NHL 18 Game Review

As it has for quite a few years, NHL 18 still looks great as well. The physics of the game feel spot on, the player models look lifelike, and arenas are chocked full of rabbid hockey fans.  Like the gameplay, the presentation for NHL 18 is top notch. While you'll still get some weird occurrences where sticks will clip through the rink or glass, its mostly a flawless presentation on both the visual and audio side of things. Menu systems are relatively simple and intuitive, though loading times on the Xbox One did feel a little long. Simulations seemed to take forever, weeklong than most sports games when it comes to loading.

On the gameplay front, a number of new moves have been added to build on to the attacker and defender arsenals.  “Creative Attack Dekes” have been added to the game which allows for some creative freedom on the offensive side of the puck.  If you’re skilled enough, you can pull off some pretty amazing moves in NHL 18.  Between the legs dekes, toe and heel drags, puck flips, one-handed moves and more are all at your disposal.  A new gameplay branching deke system allows players to string these moves together in different combinations when reacting to the defense.  On the defensive side of things, the Skill Stick has been introduced that gives players full control of the stick.  This allows for targeted poke checks, extending your stick to disrupt plays, and use of the stick in a sweeping motion to cover a wide zone.  On the ice, the new moves mesh with the old systems relatively well.  Add to that EA Canada has done a little work on the A.I. in NHL 18 to make them a little more creative themselves, and the gameplay feels great.