Too much for so little
EA Sports launches a new version of NHL hockey every year, and this year was no different with NHL 23. When I say no different, I do not exaggerate, beside of adding a few cosmetic changes and adding the female hockey players of the IIHF to the roster, the changes are sparse.
Timing is key
It was also the first year that the cover was shared by two athletes. Sarah Nurse of Team Canada fame and the wiz kid from the NHL Anaheim Ducks, Trevor Zegras. EA Sports may have wished they had that done a few years ago, as the allegation of Hockey Canada using funds to silence victims of sexual crimes was very present in the as the game was launched.
Same old, same old
As stated earlier, the game is starting to suffer, for the lack of content refresh, To the new gamers they will not noticed, but for the returning ones, we’ve been getting the same comments for years now, it is time to either to update the comments, change the sports commentators, or get a new guest, like Snoop Dogg, even if the comments were few and repetitive, it was only for one season.
Cheaper is better
As we are getting close to Black Friday, I recommend that if you really want this game, to wait for the sale. That will be about the price one should have paid for. If like many gamers out there you are playing on a budget, watch out for sales and be very selective. Yes, the game does offer micro transactions. Again, stay away from those. No need for the publisher to squeeze more money out of our wallets.
Final notes
For review purpose, the game was tested on the Xbox Series X console. The game was launched on October 11 and is available on PlayStaytion 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. This game to me is just Lukewarm. NHL 23 is not worth the asking price.