a good story to go along with it. The online mode is pretty good with the draft champions mode not being as good as madden. The new ESHL is a pretty fun game mode which like FIFA let's you stage your own championship bracket. The shootout mode is the best mode both offline and online. The players all look the same and so do the stadiums though. The main problems lie in the mechanics as the passing doesn't work and you get caught on your own teammates. Overall this game is a wait for sale.… Expand
  10. CReviews
    May 26, 2017
    4
    Welcome to EA Sports Rec Hockey 17! We have included many new and fancy features that make NHL players look like your drunken uncle playing in a pond hockey tournament.

    Key Features: To make the game realistic, we've made sure that over half your team will be unable to catch a pass or make a pass. They also won't know how to play positions and seemingly follow each other around playing    Welcome to EA Sports Rec Hockey 17! We have included many new and fancy features that make NHL players look like your drunken uncle playing in a pond hockey tournament.

    Key Features:
    To make the game realistic, we've made sure that over half your team will be unable to catch a pass or make a pass. They also won't know how to play positions and seemingly follow each other around playing herd hockey like children. Want more? Oh you got it. We've made the goalies this weird mix of inhuman god/blind grandmother. This way, it's easier to score shooting from the red line than completing a perfect cross ice one-timer on a 2 on 0. Like big hits? We sure don't. Many rec hockey leagues are none contact so we've followed suit by removing any hit power that NHL players would have. Don't forget to work out your pointer finger before playing the game as you'll spend more time spamming poke check than actually skating. Seriously, just skate around tapping R1 on defense. Or, don't even play defense and watch as your defenseman seemingly block every pass and shot regardless of skill level. However, our favorite new feature involves the addition of weird rubber-attracting magnets to each player's stick. In this way, the puck will randomly stick to the wrong player at all times. You'll never know where it's gonna go! Much exciting! So real!

    The good side:
    Many of the modes that were in past NHL games are now present again. The roster of players is quite comprehensive. Gameplay in this iteration is atrociously bad at times but more slider options have made it somewhat fixable in offline modes. That's unfortunately about it... I gave this game a 4 because it's at least playable and the offline modes can be fun. Seriously EA, please remove your heads from your buttholes and realize that this is the least accurate NHL game yet. Next Gen has not been kind to many EA sports franchises and NHL is no exception.    … Expand
  11. hamyantti
    Apr 18, 2017
    4
    EA is making really good work on making a game you can't enjoy. Online games and against AI there's no way to win if it's not your turn. Bots start getting penalties. No way to control your players. Passes go straight to opponent or it's icing. Trying to kill penalty? Well %###%% you. Attackers can stop slap shots that are chest high with their sticks and continue attacking.
    Online games    EA is making really good work on making a game you can't enjoy. Online games and against AI there's no way to win if it's not your turn. Bots start getting penalties. No way to control your players. Passes go straight to opponent or it's icing. Trying to kill penalty? Well %###%% you. Attackers can stop slap shots that are chest high with their sticks and continue attacking.
    Online games are just awful.

    On the other hand. Games with friends in the same console it can be fun.    … Expand
  12. Nel
    Apr 17, 2017
    5
    There has been some advances, but I still don't understand why they can't keep up with the FIFA games when they are both made from the same company... I mean the be a pro mode in FIFA is miles better than this where you can't even get traded... It would be nice if they included a mode where you could play in different leagues (sweden,finland, russia, nhl) and national team games.. justThere has been some advances, but I still don't understand why they can't keep up with the FIFA games when they are both made from the same company... I mean the be a pro mode in FIFA is miles better than this where you can't even get traded... It would be nice if they included a mode where you could play in different leagues (sweden,finland, russia, nhl) and national team games.. just like FIFA. Would improve this game by a mile.… Expand
  13. Devohagen
    Apr 16, 2017
    0
    Here we go another year of disgrace to the NHL name.

    The passing, inaccurate. standard ice tilt that apparently is not in the game according to them. you can play a game. win 13-1 in season mode all your passes work, you can poke check, hit and your goalie actually shows up for once. then the next game happens. and you've apparently forgot how to play. you now are winning 2-1 on the    Here we go another year of disgrace to the NHL name.

