NHL 21

 PlayStation 4
User Score
2.3

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 159 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 159
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 159
  3. Negative: 126 out of 159
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  1. ChuckB3430
    Oct 26, 2020
    2
    I have never felt compelled to write a review before. I have become the snob I hate. But this game is absolutely trash. The gameplay is virtually the same with a few noticeable tweaks. Players still take passes while skating backwards, goalies are still the dumbest player on the ice(with the exception of defensemen in some situations), and coaching doesn't affect anything.

    I don't play    I have never felt compelled to write a review before. I have become the snob I hate. But this game is absolutely trash. The gameplay is virtually the same with a few noticeable tweaks. Players still take passes while skating backwards, goalies are still the dumbest player on the ice(with the exception of defensemen in some situations), and coaching doesn't affect anything.

    I don't play HUT or EASHL because I don't want to pay money for packs and hopefully get a decent card that way. Micro-transactions are what is killing gaming and killing what makes them fun. EA Sports is the king of this crap, and it needs to stop. I mainly play offline modes like Franchise and Be A Pro. People like me get the short end of the stick every year because we don't want to spend more money than we already have buying the game. This review is mainly about franchise and be a pro, which again, come up short this year.

    Franchise:
    -Once again, the Stanley Cup presentation is the exact same thing as years past. Love seeing the Cup being passed to random 3rd liners that didn't contribute to anything. Let us actually lift the Cup, not see 3 people do it and call it a day. Please revamp this.
    -Trade values are off, I was able to trade a top 6 exact defenseman at 79 overall for a 1st round pick and a medium elite prospect. Trade values need to be fixed. Overall's need to be fixed to. Drew Doughty being a 91 overall player while Erik Cernak being a low top 6 78 overall player just proves that no one at EA watches hockey and goes off what they did last year. It's an incomplete roster update, which is the only thing new sports games are usually bought for.
    -The sim engine is terrible again. I love winning the presidents trophy 4 years in a row and losing in the first round every year. What is the point of building an unstoppable team for 82 games and then all of a sudden they don't know what goal is which.
    -Speaking of playoffs, can you make it seem like a bigger deal than currently presented?
    -Record book is bugged. 3 years in some random goalie(most of the time Jordan Binnington) becomes the all time leader is goalie games played as well as overall games played. Goalie stats are always terrible in the sim engine, and now the goalie stat bugs carry over into the record book.
    -Still no all star game. EA Sports makes a huge deal of NHL Three's and you can't add a 3-3 All-Star game? Joke.
    -Trade logic is still off. Teams still signing free agents and offering them to you in a trade 3 days later. Smart A.I.
    -Trade deadline is pretty cool. However, free agency is still the same. You can add a Free Agent Frenzy mode, copy and paste the trade deadline mini game and tweak it to free agency. Still not able to rescind offers or even see if the player is interested in signing with you. You just have to offer and hope. All other sports games show you player interest. Let us have a try-out option for some free agents as well. Something that happens in the real world that has never been added to a video game before. EA loves copying and pasting, why not do it for something actually cool.
    -The Draft is still the same. Make it seem like the draft is a bigger deal than it actually is.
    -Coaching and chemistry are the same and was an okay add last year.
    -Let us see other teams jersey's and captains. We could do that on old gen, but can't this time. An entire generation of console didn't have half the small features that made last gen fun.

    Be a Pro:
    -You all realize this is NHL14's Live the Life but this time with animations, right? It took EA an entire console generation to just get back to the last game used on old gen. It's a joke.
    -It gets repetitive, lack of things to do, same in-game situations over and over. It isn't fun anymore by the time you get to year 3.
    -Speaking of year 3, you get to become a free agent. Yay! It's the same thing as the last few years! You can be the best player since Gretzky, be a free agent and you'll get 2 teams offering you 1 or 2 year deals. Are you kidding me? Change it! Make it seem like you give a crap! And don't lecture me on how "they revamped the whole mode! of course they care!" They don't. Like I said, its the same as NHL14 but with animations. That's it.
    -You can buy a luxury car though and get a stat boost, that's cool I guess.
    -Still can't see any other team. Just yours. Can't see team jersey numbers or choose yours. It's just the same every single year and its disheartening.

