Customer Ratings & Reviews

Haven’t played it, but heard it was better than last

This game is not good. I understand EA doesn't fund the NHL series as much as they do with the other sports, but that's no excuse. They should take a few years off and actually work on a real hockey game. The gameplay is unrealistic and the online experience is nothing but poke checking every 2 seconds and glitchy goals. I'll be trading this in shortly.

The. Puck. Pickups. Are. Terrible. Enough said. It's a game-breaking issue in NHL 18. Everything else isn't so bad, but what does it matter when you can barely pick the puck up on the ice.

So I am a Huge fan of this franchise but I must say this is the first one that has really ticked me off enough to write a review. I feel like EA could care less about the actual gameplay. This version of the game has so many issues which I will list off below. I get that some games have glitches but this one has simple fixes that EA refuses to address. I was a day one download and have seen several updates but still the gameplay sucks. Really sad to see this franchise going down the tube and really considering not purchasing next year. Cons: 1. ) The skating and player controlled skater reaction time is atrocious. For example. There are constant issues where you will try and skate to the left or right and instead of just simply going in they direction the skater will do an entire 360 and then go in that direction. 2. Computer AI plays completely different and much better than the AI of the players team. 3. Puck control is absolutely terrible. You can literally have 3 players around the worst player in the NHL and the comp player will still get the puck. 4. Comp player poke check will NEVER fail and when you are successful in yours it goes directly to comp players. This happens almost every time 5. This one really drives me crazy because it has been a complaint for probably 5 years. The goaltending is absolutely awful for the players team. You can get 40 shots on goal and score 2 on the comp but they will get 10 and either win the game or it will be a close win. Pros: 1. Great graphics and the overall presentation is much enhanced. 2. Its hockey. I really wish EA would take player feedback more seriously.

I love the NHL series but this one is almost unplayable. I have tons of footage of my guys skating directly over an almost stationary loose puck (if it doesn't hit the stick and go to the other team) which is extremely frustrating. Computer AI making amazing plays to pick off your passes but the puck will literally GO THROUGH THE STICK of AI players on your team. You can make 3 or 4 successful stick checks on an enemy player but he'll maintain possession of the puck, yet one stick check is enough to steal it from you. Only play online if getting poke checked over and over and over is your favorite part of the NHL series. Someone else needs to make an NHL game to give EA some competition because it's obvious they aren't trying anymore.

Let's call this years version of NHL what it is. Which is basically a $60 patch for NHL '17. I have long been a supporter of the NHL series, never taking 1 season off, but that is what I feel the developers have done in NHL '18. Sure you added a 3 v 3 arcade mode, but that is not the reason any true hockey sim fan would buy this game. We are at a point in time where I really feel like these developers would benefit from moving to an every other year release. They could still sell update patches for $20 during their off years, but in the long run we would all benefit. There is no excuse that any sports titles being released now are not using 100% real-time physics engines. Moving to that alone would make a night and day difference in the game play experience. Stop worrying about how good the stitching looks on a jersey (SINCE NO WAY PLAYS WITH THE CAMERA SET TO 1000% ZOOM!) during game play. Sure replays look nice, but who cares! Start focusing on actual real life game elements. Such as: players getting booted from the face-off circle, actual legit board play and battling in the corner for a loose puck, 5-man goal celebrations, pucks frequently getting deflected into the stands, should I go on?? C'mon EA, what's the deal here? I look forward to the release of NHL every year and I have to say that for the first time ever in the series I am taking a pass. Maybe next year my feelings will change, or maybe next year EA has competition from another developer with the desire to make a true hockey sim. We can only dream. If you own NHL '17, I would definitely rent this one first, before you drop your hard earned coin on the glorified update that NHL '18 really is. "If it's in the game"....well, it's defintely not in this one. Sorry.