    The passing, inaccurate.
    standard ice tilt that apparently is not in the game according to them. you can play a game. win 13-1 in season mode all your passes work, you can poke check, hit and your goalie actually shows up for once. then the next game happens. and you've apparently forgot how to play. you now are winning 2-1 on the same difficulty you just played on, none of your passes work, the cpu knows what your doing and is fooled by nothing. weird? nope. its EA.

    this game hasnt been decent in a long time, yet they put a new cover on it, give us rosters. and then boom. we pay the cash for it.

    please dont buy this game. they cant even get all the players faces in the game, cause why would that be a thing right?

    BUT HEY they made the crowd look neat. and the goal celebrations are just amazing. thats about where the game ends. such a joke. STANDARD EA and if they didnt exist anymore. would anyone notice? answer yes.

    because wed get less games broken out of the box.    … Expand
  14. jomamito
    Apr 14, 2017
    2
    Game is terrible, AI is terrible, AI cheating, goalie(own) AI terrible. Only good thing is that some teams goalies got new masks. Lucky for me the game cost me only 9.95 €. EA fix that **** goalie AI and cheating AI, my goalie can't stop almost anything (season save% is about 86%, very realistic).
  15. PlaystationRyan
    Apr 2, 2017
    0
    Stop buying EA NHL games. The game gets more and more unrealistic each year and EA refuses to make improvements as they empty all your wallets with an $80 game and in-game purchases.

    The gameplay is HORRID. It's impossible to hit your player with a pass, every time you hit pass you should expect the puck to go all the way down the ice, even if your guy is wide open. Fair goals? Forget    Stop buying EA NHL games. The game gets more and more unrealistic each year and EA refuses to make improvements as they empty all your wallets with an $80 game and in-game purchases.

    The gameplay is HORRID. It's impossible to hit your player with a pass, every time you hit pass you should expect the puck to go all the way down the ice, even if your guy is wide open. Fair goals? Forget about it. There 6 or 7 ways to score in this game, and if you can't figure them out, good luck scoring. Goalies are incapable of stopping the simplest of shots yet somehow sprawl across and get a tiny piece of the puck on crazy hard one timers. The game is broken, it's not fun to play, it's unrealistic, not smooth, and overall another terrible game from EA Sports. What a disgrace of a company.    … Expand
  16. anthony4267711
    Mar 16, 2017
    0
    I had bought xp pionts for my be a pro player and I cant for the life of me find out how to use them. Im to the piont I think I wasted my money. I was all exited about the mode intil your pro player cant ever climb the rankings as a goalie . It takes years. Ive tried simming seaso s and all it does is move ur ratings up but now your potential. So evan if your at 90 overall your potentialI had bought xp pionts for my be a pro player and I cant for the life of me find out how to use them. Im to the piont I think I wasted my money. I was all exited about the mode intil your pro player cant ever climb the rankings as a goalie . It takes years. Ive tried simming seaso s and all it does is move ur ratings up but now your potential. So evan if your at 90 overall your potential is stil AHL low cringe. How can I become a starter ? I want to be able to boost my players overal by using my xp pionts but it doesnt allow you to. What can I buy w them in this mode?… Expand
  17. Bradley2323
    Feb 16, 2017
    5
    I play Be a Pro, and am really frustrated by the developers lack of hockey knowledge. I think there should be a rule that they must have played the game, to be a developer for hockey video games. My first season, I was leading my team (Edmonton Oilers....I was drafted 32nd overall after leading the league in scoring in the Memorial Cup) in scoring, by 12 points. 6 games left in theI play Be a Pro, and am really frustrated by the developers lack of hockey knowledge. I think there should be a rule that they must have played the game, to be a developer for hockey video games. My first season, I was leading my team (Edmonton Oilers....I was drafted 32nd overall after leading the league in scoring in the Memorial Cup) in scoring, by 12 points. 6 games left in the regular season and I was dropped to the farm team in the AHL. I was heading for the Calder trophy, as I was also leading all other rookies in scoring by a long shot. How can the team's leading scorer be cut from the team just as they were heading into the playoffs? Also, EA sports is not getting the nuances of hockey. There is no punishment for getting off the ice while the play is in your own end. Actually, you are rewarded with a positive coaches comment about wise use of quick-changes! Every hockey player knows, you never get off the ice, changing on the fly, while the other team has the puck, let alone, the puck is in your own end! Also, I get chastised by the coach for every penalty. In hockey, there is such a thing as a good penalty. Real hockey players know what I mean. For example, stopping the other teams best player from scoring....or sending a message. I guess these things are too much to ask. I could go on and on about how they could improve the gameplay on NHL 17. Not recommended.… Expand
  18. Drdoom666
    Feb 5, 2017
    0
    The difficulty level of this game is so completely unbalanced. **** this game. Ai is unrealistic. There's some depth to it, But seriously **** this game.
  19. SellingBlahBlah
    Feb 4, 2017
    5
    On standard PS4.

