NHL 16

 Xbox One
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 86 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 86
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 86
  3. Negative: 26 out of 86
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  1. tbagurdrumset94
    Jan 22, 2016
    5
    Consider this a review of NHL 16's offline features. I have played NHL online in the past, but I've always prioritized the offline modes, as I prefer managing teams alone and playing Be a Pro mode.

    First, the good: - The game feels more realistic than previous games. It's not perfect (honestly, it never will be), but of all the NHL games I've played, it has the fewest glitchy goals and    Consider this a review of NHL 16's offline features. I have played NHL online in the past, but I've always prioritized the offline modes, as I prefer managing teams alone and playing Be a Pro mode.

    First, the good:
    - The game feels more realistic than previous games. It's not perfect (honestly, it never will be), but of all the NHL games I've played, it has the fewest glitchy goals and weird physics moments (though they are still present)
    - Everything looks real purdy
    - NBC presentation is solid; commentators can get repetitive, but I find that I enjoy it more often than not
    - Scoring is a satisfying experience; in previous games (I skipped NHL 15), I sometimes felt like I was cheating the game when I was scoring, since there were certain plays that seem to work every time; with the difficulty up higher, you have to earn your goals and your victories
    - The concept of the goaltending controls is admirable

    The bad:
    - The execution of the goaltending controls is not so good. The game has a general input delay that can be tolerated in every other facet except for this one. Reacting to quick shots and one-timers is unreasonably difficult and moving side to side is far more challenging than it should be. Also, when the puck goes behind the net, the goalie becomes relatively unresponsive or moves incorrectly
    - The AI can't break out to save its life
    - You can't consistently save different settings for different modes. On-ice trainer can only be seemingly modified globally, if you want it on for Be a Pro, then it will be on by default for Be a GM.
    - No create a team
    - No Be an NHL Pro
    - No legends
    - Though it technically has more modes than NHL 15, the developers have masked the fact that many things are still missing

    Frankly, EA has made the game in such a way that they can only just provide enough modes to stem the complaints aimed at NHL 15 without expending too much energy. I've been saying for years now that they would really be doing the fans a great service by allowing us to modify our own offline experience to whatever degree we wish. I want:

    - Unlockable legendary teams (unlocked by gameplay, not by purchase; 2K simply provided full teams with fairly accurate overalls, correct heights and sizes, and correct nationalities and then left it up to the player to rename the templates into their corresponding real-life player; they avoided legal problems by doing this and people like me were willing to take the time to name these players)
    - Comprehensive enhanced stats
    - A comprehensive log of my Be a Pro player's career regular season and playoff stats, and, at the bottom of the table, I want to see my CAREER TOTAL... this was mysteriously omitted from the game
    - Get rid of bad line changes in Be a Pro; tired of simming to my shift and then going on the ice while the enemy team is on the rush into my zone
    - Bring back Be an NHL Pro and Legends mode... should go without saying
    - Make a game that is truly tailored to hardcore players, stats geeks and NHL historians: GIVE THE FANS WHAT THEY WANT.    … Expand
  2. Jspotter89
    Jan 28, 2016
    7
    Let me start by saying that NHL 16 is not a bad game, on the whole. There are a whole lot of modes to play, both online or offline, depending on your preference. I steered clear of the fiasco that was NHL 15 last year, and by all accounts it appears to have made a significant bounce back this year. But sadly, there is a long way to go to attain greatness for a franchise that once had it.Let me start by saying that NHL 16 is not a bad game, on the whole. There are a whole lot of modes to play, both online or offline, depending on your preference. I steered clear of the fiasco that was NHL 15 last year, and by all accounts it appears to have made a significant bounce back this year. But sadly, there is a long way to go to attain greatness for a franchise that once had it.

    Be A Pro Mode is where I spend most of my time in NHL 16, so I will speak to that and leave others to cover the other modes available.

    In this mode, you create a player and play as them in game situations from their draft year until they retire (if you are persistent enough). The mode is good at first glance, but once you play it for more than a season, you will find that it is hopelessly broken...unless you play it the way the developers intended you to play it, that is. Allow me to explain with my own experiences.

    I created a player who is a 5'9", 172 lb Sniper, who played 1st line Center for the Halifax Mooseheads in his draft year. I played the whole year, simming two periods of each game and playing the third. In this fashion, my player got 96 goals and over 200 points in 68 games. These are stats not seen since Mario Lemieux's days in junior. Any player with that resume would go 1st Overall in his draft year. But what happened to my player? Well, he was drafted 33rd Overall by the Buffalo Sabres and then sent back to the minors after a preseason in which he lead the league in scoring with 20 points in 7 games. This is patently ridiculous! No team is going to send that kind of a performance back to juniors!