    Random side note: soundtrack sucks. Again. NHL used to have the best soundtracks ever. Now on natural instinct I go to the settings and change it to the menu music.

    To close, sorry for ranting. But I needed to say it. EA Sports just takes and takes. When they "add" its only repackaged old game modes presented as new and revolutionary. Its just sad at this point. I don't have any faith in this game franchise or the company to give hockey fans a genuinely good product. I hope they prove us all wrong.    … Expand
  2. BriscoeG
    Oct 24, 2020
    1
    Please change the next game. Everything needs an overhaul. It's just so so bad! Either improve the sim, or make it arcade style.
  3. SammyDelicious
    Nov 17, 2020
    1
    I have bought every NHL game since 1999.

    This one was the worst. NHL 21 is not fun. I recommend buying an older version instead. (Preferably on sale, because NHL 20 isn't great either) Better yet just don't support EA by purchasing their games anymore. If EA can't and won't respect their customers then why should their neglected customers keep buying their games they put no effort and    I have bought every NHL game since 1999.

    This one was the worst.

    NHL 21 is not fun. I recommend buying an older version instead. (Preferably on sale, because NHL 20 isn't great either)

    Better yet just don't support EA by purchasing their games anymore. If EA can't and won't respect their customers then why should their neglected customers keep buying their games they put no effort and no care into?

    This game is proof EA doesn't care about their fanbase. And definitely doesn't care about making their NHL franchise a better, or fun playing experience.

    WARNING ⚠️ DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!    … Expand
  4. Trigg
    Oct 25, 2020
    1
    Not being a fan of any of the Hut modes or online, the main thing I’m a fan of is the franchise, and it’s still essentially the same thing repackaged for the last few years. Not worth it for an updated roster basically.
  5. Frank_Ginsberg
    Feb 10, 2021
    1
    I created an account here just so I can write this review for this highly disappointing game.

    First off, I would advise against buying this game if you have any previous edition since 2013. If for some reason you need to buy NHL 21, please don't pay extra for the premium versions that include HUT packs. I decided to pay $5 extra for the Great 8 Edition since it was on sale. This edition    I created an account here just so I can write this review for this highly disappointing game.

    First off, I would advise against buying this game if you have any previous edition since 2013. If for some reason you need to buy NHL 21, please don't pay extra for the premium versions that include HUT packs. I decided to pay $5 extra for the Great 8 Edition since it was on sale. This edition was supposed to include 16 premium packs to help me kickstart my HUT experience, however it's been over a week and I still got nothing. Because of this, I have now discovered that the only thing more frustrating than NHL 21's gameplay is dealing with EA's customer service. They can't give a straight answer and no one wants to fix this issue. It now looks like I will never get these packs due to a "bug".

    The silver lining is that I don't think I'll actually need these packs since I'm pretty much done with the online gameplay of NHL 21. I've been playing EA NHL games since 2001 and I used to love this franchise. Win or lose, the online games were fun. Fast forward to 2021 and the only way to score a goal online is by using the one-timer. It's almost impossible to win a game without abusing one-timers.... where's the fun in that? It's to the point where players will brake on a a clear breakaway just to wait until there's an opportunity to pass and shoot. Oh and remember when you can lay out a huge body check on the opponent? Nope! That's 2 minutes for charging. Why would there be so many charging calls in a video game?