    Be a pro mode is ridiculous now. I don't know why they felt like making the player suck by default but I was surprised to keep seeing a green good timing or well aimed shot only to be followed instantly by toss up or poorly aimed shot. It's like there is a new algorithm that says, "check player skill level" before it allows anything to happen. Giving all the ties to the    On standard PS4.

    Be a pro mode is ridiculous now. I don't know why they felt like making the player suck by default but I was surprised to keep seeing a green good timing or well aimed shot only to be followed instantly by toss up or poorly aimed shot. It's like there is a new algorithm that says, "check player skill level" before it allows anything to happen. Giving all the ties to the AI is annoying but what makes me angry is the minus skill points and the negative coach feedback. So the game is going to default everything to the AI and then punish my pro for it?

    Then there are the usual complaints from EA NHL games.

    The timing is way off on everything just a fraction of a second between hitting the button to when the player does what you want. By the time the action actually happens it's too late. Miss a lot of openings, shots, and passes just because it happens to slow after pressing the button.

    The AI on your team are stupid and therefore do stupid things like passing across the front of the net through traffic. Half the goals against are because the AI on your team did something stupid.

    The "Hit Stick" EA's favorite development in their sports game. I admit the hit stick was a good idea unfortunately, now they've begun mapping everything to that stupid stick. EA would be happy with a joystick and no buttons. If you nudge the stick at the wrong time you will screw yourself up by trying to body check, switch your grip, aim a shot, shoot, aim a pass, etc.

    Of course the worst thing about this and all EA games is the incredible, long, load times. EA requires everything you do to be tracked on their server and that adds to Playstation's already long load times.

    The few points I grant this game is that it's better than NHL 2015 which was truly the worst hockey game with no features. But 2016 fixed most of that stuff and was also better than 2017. I suggest picking up 2016 on the cheap if you want a better experience. Although, none of the last three years has been much fun because of all the problems the games have had.

    All this said. Storage space has become a commodity and while this game isn't awful it doesn't deserve the hard disk that it takes up.    … Expand
  20. BooBooDaddy
    Jan 31, 2017
    8
    Firstly. Let us start off at the fact that the 2 major improvements easily noticeable are;
    1: The Main Screen and interface responsiveness.
    2: The AI, straight up. Compared to 15/16, where the AI would every time let you slip right on through, (Which killed the fun for me, Unless you prefer simple match-ups.) Especially against teams with a good defense. The team ratings are fairly    Firstly. Let us start off at the fact that the 2 major improvements easily noticeable are;
    1: The Main Screen and interface responsiveness.
    2: The AI, straight up. Compared to 15/16, where the AI would every time let you slip right on through, (Which killed the fun for me, Unless you prefer simple match-ups.) Especially against teams with a good defense.
    The team ratings are fairly accurate also, which can bring some sort of look into what type of team you'll be against, and which type of game-play you should insist on using.

    BE A PRO: The most loved feature just after HUT, which now is simply better than ever. Having your own goal celebration, to over 40 different hair styles and head shapes. How ever, playing as Goalie in Be a Pro, (Which is a whole load of fun!) Feels very heavy in NHL 17, by this I mean the movements feel very sluggish and slow compared to 15/16, and the Goalie movements are not solid.

