#Predators vs red wings highlights series#
When you compare the flow of a real hockey game to one that you see in the video games, the reality is that the NHL series has pretty much always skewed towards a faster and more arcade style than you see in the actual NHL. It will be interesting to see how this plays out once some of the elite players have more time in the lab to test out which archetypes have the potential to be the most dangerous now. The worrying part is that this could instead end up leading to an imbalance among builds and have the community unanimously settling on one super-build that’s daunting to defend against. Of course, you’ll still have to be willing to sacrifice certain attributes in order to become elite in the areas that you want, but these changes should foster variety in the kinds of players you’ll see in the World of Chel. This new malleability facilitates creating the kinds of players that were previously impossible to conjure, like speedier defensemen and forwards who can fly around the ice without being toppled by the slightest touch. In the past, you were rather constrained by the amount that you could manipulate the attributes for your player build, putting a ceiling on how much you could boost skills depending on your size and archetype. Player BuildsĪ change that’s both exciting and somewhat worrying within the World of Chel is increased flexibility in using the mode’s archetypes to mold yourself into the type of player that you prefer to use on the ice. This all makes it more important than ever to stay disciplined on defense and not find yourself straying from your assignment or zone because one little misstep can be the difference in allowing a prime scoring chance. For starters, your skating speed is now significantly reduced compared to last year when holding out your stick on defense, meaning you can’t just skate around wielding it while hunting for the puck without the huge risk of a puck handler speeding right past you.Įven unleashing a simple poke check requires better timing and positioning as you can no longer count on its ability to knock the puck off a player’s stick unless you’re in an ideal spot to do that. A valuable tool in the past that could put an abrupt end to rushes coming into your zone, there have been some noteworthy changes that should prevent those who may have abused its power in the past from doing so going forward. NHL 23 Technical TestĪs part of a shift to a more offensive brand of hockey, it looks as if nothing will suffer the consequences more in NHL 23 than the defensive skill stick. Let’s go through some of the biggest impressions and takeaways from the short-lived NHL 23 technical test (could we at least have a week with it next time and not just one long weekend?) and draw some conclusions about where the series might be headed. Most of these changes would seem to indicate that the series wants to emphasize scoring this year and make defense harder to play than it was in NHL 22.
The accompanying feeling of disappointment started to dissipate some though once I played a little more and realized that, while there may not have been any major upgrades or overhauls to the visuals, there have been some small yet meaningful tweaks to how the controls and player builds balance the game. The first thing that was readily apparent from playing just one period was that the game hasn’t been drastically altered from its predecessor in NHL 22. While the technical test was limited to playing in the World of Chel and thus excluded any glimpses of 1-on-1 hockey where you can control every player on the ice, there was still ample opportunity to see where the series is headed.
#Predators vs red wings highlights code#
The recent release of the NHL 23 technical test over Labor Day weekend gave people who were fortunate enough to snag a code the opportunity to preview how the game is coming along ahead of its official release on October 14.