    It turns out, this is by design. The new system emphasizes your coach's evaluations of you over the course of a single game, and over the course of every 5 games during the season. Perform well in those, you get a high draft position. Don't perform well, and your draft ranking suffers. The problem is that the coach often assigns you impossible tasks, like tying up an opponent on a faceoff when you play on the wing. Offensive standards are impossibly high, expecting you to put up 3 points a game consistently in order to get A grades. In reality, for a player of this game to get drafted 1st Overall, they would need to play every period of every game in their draft year. This is far too demanding and destroys the immersion factor for casual players. Not to mention that the player's standing with his junior coaches would mean little if not nothing to NHL teams looking for prospects...

    And if you think this goes away after your draft year, you'd be incorrect. Sim a period of 20 games as a 5th year veteran and you could find yourself sent down to the AHL directly from the 1st Line, even though you might be the leading scorer on your team or in the league.

    As a result, the mode is virtually unplayable unless you are willing to play every game fully, which is something not many players are willing to do. And why include simming games as a feature if it is going to be held against the player for doing so?

    EA has improved this franchise this year, no question, but they still have a long way to go before we get back to the glory days hockey fans used to enjoy.    … Expand
  3. aredneck92
    Oct 28, 2015
    7
    This is a much better improvement than NHL 15. Played it on the EA Access Trial and was upset when my time ran out. Looking forward to buying and playing this version. The graphics are good and the game play is great especially the Be A Pro.

    Only bad part is still with the shooting of the puck needs to be worked on a bit. Would go to aim and shoot the puck to an open spot but it    This is a much better improvement than NHL 15. Played it on the EA Access Trial and was upset when my time ran out. Looking forward to buying and playing this version. The graphics are good and the game play is great especially the Be A Pro.

    Only bad part is still with the shooting of the puck needs to be worked on a bit. Would go to aim and shoot the puck to an open spot but it would overshoot the net on multiple occasions. The checking could be a bit better also.    … Expand
  4. LeBlanket
    Sep 18, 2015
    5
    Very good game, they didn't add much compared from last year, but I find that the game looks much more realistic. Goalies are better and you don't lose a game because of the opposing goalie. Game should be slightly faster though. They added a lot of things that were in NHL 14 but not in 15 (EASHL, being to sim to your next shift in Be a Pro, Shootout mode). They say that they improvedVery good game, they didn't add much compared from last year, but I find that the game looks much more realistic. Goalies are better and you don't lose a game because of the opposing goalie. Game should be slightly faster though. They added a lot of things that were in NHL 14 but not in 15 (EASHL, being to sim to your next shift in Be a Pro, Shootout mode). They say that they improved skating a lot but I found that they didn't because it feels a lot like last year.… Expand
  5. vinnymack77
    Sep 26, 2015
    6
    This game has many improvements like club or drop in mode is better and no one can buy boosts of features to make there guy better than someone else's which is great. But online versus mode took a huge downward spiral for me and it gives favor to offense rather than defense. The poke checking is too easy to avoid and almost invisible, same with dogging hits.which makes it too unrealisticThis game has many improvements like club or drop in mode is better and no one can buy boosts of features to make there guy better than someone else's which is great. But online versus mode took a huge downward spiral for me and it gives favor to offense rather than defense. The poke checking is too easy to avoid and almost invisible, same with dogging hits.which makes it too unrealistic for me Needless to say NHL 15 vs mode was much better for me and I won't even play it in NHL 16 it makes me too mad. If EASHL didnt improve this game would suck for me… Expand
  6. raztaman420
    Oct 27, 2015
    7
    Comparing to NHL 15 for Xbox One~

    The good: Faster game load times. Mascots and facial hair (who cares). A tad easier to score on the goalies. The bad: Still stupid AI especially on D (they let one timer passes float right by them), same team players running into and blocking each other, skating through stick poke checks, collision jars the puck loose but opposing guy gets it while    Comparing to NHL 15 for Xbox One~

    The good: Faster game load times. Mascots and facial hair (who cares). A tad easier to score on the goalies.

    The bad: Still stupid AI especially on D (they let one timer passes float right by them), same team players running into and blocking each other, skating through stick poke checks, collision jars the puck loose but opposing guy gets it while your standing player is looking around, "frozen man" player doesn't go after loose puck just holds his position or backs off, SLUGGISH skating..feels like your players are in quicksand, blocked passes really annoying (even when opposing player is behind you), slow passing so very hard to do tic tac toe passing, just basically a feeling of a slower more frustrating game.