    I'll be sticking to offline versions of this game, include Franchise Mode and Be A Pro. These game modes aren't perfect, but they manage to kill time. That's the only reason why I'm giving this game a 1 instead of a 0. I will not be buying another EA game until this franchise is fixed.    … Expand
  6. FTProtocal
    Oct 26, 2020
    4
    I can't give it a 0, and it certainly doesn't deserve anything higher than a 6 ... I flipped back and forth between a 4 and a 5, and it's a 4 for me. It's essentially a copy paste of NHL 20, BUT ... that doesn't make it a 0, either, as they have done a bit of work on it, but nothing to write home about, and there are still critical flaws in the game that haven't been touched (and theI can't give it a 0, and it certainly doesn't deserve anything higher than a 6 ... I flipped back and forth between a 4 and a 5, and it's a 4 for me. It's essentially a copy paste of NHL 20, BUT ... that doesn't make it a 0, either, as they have done a bit of work on it, but nothing to write home about, and there are still critical flaws in the game that haven't been touched (and the removed Draft Champions!!!).

    It's like putting makeup on a pig at this point, it's still a pig, it's just a slightly nicer looking one.

    The Be a Pro mode presentation is nice and it's about time they added this. But ultimately, the gameplay itself is still garbage. You are literally being asked to carry your team and be the Superstar; playing actual positional hockey with and as a TEAM ... forget about it, it's literally the exact same garbage AI as previous years. They will consistently make (and not make) the most asinine plays they possibly can. There are literally too many issues to mention, and the root cause, let's be honest, is because EA simply does not know how to program the AI to properly play with a human player; the opponent AI is ALWAYS remarkably better than your own AI, even on 'Pro' difficulty you'll essentially be carrying your team as they bumble about, attempting to make what can only be described as ages 3-5 'Peanuts' level hockey plays. Just one silly example: a 3 on 0 down low in front of the net has developed, AI has the puck behind the net, I'm Center and our LW is (remarkably) where he should be. The RW skates out from behind the net, has two CLEAR options for a pass, the LW is a simple tap in ... the RW instead opts to slam the puck directly into the goalie's pads as if that was clearly the best possible option at that moment - good job.

    The new moves are fun, and I've yet to see anyone successfully complete any of them outside of the more practical 'bank' and 'self pass' (behind the net), and slip deke (near boards) moves. But ... those are useful and props to EA for adding those in!

    The game does feel better overall, especially when picking up the puck and making a quick move in the other direction, it's more 'fluid'.

    CHEL ... all I can say is, at least they didn't put a pond back in with shadows that effectively ruin the entire game experience ... in the words of the Angry Video Game Nerd "what were they thinking?!?" last year. there's a new sync feature prior to puck drop, that seems to have helped with the 'games not counting' bug that's been plaguing CHEL since ... forever ... I can't say for certain if that entirely resolved, however, as I do believe of the 30 or so games I've played, at least one of them did not count.

    I haven't and do not play HUT, so my 4/10 has nothing to do with that mode and does not factor into my rating whatsoever. We all play NHL for our own reasons and modes.