    HOCKEY ULTIMATE TEAM: This loved mode is better than ever now. Especially with all these young stars in the League at the moment, such as McDavid, Eichel and Matthews, getting these guys in your team is killer! BUT, from my own experience, when getting enough in game currency to purchase a pack for your team, the ratio of players-to-contracts are scary. You run out of contracts way too quickly, and before you know it, you're resorting to your backup players which are probably terrible. (Let's be real.) And that is really the only downside to the mode!

    OTHERWISE, the game is brilliant. 8/10, and definitely one of the best NHL games I've ever played. Would recommend to players new to the NHL franchise.

    ~Peace. xo    … Expand
  21. MICHAL1
    Dec 12, 2016
    0
    EA Sport decide, who win the game. It´s crazy, but it is true. They didn´t understood, that "momentum" is worst idea they ever had and they are even proud on it. When I´m behind I don´t play as good as when I´m in front. I´m nervous my fingers don´t work as I want and when I´m in front, I play much better I can concentrate and everything is easier. But EA Sports programmed momentum to makeEA Sport decide, who win the game. It´s crazy, but it is true. They didn´t understood, that "momentum" is worst idea they ever had and they are even proud on it. When I´m behind I don´t play as good as when I´m in front. I´m nervous my fingers don´t work as I want and when I´m in front, I play much better I can concentrate and everything is easier. But EA Sports programmed momentum to make your player unreal skillfull and quick when I´m in front but is absolutely crazy, they programed that when I´m behind, my own players "sabotaging" my effort and my play. They skates allways in wrong direction, lose puck without reason, don´t hit wide open net, don´t reach easy slow passes, go change when I have breakaway, can´t pokecheck, can´t hit, stand or go in ofside position, do everything absolutelly wrong. But the worst is, that this momentum or support or what it is, has one team without any reason. Even momentum is stupid idea, but this decision is made without any reason. There is no reason to play this game. Would you watch sports if you know, that playeres can´t decide who win? Worst NHL ever, worst game ever. Actually, I want my money back. DO NOT BUY THIS SH.T. MICHAL… Expand
  22. DanielStoffberg
    Dec 5, 2016
    8
    Big fan of the series, I own every edition of EA Sports NHL ever released. This one does seem to be the most frustrating of them all when playing against the AI, those long range shots the AI gets in are truly unbelievable and the AI players seems to never really lose the puck of their stick. Good thing is there are various settings, but it takes forever to get the settings just the wayBig fan of the series, I own every edition of EA Sports NHL ever released. This one does seem to be the most frustrating of them all when playing against the AI, those long range shots the AI gets in are truly unbelievable and the AI players seems to never really lose the puck of their stick. Good thing is there are various settings, but it takes forever to get the settings just the way you feel fair, but even then it tends to feel a bit empty. As for graphics, teams, tactics, running your team that is all great. If they can only work out this AI issue which seems to remain a problem this game could very well have been a 10.… Expand
  23. GoneSquatchin
    Dec 2, 2016
    3
    The outcome of online vs games are predetermined by EA. There is no skill, no glitch goals, and no sense involved in this game. At times you will hit every shot you intend and at other times the same shot will go wildly off the glass. I have played NHL almost exclusively for years and this is the first time I have considered dropping the series entirely. It is not luck, nor skill, norThe outcome of online vs games are predetermined by EA. There is no skill, no glitch goals, and no sense involved in this game. At times you will hit every shot you intend and at other times the same shot will go wildly off the glass. I have played NHL almost exclusively for years and this is the first time I have considered dropping the series entirely. It is not luck, nor skill, nor strategy, the game is simply determined by which player is allowed to get ridiculous goals as the other player's entire team is doing exactly the opposite of what would be expected. Examples: Defensemen randomly skating towards the boards/blue line when there is a potential breakaway, a breakout begins and all offensive players skate backwards, wide open players missing wide open passes for no apparent reason, straight up inability to take slapshots when nobody is in the area, nightmarish passing decisions, and the list goes on. Don't quote me, but in NBA 98ish the user could choose which defensive player they would like to control ... Here we are in NHL 2017 and you can switch players until your fingers bleed and never control the logical choice. Let me choose who I would like to defend with, let me choose which player I am intending a pass towards, and if not, make the AI somewhat reasonable. There is a gap between users and developers/programmers that is growing. The online vs game is becoming undesirable, to me at least, because it feels like I have no impact on the game and/or that the game is blatantly separate from any realistic hockey that would ever be played. Also, if I am trying to hit a guy and happen to take the puck during the hit, then why is the realistic outcome to fire the puck in the direction in which the hit is intended?… Expand
  24. simondaustin
    Nov 28, 2016
    8
    I've had a some solid hours with this game and now can honestly say it is really good this year. EA is starting to get the hint that people want a customisable experience.... The gameplay sliders and custom team/player elements are much better. They still seem to keep some areas chained up ... like roster updates .. (why can't we share our own homemade rosters online?) .. or the inabilityI've had a some solid hours with this game and now can honestly say it is really good this year. EA is starting to get the hint that people want a customisable experience.... The gameplay sliders and custom team/player elements are much better. They still seem to keep some areas chained up ... like roster updates .. (why can't we share our own homemade rosters online?) .. or the inability to customise existing players looks.... I think if we pay the $$ we should be able to edit and share what we want. Most sport games are doing this already.… Expand
  25. Kyle_Katarn92
    Nov 15, 2016
    8
    As usual, the gameplay feels very smooth. The customisation options are great this year. Its still missing some features, such as the "international tournament".
  26. hack921
    Nov 14, 2016
    4
    The good first:
    1: UI is good, its clean and relatively responsive and shows off your team nicely
    2: the modes that the game has are fun, the draft is my favorite mode by far, but the ability to pick where you start in my career mode is awesome and in total that mode is also good. And now the bad: 1: The ai in the game is horrible to game braking, I've been in online games that where    The good first:
    1: UI is good, its clean and relatively responsive and shows off your team nicely
    2: the modes that the game has are fun, the draft is my favorite mode by far, but the ability to pick where you start in my career mode is awesome and in total that mode is also good.