    EA is trying to make the game super realistic in feel, but that does not result in it being fun to play. NHL 15 is more comfortable for me and this new game not much better in gameplay. Menus look sleeker and I have not tried the other game modes. Still, not happy with this version but I'm stuck with it after shelling out so much money. Will keep playing regardless.    … Expand
  7. isaacbobin
    Nov 6, 2015
    7
    NHL 16 is simply what NHL 15 should of been. The extra modes are welcomed although game play has barely changed. The score I give this game highly depends on the extra game modes that are playable in the game. The -3 on the score is due to the lack of change in NHL 16 's game play and overall re-skin of NHL 15. This game however is an alright addition to next-gen's sport library.
  8. Maqus
    Feb 7, 2016
    6
    While improving the graphics and including some of the modes that were lacking in NHL 15, EA has managed to improve the NHL franchise finally this generation albeit ignoring some major flaws with the gameplay itself. As of writing this review I have solely played the "Quickmatch" mode and over 150 games in the singleplayer version of hockey ultimate team.

    The main problems I encountered    While improving the graphics and including some of the modes that were lacking in NHL 15, EA has managed to improve the NHL franchise finally this generation albeit ignoring some major flaws with the gameplay itself. As of writing this review I have solely played the "Quickmatch" mode and over 150 games in the singleplayer version of hockey ultimate team.

    The main problems I encountered with the game involved "floaty" player controls and terrible friendly defensive/offensive AI. Floaty player controls mainly involve situations where you should have control of the puck but for some reason the player you control loses his ability to play hockey. This involves passing the puck to a player to only have him lose it within his feet, laying down a heavy check on an opposite player to only have the player you just demolished regain control of the puck, pushing a player against the boards to hold him there only to receive a penalty for interference for some reason, having 2 players flounder around/behind the net when the puck gets stuck back there, having difficulty switching between players, and difficulty in putting down backwards passes. Now when difficulty is at pro or even all-star these situations can largely be ignored, but when you get to superstar mode it makes the already overpowered computer at an even greater advantage.

    Add the floating sensation to the terrible computer AI that is provided for your team and superstar mode becomes a pain. Frequently in superstar mode the computer will enter "super hockey mode" where you'll get to see goals off faceoffs that are in the net before you can even switch players, insane powerplay possessions, and it's practically impossible to get the puck if they are in possession of the thing. Poke check (gets you penalties), body check (creates uneven defensive situations), and block shots all you want but that opposing AI will still kick you down. Meanwhile the AI provided to your team is pretty much a joke. I've had the goaltender go out to retrieve pucks when the opposing forwards was already bearing down on it, there is a lack of offensive/defensive pressure no matter what I turn the settings towards, and defensive AI is completely lacking in front of the net and everywhere in general. There will be 3 players on defense with a single forward bringing the puck into my zone (with the rest of their team doing a line change) yet my defense lets him skate into the zone uncontested while they skate backwards. I've blocked shots with a player only to have the rest of my defense stand around mindless while their player slams it midair into the back of my net. Goalies can't stop anything no matter what their ranking is in H.U.T. I was excited to finally get a level 85 Eddie Lack as my goalie only to realize he can't stop a beach ball and ended up just sticking with my level 80 silver goaltender. Offensive possessions are extremely hard to maintain as your offensive players tend to stand around while the opposing defense bears down on you nonstop leaving very little decision making time. Try to make a tight pass and the computer will disrupt the pass no matter how hard or saucer pass it.
    There are also weird line changes that occur. Numerous times I have passed the puck up the boards out of my defensive zone only to have my player enter the bench and the opposing team scoop up the puck. There are so many more terrible instances of AI in this game that I can't possibly place them into 5000 characters.

    So overall I find myself thoroughly enraged anytime I try to play HUT mode with the terrible A.I. that I am stuck with. As for H.U.T. mode, it's really cool to be able to build your own roster via packs of cards however there is no way I will ever spend real $ on these useless cards. If you don't plan on spending real money you will struggle to maintain a roster. Injuries are the most frequent issue that I have encountered and they never provide you with enough cards to resolve them. I have a ton of players that I can no longer play due to "Leg Injuries". I never pull "Leg Injury" cards when I open packs so most of my players are stuck in the collection. Contracts are somewhat of a problem but I have felt that they provide you with just enough cards to maintain an active roster. If you want a roster full of "Gold" NHL players then you can forget it if you don't spend any real dollars on this game. I also do not understand why the premium bronze and gold give you 24 cards yet the premium silver pack only gives you 12 cards.