    The goalies are just as ... whatever as they have been in previous years. They do seem to be slightly better 1v1, but the cross-crease passes, omg ... ez. So yeah, as a lot of people have mentioned, this game needs an overhaul of sort from the ground up, the AI as a whole needs to be redesigned, and they should start with goalies. Admittedly, it must be very difficult to program AI, but at this point it needs to be better, as a whole.    … Expand
  7. DrummBumm
    Oct 29, 2020
    4
    Unfortunately, this is one of the games I keep coming back to, simply because I'm decent at it and have fun when on an aware/unselfish team. It's too bad that rarely happens. If you play this game for EASHL drop-ins, it can be torturous. Selfish a$$holes constantly calling for the puck if a CPU has the puck for .01 seconds, while they're double covered, leading to turnovers and frustratingUnfortunately, this is one of the games I keep coming back to, simply because I'm decent at it and have fun when on an aware/unselfish team. It's too bad that rarely happens. If you play this game for EASHL drop-ins, it can be torturous. Selfish a$$holes constantly calling for the puck if a CPU has the puck for .01 seconds, while they're double covered, leading to turnovers and frustrating goals against. Most of the people you get teamed up with don't care about winning or passing, just getting their touches in which typically leads to a neutral zone turnover. Most people have no issues embarassing themselves, which is pretty sad. I would really like to see these people in real life so I can laugh at how pathetic they are overall. Anyways, other than that, the game is very similar to last years with a few new moves added along with an upgrade in Be a pro. Certainly not worth the $60 price tag. My advice is only get this game if you're in a good club that plays often. If you're relying on an enjoyable experience with randoms in drop-ins, then get ready for an anuersym because the stupidity of anonymous players is incomprehensible and downright scary.… Expand
  8. scotmachi
    Nov 10, 2020
    0
    NHL 19 was the last EA NHL I bought and can never ever see myself ever buying any future installments. Just played it on EA Play 10hr trial, SHOCKED! by how bad the gameplay was and can't see myself fulfilling the 10hrs, games are suppose to be fun not intensely stressful. Do they even ever play the game other than develop it. Played NHL 14 around a year ago (PS3), now that was fun! NHLNHL 19 was the last EA NHL I bought and can never ever see myself ever buying any future installments. Just played it on EA Play 10hr trial, SHOCKED! by how bad the gameplay was and can't see myself fulfilling the 10hrs, games are suppose to be fun not intensely stressful. Do they even ever play the game other than develop it. Played NHL 14 around a year ago (PS3), now that was fun! NHL 11-14 2k8-10 are far superior to this, WTF are they thinking, are they sabotaging they're own game because of EA underpaying and abusing they're past efforts? TOTAL REGRESSION! VERY SAD and MISERABLE!… Expand
  9. CrazedDuck
    Nov 10, 2020
    0
    Last year the user score was above 4 (4.6?) around April and had dropped to 3.6 which was really good compared to Fifa, Madden, NBA2K (not many play NHL compared to these sports games). Not a fan of this franchise because gameplay blows, but 18, 19 and 20 were meh... but 21!!! Yikes! Didn't buy it since 19 and won't until I play EA Play 10hr trial each year, and if its great then I'll buyLast year the user score was above 4 (4.6?) around April and had dropped to 3.6 which was really good compared to Fifa, Madden, NBA2K (not many play NHL compared to these sports games). Not a fan of this franchise because gameplay blows, but 18, 19 and 20 were meh... but 21!!! Yikes! Didn't buy it since 19 and won't until I play EA Play 10hr trial each year, and if its great then I'll buy it! I don't feel that I will ever want to buy it, a millionaire wouldn't want to spend on this garbage. Please start from scratch with a true new gen game NHL22. EA's NHL, Fifa, Madden, 2K's NBA2K, WWE2K, the gameplay has been horrible on all these franchises for years! will any of them ever change and excel far and beyond expectations?… Expand
  10. Thebrah
    Oct 27, 2020
    0
    Trash gameplay, they haven't even fixed issues that plagued the past. Franchise mode is still a shell of itself and hut is just a money grab from ea, not to mention players with the highest speed on a breakaway can be caught with someone with one of the worst speeds in the game with ease. Just save your money .
  11. majesticsquid
    Nov 17, 2020
    1
    The discrepancy between the "Metascore" and the "user" score is quite telling.

    I decided to post a review because NHL 21 is the worst NHL game for playstation I have ever played and I wanted to add some feedback. The other users clearly agree with me becauase the game is sitting at a generous 2.6 rating (it's trash and not even worth that) No effort goes into the NHL franchise anymore,    The discrepancy between the "Metascore" and the "user" score is quite telling.

    I decided to post a review because NHL 21 is the worst NHL game for playstation I have ever played and I wanted to add some feedback. The other users clearly agree with me becauase the game is sitting at a generous 2.6 rating (it's trash and not even worth that) No effort goes into the NHL franchise anymore, and the rating reflects this.

    NHL 21 is a bad game. Plain and simple.

    The Metascore however is frighteningly high (at a 72 right now) I've bought more than a dozen NHL games over the years and this version is a 2 or 3 out of 10. A grade of 30% would be generous for NHL 21. The Metascore's are truly pathetic, and they must be getting paid to inflate this terrible games sad rating.

