Every year, EA Sports releases a new entry in the NHL series (aka Chel) and makes either significant or incremental changes. The publisher goes the latter route with NHL 23. The $69.99 sports game is mainly NHL 22, but with some tweaks. Extremely dedicated hockey fans will appreciate NHL 23's mostly subtle improvements, but there's not enough new here to attract anyone who didn't enjoy recent releases.
NHL 23's Gameplay
If you've played NHL 22, you've pretty much played NHL 23, as there aren't many differences between the two titles. That's not to say it's a carbon copy; the changes are mostly subtle, so only hard-core Chel fans will notice the updates.
That said, NHL 23 has a significant addition: Last Chance Puck Movement. By double-tapping the shoot or pass buttons, you may cause your skater to make a gutsy, effort-driven play, such as diving for the puck or unleashing a last-second shot. It's cool, but hardly a game-changing feature. That's because the opportunities to make a Last Chance Puck Movement happen are few and far between. In fact, we only experienced it twice during many hours of playing, which is underwhelming. Of course, it would be annoying if Last Chance Puck Movement constantly occurred, as you'd have players diving all over the rink. Still, it could happen a bit more.
Building off NHL 22, NHL 23's expanded X-Factor feature gives skaters minor abilities when certain conditions are met. For example, Skilled Up lets you perform useful flip moves around the net with the puck. Another new ability, Relentless, lets you shoot and pass when off balance. Although cool, they're also minor changes that make it hard to justify spending the money to upgrade if you already own NHL 22.
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Other minor changes include updated strategy options that make it easier to set your players' play style on offense and defense. In addition, NHL 23 suggests strategies, which is excellent for people who don't understand hockey's nuances.
NHL 23 plays well, though it's still a little sluggish. No matter how you adjust the settings, it never feels like your skaters move as quickly as you'd like them. That said, passing feels much better in NHL 23 than it did last year. Rarely did my player pass to no one, which happened far too often in NHL 22 (and even in NHL 21). Now, the game does a much better job of reading the directional input you've made and passing the puck to the closest teammate.
Shooting, stickhandling, and hitting feel almost exactly the same as in recent games. Pulling off a slack move on a defenseman and snipping the net's top corner feels as good as ever. Slamming another skater into the boards offers a nice crunch, too. The same applies when you don't properly make a move and a defenseman lays his body onto you.
Although it doesn't affect gameplay, NHL 23 adds female players to the mix. In fact, Sarah Nurse is the game's cover athlete alongside Trevor Zegras. In Hockey Ultimate Team, you can draft women to your roster the same way you'd draft a male player, and there's no difference in performance or the way they play. Of course, the actual NHL rosters are authentic to the league, so you won't see any women on, say, the New York Rangers. Still, it's a welcome inclusion in terms of sports games representation.
Audio and Visual Upgrades in NHL 23
This is the first game in the NHL series that fully takes advantage of the power offered by the current consoles. We tested NHL 23 on an Xbox Series X, and the game looks absolutely stunning. Player faces and equipment look fantastic, as do ice reflections.
Outside of graphical fidelity, EA also added new ice projections during some team intros that look just like the real thing. Of course, most people skip over these to get to the action, but you're in for a treat if you take the time to watch them. That said, NHL 23 suffers a few graphical glitches when a team celebrates scoring a goal.
EA also improved the crowd atmosphere with a new algorithm that has it more accurately react to the action on the ice. This was noticeable in our time with the game, and it goes a long way in creating a mood that feels like being at a real NHL game. Past Chel titles featured flat crowds, but now you'll see and hear the audience's ebbs and flows based on the action occurring in the game. If the home team is getting flattened by the away team, the crowd falls quiet. However, a goal by the home team can bring the crowd back to life, just like it would in a real game. It really feels like the crowd is a living, breathing thing rather than a bunch of code designed to make noise at certain times.
NHL 23's Returning Game Modes
Unfortunately, NHL 23 features no new modes, just tiny changes to the existing ones. You get World of Chel, Be a Pro, Franchise, and Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT). These core modes have carried the NHL franchise for some time, and you probably already know which one you want to play if you're a series regular.
World of Chel has always been our favorite. The online multiplayer mode lets you mix it up in a situation where each skater on a team is controlled by a different person. The mode more closely replicates the feel of a multiplayer shooter where you're only in control of your actions, not that of the entire team. Unfortunately, this mode feels the same as it did in NHL 22, with the only real new hook being many new, unlockable cosmetics. You'll find cool jerseys, hats, jackets, sticks, skates, and other visual upgrades for your athletes.
It's still fun to play drop-in games or Three's Eliminator tournaments (the arcade mode), but if your friend group is sticking with NHL 22, you won't miss much. If you do pick up NHL 23, be prepared to be smashed by good players (anyone who's upgraded is likely a dedicated fan, after all).
Be a Pro is also a copy of last year's version, right down to the paper-thin plot that highlights your character's quest to find hockey success. The RPG-style progression is fun, but it would have been nice to see EA put a little effort into expanding the mode. We'd really like to see a deeper story that involves more than just choosing between basic responses with your coach, agent, and teammates. Deciding whether you want to go bowling with your teammate isn't exactly a life-or-death decision that's going to make or break your hockey career.
Hockey Ultimate Team is where EA makes money, as it's all about card packs and collecting players to build the team of your dreams. Again, this has barely changed from last year, but it's still fun if you're into collecting, selling, and earning new players.
EA seemed to put the most effort into Franchise Mode, which is unfortunate because it's the least-interesting mode. The management simulation has lots of depth (you must deal with coaches, players, and scouts), but it may not be your bag unless you like spending more time looking at menus than playing hockey.
Cross-Platform Play Is Coming
One of the most exciting features coming to NHL 23 is cross-platform play. Thankfully, you don't have to wait very long, as it's scheduled to arrive in November.
Unfortunately, EA makes it clear via the feature's FAQ page that cross-platform play is a random affair. If you're playing on Xbox, but have friends who play on PlayStation, you can only hope to run into your buddies; you can't simply find them by username and start a match. That's not the type of cross-platform play that gamers want.
In addition, NHL 23 segregates Series X/S and PlayStation 5 cross-platform play into its own pool, while Xbox One and PlayStation 4 play lives in another. It splinters the player base, which is a huge disappointment.
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Should You Buy NHL 23?
If you play the NHL games for multiplayer fun and your friends are upgrading, NHL 23 is worth buying—especially if you haven't played many of the recent NHL series releases. However, if you're more into the single-player modes, you won't miss much by continuing to play NHL 22 unless you really want to experience the new crowd responses, tighter passing, and Last Chance Puck Movement (on the rare moments when they appear). Plus, considering that the Xbox Series S/X and PlayStation 5 versions are a hefty $70, it's a bit hard to justify picking up Chel until it's discounted in stores or available via Xbox GamePass. Simply put, NHL 23 feels like a glorified patch to NHL 22; the series desperately needs new modes.
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NHL 23 will satisfy hard-core hockey video game fans, but if you didn't like the recent NHL releases, this year's relatively small additions won't change your mind.
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