    Therefore, as a singleplayer only game experience I am overall dissatisfied with my purchase of NHL 16. While I can manage to hang in there sometimes on the most difficult settings the A.I. in this game is just too questionable to recommend to anyone. Now if you are into the multiplayer aspects and have no issues blowing money on digital hockey cards that will become useless once they move on then this game might be for you.    … Expand
  9. Ghostface2k
    Jul 23, 2016
    5
    Gone are the days of fun NHL games (NHL 04). Defense is no fun to play, imo the game was all catered to offense. The spike in difficulty levels needs fixing. You play on Rookie, you win 12-0, then you move onto Pro and lose 5-2. It felt more like a hard mode. Less "realism" and wonky control and more of an arcadey feel.
  10. deltago
    May 11, 2016
    5
    How can a franchise regress so much in such a short period of time? Nothing makes me more frustrated these days than loading up NHL 16, yet I still almost do it every day to waste an hour or two so the game does have its benefits.
    I usually play in off line mode and usually be a gm. This is where the game use to shine as you took a gutter team and transformed it into a powerhouse dynasty.    How can a franchise regress so much in such a short period of time? Nothing makes me more frustrated these days than loading up NHL 16, yet I still almost do it every day to waste an hour or two so the game does have its benefits.
    I usually play in off line mode and usually be a gm. This is where the game use to shine as you took a gutter team and transformed it into a powerhouse dynasty. Scouting, trading and line juggling were fundamental in building a truly epic team. In NHL 16, all three of these things are a clunky, confusing and time consuming.

    Editing lines hasn't been more difficult as you have to navigate two menus with the trigger buttons to change ONE player at a time. Want to change up your PK? First you have to left trigger and then slide the menu over to Special Teams, then you have to Right Trigger and slide over to Penalty Kill. Select the player you want to change out (usually having to hit the A button a couple of times before the game responds to it) and then select a new player. But if you want a player out of position (say a LW in the RW slot) You have to Left trigger again, select the Left Wing Menu, then select the player you want in the line. The game then gives you three options Change in Current Line, Change in All Lines or Back. If you select Change in All Lines, then the player being taken off the line will be replaced by the new player in every line the old player was on.
    If the spot was blank due to injury or you scratching the player prior to the line up change, the game then brings you back to the first screen of the current Left Trigger Menu (in this case Special Teams) for you to redo all the steps again. It's time consuming and a large step back from the simplicity it was in the past.

    Scouting is also clustered. Before, you had nice little list of players from different areas of the world that was sortable in many different ways. Wanted to see what rookies had the best potential in a geographical area to narrow your search? Just click the list and scroll through the different regions to see which one would be more suitable. The lists are now replaced by an oversized world map with tiny little icons pointing to regions with a little pie graph stating how many forwards, defencemen and goalies there are. You choose, using these numbers only what position you want to scout and for how long. You do not have access to the skaters in the region until after you confirm the assignment. If you don't like what is there, you have to repeat the entire process over again. Frustrating and time consuming.

    The game also removed the "start in pre-season" mode where you can redo the draft and attempt to sign (or not sign) unrestricted free agents before the first season. This is a hindrance, especially if you want to play Buffalo and are now short an Eichel as he wasn't included in the release of the game but was part of their marketing strategy of the game (go figure).

    In the Trades, there is a bug that keeps players highlighted green as you switch trading partner teams. No longer can you select a player, and scroll through the teams to see if anyone would be interested in trading for him by having him highlight to red or green. You methodically have to take every player off a trade request before switching teams. Also, No Trade and No Movement clauses are not in the game and make for some very unrealistic situations. Not to mention budget teams such as the Ottawa Senators are free from their small market payrolls.

    And I am not even in the actual game play which, contrary to what others have said, has not changed since 2011. There are still odd puck physics, moves the AI can do but the player cannot (for example, try to have a defenceman stop a puck on his stick in front of the goaltender without it hopping over the stick, or worse deflecting into the net), poor goaltending (goaltenders will let in 1 in every 5 shots if you are regardless of skill) and either one end of an extreme or another (minimal penalties or injuries unless you use the slider where both become unbearable in a game) or having player AI characters not skate with their stick on the ice, or in circles always facing in the wrong direction).

    What is even worse, is that I am finding the buttons unresponsive through out the game (and it isn't the controller since it is only happens in this game) from menu selection to line changes, to attempting a pass or poke check. It has be yelling at my screen as the players and the game does not do what I am telling it to do when I want them to do it.