    Personally EA couldn't pay me enough to PRETEND like this game is a 72/100, or even average. NHL 21 sucks, this game just really sucks.    … Expand
  12. PapaJo
    Nov 21, 2020
    0
    I bought this for 80$ canadian and it won't let me access the main menu. I'm stuck at 65% game installation at the main screen. This is the only game I've ever bought that won't let me play it from the title screen. Good job EA, you useless sack of ****
  13. ccspence33
    Oct 26, 2020
    0
    This franchise has gone off the deep end... please someone else make a hockey video game. This is the same game as NHL 20 and the physics are still broken... try to pick up a loose puck? Good luck... half the time passes don’t go where they’re supposed to. 50/50 pucks are an absolute joke... the EASHL function feels as if the controls got slower, if that’s even possible from how slow theyThis franchise has gone off the deep end... please someone else make a hockey video game. This is the same game as NHL 20 and the physics are still broken... try to pick up a loose puck? Good luck... half the time passes don’t go where they’re supposed to. 50/50 pucks are an absolute joke... the EASHL function feels as if the controls got slower, if that’s even possible from how slow they already have been in previous years. This game frustrates me more than any other game I play. If you’re actually a hockey person, good luck trying to actually defend in this game, it’s impossible as sometimes players fly at the speed of light, sometimes your poke checks turn phantom through pucks, and trying to rub people off the puck as an offensively minded class is nearly impossible. There’s soooo many holes in the physics of this game, it’s laughable really...… Expand
  14. jaket663
    Oct 24, 2020
    0
    The same old stuff every year. The game is extremely bad, same thing every year. What they changed and added from NHL 20 to 21 could easily be a small dlc to NHL 20. Don’t buy this game, all that’s really changed is essentially the rosters.
  15. Heliotay
    Dec 5, 2020
    7
    First game i played in the series. Enjoyed playing against my dad that has been playing NHL for a long time, he thought it was pretty good. The score i give it is mostly because i had alot of fun playing with my dad. For my part playing alone i had fun and got realy hyped up everytime i hit a good goal.
  16. mikerich1
    Jan 10, 2021
    10
    This is the same game as last year with Playstation 3 graphics. It's getting embarrassing and ridiculous EA. Fix and change the game.
  17. mjf80
    Feb 1, 2021
    1
    I have taken 2 years buffer between each purchase of NHL games due to obvious reasons* (*EA sells rehashed donkey dung every year). Previous one was 19. NHL 21 is shortly put....utter horror boxed inside a horse manure casing and coding done by legally retarded monkeys with learning disabilities. EA has gone so wrong with this series, I don't even know where to begin. But, here's my takeI have taken 2 years buffer between each purchase of NHL games due to obvious reasons* (*EA sells rehashed donkey dung every year). Previous one was 19. NHL 21 is shortly put....utter horror boxed inside a horse manure casing and coding done by legally retarded monkeys with learning disabilities. EA has gone so wrong with this series, I don't even know where to begin. But, here's my take on this turd EA has the nerve to call "hockey simulation" (*pffft* simlation, yeah right..):
    1. This game caters fully and solely to ringette lovers (a.k.a no-contact lady hockey)
    2. The controls have gone abysmal compared to 2 years prior (NHL 19)
    3. AI has more control over the game now than ever, meaning, DDA [dynamic difficulty adjustment] (which EA has a patent on, google it if you don't believe me) balances the game against you at every turn possible. Most obviously this becomes apparent during defensive situations (previously stated ringette style hockey, no-contact) where you end up hurling your controller against the wall in utter rage for not responding to buttons you thought were supposed to work in this...'game'.
    4. Changing difficulty is a pain in the ass. Go with rookie and you score at least 20 goals...in a 3 min/period game... Oh how realistic... Up the ante and put Pro, and it still gets surprisingly easy, cashing in on roughly 10-15 goals during same game time (3 min periods). But...here's the really retarded part...go up a notch to All-Star and start praying to God that you'll get one puck behind the goalies since the game goes from all-out-goal-fest to haha-you-never-gonna-score-now mode.

