What is your honest assessment of the game?

Pretty spot on, except
Penalties 5/10

Still stupid interference penalties when battling for loose puck. Pushing opponent, or tie stick in front of your net is penalty, yet AI can tie anywhere they want without penalty.. Hitting puck carrier can even trigger interference penalty. In EASHL hardly ever tripping in breakaway results in penalty shot. With Truculence you can avoid horrendously late hits not resulting in penalty. Animations show clear elbowing or cross-checking, can we call these or then get rid of these animations altogether.

Oh, and the stick lift; even if you didn't hit opposing player, it's a penalty.

Skating: 7/0 - Speed and turning are in a nice spot in general but I have issues with the effectiveness of L2ing with full control; I think a nerf to speed would help here. I'd personally like to see slightly faster side to side movement but its not a deal breaker.

Shooting: 6.5/10 - I'd like a faster release on many types of shots, especially at speed. Pre-emptive aiming received a major nerf a year or two back which sucks - It sometimes feels like the puck doesn't go where you want it to.

Passing: I'm the goal scorer, not the playmaker haha. I'd like to see passes release way faster and a return of the give-and-go / tic tac toe style of hockey.

Puck control: 6/10 X-Factors are starting to really bork this stat - Sometimes the puck is glued to my stick while other times I'm losing it out of nowhere. Puck definitely snaps in favour to offense over defense.

Goalies: 2/10 They're major bum cheeks (never in my wildest dreams did I think they could make em worse); Pulling the G for an extra attacker is way more useful. I'm not happy with the changes they made.

Deking: 6.5/10 I miss the old manual dekes ☹️. I think side to side dekes need to be faster at speed - I often feel quite sluggish even as a sniper.

Defense: 4/10 Game definitely favours offense over good defense. If you aren't pixel perfect and have high stats you're just asking for trouble. Defense requires the most work out of everything to fix and its infuriating.

Checking: 6/10 Inconsistent at best and X Factors are breaking the game. I demand a remap feature so I can have a dedicated hipcheck button.

AI: -11/10 Pure dog poop. I'm not gonna get into it, look at my other posts to see how I really feel about these turkeys.

Penalties: N/A I mainly played 3v3 where more than half of all penalty types don't exist so I dunno what to say here. I loathe players/teams that desperately rely on baiting penalties.

Fighting: *thumbs down raspberry/10* I used to be a fighting god in the days of 1st person views. Thousands of fights under my belt with like a 90% win rate lol, it was crazy! Fighting now is a shell of its former self and so lame and unresponsive. What a shame.

@TheUnusedCrayonFrom a 6s Only Perspective. NO AI.

Skating: 8/10 Still needs some tweaks to collisions. Especially when running into your own teammates



Shooting: 8/10 Overall it feels great. Gold Close Quarters needs slightly toned down.



Passing: 8/10 Regular passing is amazing now. Manual saucer passes need to be more effective especially if you have 90+ passing.



Puck control: 5/10 one game and then 8/10 the next game. Feels very much like connection plays a big part in this experience for me. Mostly play with 88 puck control, 82 balance, 90 strength



Goalies: 7/10 It all depends how well the team in front of you plays from keeping great scoring chances from happening. Human goalies can read a breakaway perfectly and still get done over because limb movement up close is too damn close and close quarters is too damn good



Deking: 3/10 The actual dekes in the game are trash and mostly ineffective unless you playing people who charge at you. Dekes need to be a bit more of a forward motion to it.



Defense: 9/10 It's a team game and when you got a solid team doing their job it's a beautiful thing to watch. If your dmen aren't holding the line and slowing up attackers for the forwards to get back and force the play wide you will probably have a bad time.



Checking: 7/10 Overall I'm quite happy with it. There is some weird collisions here or there that don't register but most of the time it works. Would like to see the puck keep moving instead of coming to almost a stop.



AI: N/A .I'd rather watch corn grow for 24hrs than play with AI.



Penalties: 8/10 Charging doesn't feel like it is called enough on some plays. Interference is fine until they add a jostling system to the game instead of the dumb tie-up system in place



Fighting: N/A Uses a female to avoid stupid fights.  Just remove it from the game on clean hits.

Skating:8/10 Skating is pretty good other than poke checking completely slowing you down to a halt

Shooting: 7/10 some one else said it that you really don't have an option to try and aim the corners before you even shoot. Old game I believe 18 had a shooting drill were you had to hit targets on the net and that let you know if you are aiming correctly.

Passing: 8/10 Human to Human passing is pretty good just have to make sure both of your players are have to be turned the right way or you completely miss them.

                2/10 AI to Human - Cmon the AI just can't make a smart pass. Causing us to call for it more just to double tap the pass

Puck control: 7/10 if you have the right build. The guys that build the bullies just hold on to it so it's hard to knock them off but if they are PWF SNP PLMK or TWO way just a bump from my PWF and they loose the puck quite easily 

Goalies: 1/10 AI Goalies can't stop a Breakaway at ALL- They can't stop the wrap around at all - Cross Crease they can either be amazing which is most of the time or they allow a good shot.

               4/10 Human Goalies - I got two guys on my team who have been playing goalie for me for at least 6 years and they refuse to play this year. Even when they are in the right position Close quarters makes it almost impossible to stop a play rushing and shooting

Deking: 8/10 Don't see much wrong with this other than every juke seems simple to use were it use to be you had to have skill to pull off a deke

Defense: 3/10 Human D - We don't have the tools anymore. Try and tie up in front of the net and more likely getting a penalty or a fight- LIFT STICK IS BROKEN use to be one of biggest tools to stop a crease pass or stop a shot last second were a poke check would of put it in our own net.

                0/10 AI defense - PYLONS some one called them PYLONS and I couldn't agree more. They just stand there to the point like some one else said our C and LW are constantly having to hustle back to play D because we just don't trust them. They literally are the reason we loose a majority of our games. We only use a AI RD sometimes as we have a full squad other than goalie(see above why) and he will not pass it up to the wings unless we call for it most of the time of course not all the time but 8 out of 10 times. He won't help in front of the net. I don't know how many times I have yelled at the TV " Who are you covering bot"

Checking: I have heard of the hitting bubble and that is mostly the women. We have been wondering why so many people have been using women(some one stated because they are tired of stupid fights-Makes sense) but they seem to be the ones with the bubble or so called NO BUBBLE. HIP CHECK HAS BEEN Basically REMOVED. Another bread and butter hit against the boards or on some one bigger than you that you would normally not be able to hit. PLEASE FIX HIP CHECK

AI: 0/10 Useless 

Penalties:6/10 FIX STICK LIFT-  Also the AI has been getting a lot of penalties for some reason. We do a really good job of not going to the box other than trying to stop a break away "Trip him is usually what we are yelling as our defender is trying to catch him"

Fighting: 5/10 Use to like to fight and had a pretty good win percentage against good fights but man just not worth it when 3 out of 5 fights one of us gets the Unlimited health and we have to try and drag each other down just to end it 

Faceoffs(added) - 5/10  Wow I have been playing Center for ever and all of my builds are based off of trying to win the face off - Because no one else has to mess with this trait since they don't play center which is dumb I shouldn't have to waist traits to win the face off needs to be fixed. But it seems that either I am winning all of them or none. Using the same pulling of the Left and right stick some times its a tie up and some times I win it back some times I don't even animate that's usually when I call it a night

Xbox Series X

1200 MPS - 

San Jose California

Ping of 76 for some reason but occasionally 5ms were it should be but not since the latest patch

40 year hardcore gamer- 95% hockey 6v6 EASHL Clubs

Overall I have been telling people who want to by the game not to wait till next year. If I knew what we were going to get after a month from initial release I would of never bought it. To many things broken and honestly if you literally just re released new seasons for 22 I would go back. I really wasn't happy with last years game but they really screwed the pooch this year. 

I agree with most of what you have.. I will add one thing about AI

I personally play EASHL. Sometimes clubs sometimes drops. I've found SO many teams will use cpu players to play defense for them while waiting and cherry picking. I also see people play almost no offense and just make giant guys who can hit and set CPU to ALL aggressive and they score for them. I personally love that CPUs suck in EASHL. I hate when people use them as a crutch, even worse when they win because of it. EASHL should be humans vs humans and if you have a cpu they should be about as good as the worst possible human. People will make a club and do 2 humans in 6's. Why?? That is the WORST and most unfun way to play this game. If you Wanna play vs cpus play hut with your friend. That's not what EASHL is supposed to be imo. 

All that being said, AI should NOT have to be the same across every mode. I know people who play hut who are upset with how bad every cpu player plays while they are in control of a player. I sorta give EA a pass on some of it as they try to prevent skill zoning but it is too hard to defend sometimes if you have a team of cpu haha.

I just wish cpu was better in modes not named WoC. If I play WoC I want to face humans and feel a sense of accomplishment. I also think they just need to give us tools to find humans to play with. Drop in is a jungle (in the worst ways possible) people choose goalie and lay down, people play defense but then play as a forward the whole game or chase the puck all over the ice.. I have so many ideas for how to implement ways to better match people up but it will fall on def ears. 2024 will add some new deke maybe.. maybe finally a way to play cross console.  25 will add another deke and maybe a new BAP intro video. 26 will add a new goal and make defense a little worse.  27 will add better reflections on the ice,  a new deke, and limit the defense ability to skate. I just can't believe HOW far behind this game is compared to a game like NBA 2K. It's probably more that 20 years ahead of where NHL is. 

Skating:  2/10

Players are way too agile, accelerate way to fast, and move as if they have no weight to them.  Much more detail in this thread about skating.   This is the cause of many of the game's problems, especially online.  The figure skating, the board gyrating, the constant turning back and regrouping, the offensive zone play that looks like Tracey McGrady running an ISO, etc. all relate to this.  The lack of forechecking, the lack of aggressive defensive play, the lack of special teams play looking anything like actual special teams play, etc. are all also related to the skating.  It was much better in the later era of the previous console generation (NHL 14), where you actually had a turning radius that resembled ice skating, and I would argue also better in NHL 94, where you also had more momentum and wider turning radiuses.  Maybe that has something to do with why those games are considered the best?

Shooting:   6/10

It is fine, but it is ready for some innovation similar to the skill stick, which was 15 years ago now.  A more manual shot aiming mechanic (like FIFA), where holding up and to the right would shoot over the net and you would instead have to be more precise with your sticks to hit the corners would be more fun, and put more control into the user's hands.  Right now you just hold up to the right or left and hope the players attributes and RNG interact in a way that lets you score.  Boring, automatic, and one reason why most goals feel like you've seen them a million times before.

Passing:  3/10

EA has somehow arrived at an unhappy medium between passing being too easy and too hard at the same time.  It is way too easy to successfully make and receive hard passes at awkward angles, while sometimes your pass goes nowhere near its intended target.  Offensive players make the most insane puck receptions, at insane speeds and insane angles.

Puck control:  2/10

Way too much puck control.  You can't lose the puck, no matter how much you stickhandle and no matter which player you are using.  Puck pickup reaction speeds are inhuman, even when it is a backhand or other difficult situation.  You can stickhandle through the boards, which essentially widens the rink, favoring possession and controlled (boring) play.  There are no loose pucks, and almost no board play.

Goalies:  5/10

Not horrible, but they save too many shots they shouldn't and let in too many they shouldn't.  Rebounds seem predetermined to either go into the corner or onto someone's stick, with nothing in between.  Instead of short side being too easy like every other year, now far side is too easy.  Maybe settle somewhere in between?  Maybe have a little randomness (based on positioning stats) that impact where the goalie is, to make the user have to actually look before shooting instead of always aiming either near or far side?

Deking:  7/10

The dekes are fine, but almost no one uses them as intended, because it is way easier to figure skate, grind the boards, gyrate, L2/LT, and generally use exploits to get around people than to actually use the deking mechanics as intended.

Defense:  1/10

It feels like you are playing uphill on defense using your stick upside down.  You feel slower than offense, even when not holding dss.  Hitting doesn't work most of the time.  Poking is somehow both too auto-aimed and also not effective enough, as every time you poke the puck away the puck carrier instantly regains it due to inhuman reaction times on puck pickups and horrible puck physics (the puck reacts to poke checks like you are playing outside when it is snowing, or the zamboni has been broken for 3 years at the rink).  Stick lifts are automatic penalties.  Pass interceptions are completely broken, and play by different (way more forgiving) reaction time/orientation rules than pass receptions do.  They have completely nerfed defense this year, and it is really, really bad.

Checking: 2/10

Doesn't work most of the time.  Players shrug off big open ice hits as if nothing happened.  Players get slammed into the boards, stickhandle through the boards, and come out with more speed and complete puck control.  Apparently guys using truculence in HUT/World of Chel have overpowered hitting, but I don't play those modes so I don't see that.  From online versus, hitting is extremely underpowered.

AI:  1/10

Game is unplayable (for me) offline due to AI.  Players take wrong angles at puck carriers, aiming for where they were (essentially back shoulder) instead of where they are going, eliminating any chance at realistic forechecking, backchecking, or defensive zone play.  Defencemen and centers tasked with covering the net front tend to drift up to the high slot/point, which makes the behind the net nonsense way too hard to defend.  Offensive AI when carrying the puck do all kinds of head faking and stutter-stepping that would make Allen  Iverson blush, yet they are completely ineffective and predictable.  Off-puck offensive AI isn't as bad, but it is nowhere near good either.  Its almost as if the AI has gotten WORSE over the years, even with better technology (self driving cars, ChatGPT, etc)

Penalties:   6/10

No real thoughts on this other than stick lifts are broken and almost always result in penalties.

Fighting:   7/10

It is fine, but as with almost everything else in this game, it rewards passivity too much - you are better off not throwing punches and just dodging the whole time, hoping to pull the sweater over the other guy's head.