    So vent over. This is probably going to be the last EA NHL game I am going to purchase unless they improve the game significantly once the Expansion Team(s) come in and give us the option much like in 2000 to play the Atlanta Thrashers and select our own team through the expansion draft before hitting the ice. But if this game is any indication, it won't happen, but hey MASCOTS!    … Expand
  11. Lo0seChange
    Apr 8, 2016
    7
    NHL 16 marks the beginning of EASHL for the next gen consoles. Something that many die hard NHL fans were disappointed with the previous NHL 15. While NHL would love for HUT to be the pilot of the ship for NHL 16 because of its money making abilities, EASHL is still the main driver for everyday players. I have dabbled in HUT and dished out my fair share of money on packs that I wish INHL 16 marks the beginning of EASHL for the next gen consoles. Something that many die hard NHL fans were disappointed with the previous NHL 15. While NHL would love for HUT to be the pilot of the ship for NHL 16 because of its money making abilities, EASHL is still the main driver for everyday players. I have dabbled in HUT and dished out my fair share of money on packs that I wish I hadn't, I will get to HUT at the end of the review. I'd like to start with EASHL.

    Let me start by saying, although its the bare bones, I'm glad to have EASHL on the next gen consoles. NHL 15 had me playing on Xbox 360 just to get the EASHL experience again. But unfortunately this game mode is still very lacking. It's obvious from the start that EA focused on HUT and not EASHL in this years game yet again. There is no longer the ability to customize your players stats like every other year of EASHL. Now instead, you chose a player build based on your position upon entering a game, each build has set stats based on the type of player you chose (Player maker, sniper, enforcer etc.) The customization of your player's looks and accessories is better than past years but still VERY lacking for a 2016 sports game. The ranking system also took a turn for the worst. Instead of having a tiered ranking system that affected how many points you could accolade to your stats, it was replaced by a prestige system. No longer based on just wins and grade, your rank goes up by completing certain tasks with certain builds. This would not be so bad if the ranking system had ANY MEANING AT ALL. The ranking system literally earns you nothing in this game. Being a third prestige rank 50 in a drop in game you will have the same stats and abilities as a new player level 1.

    One of the most annoying aspects of EASHL is not having the ability to join drop in games with your friends. You can try to press the join game button at the same time as your friend, but it will take up to 20 times before you get into the same game as your friends. This would too, not be as annoying if EA had not stripped the game of lobby's too. This lack of ability to play with your friends that are not in the same club is terribly frustrating and seems awfully simple to fix, but half a year into the game we're still in the same place.

    The most frustrating aspect of what I just talked about is that these are not core problems with the game that cannot be fixed without a complete overhaul. They are merely elements that EA has looked over in an effort to put everything they have into HUT. Improving a ranking system, lobbies, and joining drop in games in 2016 is not something that we should have beg for. The game play itself HAS been improved, but it is hard to right a positive review when such simple elements from the game are missing.

    On to HUT. Let me start by saying if you don't plan to spend any money on packs don't even bother playing. If you have any experience with EA ultimate team modes you know it is next to impossible to get good teams without spending money. In NHL 2016 they made it even more impossible by watering down the ratings of players. To get any players above an 86 you will have to dish out at least 20k coins which is not easy to obtain. They are almost no differences in the game mode from last year except for the individual player boosts.

    I can't give this game a terrible rating because I still play it every day. But this is thanks to one of the best community of players who make playing this game enjoyable. Definitely not thanks to EA who tries to suck every dollar they can out of me in HUT.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Best Xbox One Game of 2015
40
#40 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2015
34
#34 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. Sporting News
    Mar 2, 2016
    80
    The most fun way to play NHL 16 is undoubtedly EA Sports Hockey League, an online cooperative mode that pits you and your friends against rival clubs in monthly championship battles. For years, EASHL was a mainstay for the series, but it was missing from last season’s PS4/Xbox One debut. It returns in a big way, thanks to a more user-friendly way to drop in and play anytime as well as a smart new team-building mechanic.
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  2. Brash Games
    Dec 15, 2015
    90
    NHL 16 is probably the most inclusive NHL game to date. The on ice trainer will help new comers in a way that NHL has never done before, even someone like me who has been playing the game for a number of years seems to have improved, breaking bad habits like favoring the glove side or poor cycling of the puck in the offensive zone.
    Read full review
  3. Worth Playing
    Dec 4, 2015
    75
    NHL 16 feels like what NHL 15 should have been. The gameplay remains largely the same, but there is at least some effort to get newcomers more familiar with the mechanics.
    Read full review
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