    Whoever makes these executive programming decisions at EA is apparently someone with very low IQ imo. And has zero knowledge about the sport of ice hockey. Sadly, this is not a simulation as advertized by Enema Ape Sports, but, in fact, an arcade ringette-simulator dedicated to all EA apologists & worshipers who eat all of HUTs and whatever-crap-modes they toss at them.

    This will be the last EA NHL game for me. Makes me wish 2K was still making hockey games, those guys knew what hockey was about..... Not ringette, I can tell you that much!    … Expand
  18. HappyTendy
    Feb 5, 2021
    2
    I've played every single NHL since the late 1990s and they've always had the same issue since online was a thing, I'll give you an example. I've been buying some packs, and playing quite a bit and I haven't had much luck in getting good cards my best player is an 87 McDavid and 87 Crosby everyone else is under 87 and when I try and matchmake I'm always paired up with these 1995 overallI've played every single NHL since the late 1990s and they've always had the same issue since online was a thing, I'll give you an example. I've been buying some packs, and playing quite a bit and I haven't had much luck in getting good cards my best player is an 87 McDavid and 87 Crosby everyone else is under 87 and when I try and matchmake I'm always paired up with these 1995 overall teams it's not fair with 90 overall Gretzky's and every line has a 90 how is that fair when they're skating around you. This game needs to work on matchmaking and take your overall team rating and pair it against another team with the same overall it's not fair when I'm an 85 overall against the 93 overall team

    And the easel has its own problems the big glitch goals the one-timers crashing the net there's no way you can stop the puck even when I'm Square some rest shots from the point are so slow but when you're the goalie you can't even catch it and make a save even when you're Square doesn't make sense it's like you're a minor league player in the NHL they need to strengthen goalies.

    The gameplay is fun and I'll probably continue to play it but not competitively because it's just not fun when I got to play against a Gretzky and all these vintage superstars on my team isn't there yet but yet the matchmaking puts me against these guys not fun.    … Expand
  19. SunPraiser
    Oct 17, 2020
    0
    Same copy and paste as previous games, but still full priced game. The only real improvement is Be a Pro, but it gets old fast. Barely anything improved or added to CHEL. Not even worth my time writing anything more than that. If you want to play NHL 21 for dirt cheap, then buy NHL 20.
  20. VlueStar
    Oct 19, 2020
    0
    The same terrible gameplay from nhl 19. I didn’t buy last year out of the hopes that they would’ve at least evolved a tiny bit but this isn’t the case. Cross creases and point shots are still the easiest ways to score and online play is just people abusing the games poor gameplay mechanics. It’s kind of remarkable that a hockey game ceases to look anything like hockey, the people at eaThe same terrible gameplay from nhl 19. I didn’t buy last year out of the hopes that they would’ve at least evolved a tiny bit but this isn’t the case. Cross creases and point shots are still the easiest ways to score and online play is just people abusing the games poor gameplay mechanics. It’s kind of remarkable that a hockey game ceases to look anything like hockey, the people at ea once again proven how little of an effort they will put into this series and it shows. But then again, did I expect anything less at this point.… Expand
  21. Jt9711
    Oct 16, 2020
    3
    What a waste of money. I've bought every NHL game since 1994 and this will be the last. Franchise mode is broken. Unless you go in and manually set region and players your scouts will not evaluate players leaving you with zero information for the draft

    Be a pro, for all they added within 30 minutes it's already repetitive and boring. HUT is the same as always. You spend the game    What a waste of money. I've bought every NHL game since 1994 and this will be the last. Franchise mode is broken. Unless you go in and manually set region and players your scouts will not evaluate players leaving you with zero information for the draft

    Be a pro, for all they added within 30 minutes it's already repetitive and boring.

    HUT is the same as always. You spend the game defending one timers and odd man rushes. No resemblance of real hockey to be found.

