NHL 26 Review (Xbox Series X|S)

With EA's NHL 26 getting a free trial for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members today (via EA Play), I thought I'd take a look at the latest entry in the series - courtesy of a review code from EA Sports - and the result is a fun hockey game!

However, the NHL series is in a weird place these days, with fans feeling like EA isn't putting as much attention on the franchise as it perhaps should, and that admittedly comes across in NHL 26. The game itself is really good, the changes they've made this year are largely positive, and yet it still feels like a lot more could be done.

Take the gameplay for example. NHL 26 plays a great game of hockey on the ice, but it's also a very familiar experience if you played NHL 25 (or 24 for that matter). The big highlight this year is something called "ICE-Q 2.0", where players are said to "think, move, and play like their on-ice selves", although it's more of a subtle thing than you might expect. Yes, the likes of Quinn Hughes and Alex Ovechkin feel more like their authentic selves than ever, and it does lead to a more realistic experience overall (I also like how each player's X-Factors have now been made visible on the ice), but it's something you'll only come to really appreciate in the long run.

For me, the most impressive change to NHL 26 is how the goalies behave. They've added in a bunch of new animations this year to try and make goalies more effective, and they're certainly more adept at dealing with situations like one-timers and breakaways. You'll still see a few blunders slip through the cracks, especially when pucks flip into the air and they're not quite sure how to deal with them, but overall goalie behaviour is much improved.

So yeah, I'm enjoying NHL 26 on the ice for sure, despite it feeling quite familiar to 25. The main way I'm interacting with that gameplay is through the refreshed Be A Pro mode, which has finally received some proper attention after years of being stuck in limbo. It still works in essentially the same way as before, but now they've added a new user interface, challenge system, cutscenes and conversations that are more engaging than in previous years. Your job is to progress through the World Juniors and ultimately into the NHL by completing specific tasks set by your GM, and although it doesn't go into as much depth as I'd like, I'm still having plenty of fun with this mode so far. Time will tell how it'll perform in the long run - and whether these challenges will remain realistic as the months and seasons wear on.

Ultimate Team is the other mode I've been engaging with most pre-release, and that's because of the new single-player "Cup Chase" offering. This is a really cool way of playing a season against the CPU within Ultimate Team, challenging you to complete 18 games with the goal of reaching the top four in the division - after which you're thrown into a mini-playoff campaign with rewards on the line. They've made some other cool tweaks to Ultimate Team this year as well, such as a refreshed Ranked system for online play, along with a more efficient Edit Lines screen. I still find that Ultimate Team's menus feel too laggy though, which is a shame considering there's so much navigation involved.

I do want to talk about presentation as well. In recent years, it feels like they've really struggled on the presentation front with this series - taking away intro sequences, replays and more in favour of an online-focused gameplay experience where there are no delays from whistle to whistle. NHL 26 doesn't solve this entirely by any means, but it does make a much bigger effort to incorporate appropriate replays, some really immersive licensed music, and even Be A Pro-specific intro sequences that I hope they'll continue to build on in the future.

It's a good game then, right? I really need to stress that! The problem is that so much of it still feels identical to last year - you boot it up and the menus look the same, the lineup screens look the same, the opening sequences to games (mostly) look the same... you get the idea. With something like EA Sports FC, you know you're going to get some kind of refresh that makes it feel like you've paid for a brand-new experience, but NHL just doesn't give you that anymore. The features may change, but the overall vibe barely shifts from year-to-year.

And I don't think this is anything to do with the hard-working team on NHL 26, who I feel have implemented some meaningful additions this year, but it just appears as though EA Sports is putting limited resources on the series nowadays. Be a Pro's refresh is the only major change in 26, and you have to believe that if they could, the development team would be doing a lot more - it just seems like their hands are tied.

Would I pay full price for NHL 26? I probably would, simply because I'm a big hockey fan and I do enjoy the Be A Pro and goalie improvements in particular. If you're a more casual observer of the NHL series and you're not fussed about Be A Pro though, it might just be worth sticking with NHL 25 on Xbox Game Pass until there's a price drop.