    And now the bad:
    1: The ai in the game is horrible to game braking, I've been in online games that where late in the third only for the ai to slash or trip some one behind the play. They are also seemingly oblivious of the game around them some times. From defencemen going behind the net instead of covering the person in front, wingers refusing to move to the middle of the ice even though the puck carrier is already going up there, to many more like players leaving people uncovered in front of the net, and not being able to complete and simple slap shot dump if they are moving at all.

    2: getting called for penalties on hits that you cant control like elbowing or crosschecking (these things can completely change the momentum of games)

    3: Goalies are just awful, like i cant even describe some of the goals that have gone in.

    4: The game feels off, the players dont handle like they should and do some strange things like spinning away from the puck. Also just the ability to play the puck is awful, players will just refuse to play some pucks and the hitting feels awful, some times just getting little bumps from big build ups, and vise-a-versa, or just not hitting the person like there is a bubble around them you cant go in.    … Expand
  27. son-of-serpico
    Oct 29, 2016
    7
    At first I was impressed with this game but I am changing my glowing initial review. The more I've played it, the more I've realized it is lacking in many areas. Career mode is bush league when you compare it to NBA 2K or even FIFA 17's career modes. There is no story involved and the story is what makes any game -- even a sports game -- great. The hockey action is decent, a little betterAt first I was impressed with this game but I am changing my glowing initial review. The more I've played it, the more I've realized it is lacking in many areas. Career mode is bush league when you compare it to NBA 2K or even FIFA 17's career modes. There is no story involved and the story is what makes any game -- even a sports game -- great. The hockey action is decent, a little better than the last instalment, but they need to put much more effort into career mode if they want to keep up with the best sports titles. RIght now EA's NHL franchise leaves you hoping 2K will jump in to develop a hockey game at long last. Don't get me wrong, it's hockey and it's fun to play but it could be so much better. I won't spend another 80 bucks on this game next year if they do not create a revamped and much improved career mode.… Expand
  28. effeasports
    Oct 25, 2016
    4
    The puck drops, you win the faceoff and start skating down the ice. Time to make a simple pass, uh oh, the accuracy is abysmal. The player you were trying to pass to was right next to you, and you aimed the left analog stick right at them. It's not your fault, it's EA Sports' fault for making the puck go elsewhere, whether it be to the player directly behind you, or basically anywhere elseThe puck drops, you win the faceoff and start skating down the ice. Time to make a simple pass, uh oh, the accuracy is abysmal. The player you were trying to pass to was right next to you, and you aimed the left analog stick right at them. It's not your fault, it's EA Sports' fault for making the puck go elsewhere, whether it be to the player directly behind you, or basically anywhere else besides the player you were aiming directly at. About half of the passes do not go where they are intended to go. It is very frustrating. You work hard to get down the ice, and it should be an easy cross-crease one-timer goal, but the pass goes to the goalie as if you were trying to pass it to them for some reason and not the guy that is wide open and right next to you. So the passing is dreadful, but the shot accuracy is even worse. Yes, real NHL players cannot hit the same little corner every single time, but they also don't miss the net by five feet every single time. Besides the passing and shooting problems, a new aspect of the game is that your player will now lose the puck for absolutely no reason whatsoever. You're just skating down the ice, not even making a move or anything, and whoops, there goes the puck. To add on, the overall game does not react fast enough to any given controller input. When I press a button, I want it to happen that very instant. Your AI teammates are made to be drooling vegetables, but the opponent AI is perfect. Seriously, they are a mirror to your every move, at least on the superstar setting. Congratulations, the game is finally more difficult but in all the worst ways possible. This is not a fun game to play if you like having total control over the games you play. You might as well just watch the computer play itself. It's as if EA Sports programmed the game to be this way, because top game developers would not let any of this happen on accident. They made a bad game on purpose. This is a franchise game, it's not like they're starting from scratch.They do not care at all. They put zero effort into making a decent game, and then they profit. This company cannot be taken seriously. EA Sports needs competition, especially for hockey. You should only buy this game if you want to waste money supporting a deplorable corporation that knows most people are dumb enough to pay whatever for total crap just because it's the latest version. I had high expectations, but I've learned my lesson now: I should expect EA Sports to dish out pure junk next time. This is one of the worst games I've ever played. Don't let the decent graphics fool you.

    *aims both middle fingers at EA Sports headquarters*    … Expand
  29. lizardking420
    Oct 13, 2016
    7
    Needs a otp kick vote for s*** like Jordanbrak. Eashl and online is where it's at. Sports game don't care gbghu8i66666666666666666666666666666666666666666788898862122i.
  30. jason2123
    Oct 13, 2016
    1
    I'm a big fan of all the NHL games but NHL 17 is probably the worst one by far. Too many penalties are called, the other team just plows over the goalie and nothing is called. You cant make contact with anyone or anything without falling over and stumbling. There's just way to many setting you have to change if you want the game the way you want it. Also the music during the games are notI'm a big fan of all the NHL games but NHL 17 is probably the worst one by far. Too many penalties are called, the other team just plows over the goalie and nothing is called. You cant make contact with anyone or anything without falling over and stumbling. There's just way to many setting you have to change if you want the game the way you want it. Also the music during the games are not good and you can barely hear them. I think they need to stop focusing on how a created player looks and focus more on the game play.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

83
#83 Best PS4 Game of 2016
69
#69 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2016
82
#82 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Nov 21, 2016
    80
    NHL 17 plays and feels as great as always, but the improvements plateaued some years back and this year's gameplay tweaks...are welcome but largely inconsequential. [Dec 2016, p.80]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Nov 7, 2016
    60
    One is tempted to cut & paste last year's verdict, but while the last year was fixing the mess, this one just polishes the well-frozen ice. [Issue#267]
  3. NZGamer
    Nov 1, 2016
    81
    Functionary and solid.
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