For someone who has been playing hockey games since blades of steel and actually still owns most hockey games that were released.
I'd rate this game a 7 out of 10. I play offline only so I can't judge the online experience (I gave up on that due to the community in NHL 21).
There is a lot to like about the game offline, the gameplay is slower, the less stamina are both refreshing and makes it where you can't constantly do end to end rushes, you need to pass and use hockey plays more (dump and chases), quicker line changes.
AI is still a miss at times but is better then NHL 23 and NHL 24. Goalies for the most part are the same. Not sure if it's better (maybe a little) most games I play the shots are close and the score isn't too crazy - unless one team got out played or has a poor game with the goalie. (I do play on superstar with some catered sliders).
I won't talk BAP seeing that is the same mess it has always been and losing points there for sure.
The upgrades to franchise are good on a whole. They are not perfect and few things have been removed in that change but overall it's fun and adds layers and more control (to some degree on what you can do). The meetings and communication added is good and bad. I find it's too RNG with not much guidance on how it would affect things. There is no guide on how to know players thoughts on position or playstyle changes. The player progression is still too RNG even with the ability to control more of it.
The overall presentation is still lacking and a bit acrady still but I feel that is cause it offers both online and offline experiences. I know some like to skip it or try to cut corners to quicken the experience while other like myself would what a true experience like they had in older games (NHL 12 for an example). But I can't see that ever happening due the huge differences between community.
This is the first game since NHL 21 where I actually have a want to get on and play it. I have put in about 80 games offline now and only have a few minor annoyances with weird animations or AI messes I didn't cause by being out of position.