    Chel-seems okay, not my thing.    … Expand
  22. Samzig
    Oct 22, 2020
    2
    It's exactly the same as 3 years ago. On top of that they removed features like international games.
    What do the devs even do with their time?
  23. Philay92
    Oct 20, 2020
    0
    70$ for a roster update and a couple minor changes. Same bugs, same terrible ai, same lag when playing online
  24. Megatron49
    Oct 17, 2020
    0
    One step forward and 3 back as per usual with NHL. The new BaP mode is really cool except for the actual on ice. Your AI still has no clue what to do and the way it judges your performance is comical. You pretty much have to be a sniper too for any of the star stuff to make sense. It's the only hockey game so I'll keep buying these games but they are full of glitches l and made by peopleOne step forward and 3 back as per usual with NHL. The new BaP mode is really cool except for the actual on ice. Your AI still has no clue what to do and the way it judges your performance is comical. You pretty much have to be a sniper too for any of the star stuff to make sense. It's the only hockey game so I'll keep buying these games but they are full of glitches l and made by people who apparently have never played hockey. Please 2k make a hockey game again competition woud be good for ea. Stop adding 3 features, getting 15 bad songs and changing the menu colour while charging $80. I would say it's an expensive roster update but they didn't even have that done for launch! Pathetic… Expand
  25. BD9919
    Oct 18, 2020
    0
    Absolutely terrible. Same game as last year with a poke check tuner. They need to cancel franchise or let someone else take it over.
  26. jackwm
    Oct 16, 2020
    1
    I learned the hard way today that you can't return games you've already downloaded on the Ps4. It's the same exact game you've seen years in years past from EA. And frankly, it's a polished turd. The gameplay is absolutely horrid as usual. The board play is awful, shot blocking system is awful, you get bumped off the puck too easily along the boards, AI goalies still act the way they didI learned the hard way today that you can't return games you've already downloaded on the Ps4. It's the same exact game you've seen years in years past from EA. And frankly, it's a polished turd. The gameplay is absolutely horrid as usual. The board play is awful, shot blocking system is awful, you get bumped off the puck too easily along the boards, AI goalies still act the way they did in past iterations, the list goes on. Goal horns are still inaccurate, when players score you see the same stupid double fist pump celebration, and player likenesses are still completely unacceptable. I played NHL 2k10 recently and it's honestly still a better game than anything EA has made in the last 10 years.… Expand
  27. shaiza12
    Oct 18, 2020
    0
    trash company, trash game, trash life
    trash company, trash game, trash life
  28. MachineGunniner
    Oct 17, 2020
    0
    They've really outdone themselves. Again, the worst NHL game to date. DO NOT BUY!!! it's beyond terrible in every way.
  29. fleshgakker
    Oct 18, 2020
    0
    So EA did it again. same ol' piece of junk with all the bugs we loved so much in nhl 19, 20 and counting. Nothing new. Literally. Cmon.
  30. Gregmynin
    Oct 18, 2020
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Copy and paste copy and paste copy and paste. That's pretty much all EA does with patch notes for a full game price. Finally people are starting to wake up… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

36
#36 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 32
  3. Negative: 2 out of 32
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Nov 15, 2020
    80
    It looks fantastic, with animation delivering the TV-standard realism EA always aims for2 while offering gaming cues for eagle-eyed players to spot; using the stick skills to shuffle keepers out of position for a slap shot will leave you wide-eyed and fist-punching the air. See, that Nicolas Cage opener paid off. [Issue#182, p.160]
  2. GAMINGbible
    Nov 9, 2020
    80
    NHL 21 is a brilliant hockey game combining excellent controls, an engaging Be A Pro story mode and the quickfire HUT Rush arcade mode - as well as the opportunity to engage in the odd scrap to let off steam. Whether you're a seasoned pro or a newcomer to Ice Hockey, NHL 21 will most certainly tick all the boxes.
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  3. PLAY! Zine
    Nov 4, 2020
    45
    NHL 21 is almost the same game like NHL 20, with few added additional features to few of its modes. Absolute cash-grab for a yearly roster update and another microtransaction filled unsatisfactory experience.
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