Game review: NHL 15 - slick, but not the full experience

Collisions are more realistic, players clash and bruise, but some of NHL 15 is missing

NHL15
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Publisher: EA
Reviewed On: Xbox One
Cert: 12
Available On: Playstation 3,Playstation 4,Xbox One,Xbox 360

Another year, another instalment in the NHL franchise. EA’s hockey series has been reliable in upping its game over the years, and this year is no exception. With the game’s transition to the new generation of consoles, graphics have been bumped up, a new physics engine has been brought in, gameplay has been tweaked and, in general, the game looks and feels a lot better. Collisions are more realistic, with players reacting physically to clashes in ways they didn’t before – injuries now pop up on players throughout the game. It’s not just players though; crowds react to on-ice play; the puck reacts more like the real thing. But that appears to have come at a price, with NHL15 leaving out some of the game modes that you’ve come to expect from the series. Updates will bring some of these back, and you get NHL Moments from NHL13, but it’s a little disappointing not to get the full experience out of the box. It’s a bit of a misstep in an otherwise great game.

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist