The game is not bad and horribly unrealistic because hockey is a "small" market
Looking through the Playstation holiday sale, I saw a few interesting titles. Bus Driver Simulator, Firefighters the Simulation, Airport (not flying, AIRPORT) Simulator, and Gas Station Simulator. The amount of people interested in a Hockey simulation must be way higher than the amount of people simulating running a Gas Station, for example.
I know those games may be terrible and easier to make than a hockey game, but even the fact that resources were put into making them says something. If those games can be made and be even somewhat realistic to what they are simulating, why can't more effort be put into making NHL more of an accurate representation of the sport? You know, without guys skating backwards with the puck half the game, and actually including body checking, neutral zone play, and defense in the game?
There are obviously people buying these other "simulation" games, or they wouldn't be made. I took a quick look at Bus Driver simulator and it looks pretty realistic, I didn't see any shootouts with police, fireballs, or alien encounters, just a guy picking up and dropping off passengers and generally following traffic laws. So why can't we have a hockey game with body checking, neutral zone play, and defense in it, and without skating backwards with the puck in it? I'm not asking for full 20 minute periods with completely realistic stats, but just somewhat replicating some of the essence of the sport rather than making it Harlem Globetrotters on ice would be great. Maybe having to ice the puck on the Penalty Kill once in a while, having to go off the glass and out when under a heavy forecheck, etc.
Are there "casual" gamers who think "Hmm COD and Elden Ring look really good, and I don't really like hockey at all, but I'm going to buy NHL 23 because you can skate backwards with the puck and there is no defense, so it is nothing like hockey, which makes me want to buy this hockey game instead of COD or Elden Ring"? I'm not sure I get that logic.
Hockey gamers need to be a little less masochistic and think they don't deserve a good/realistic hockey game because they are a small community. If the community of people interested in running a gas station gets a realistic game, I think the community wanting a decent hockey simulation deserves one too.
