EA_Aljo
Community Manager
Community ManagerNHL 25 Grudge Match Reveal
Here's a peek at the new Grudge Match feature coming to NHL 25.
Forum Discussion
Listen. I don't want to be a hater. I have played this game loyally for almost 30 years. I think what you do is hard. But why on earth was development time spent on this. This is beyond cringe. Can we not just have presentation representative of what we see in real hockey broadcast? Who is this for?
EA_AljoCommunity Manager
Community ManagerYou're just seeing the intro animation. That's not all that's coming with Grudge Matches. Here are some more details from the blog:
"Hockey is at its best when the competition is fierce. The all-new Grudge Match System tracks the history of matchups between teams across online and offline modes, showing relevant stats from previous meetings to add more context and stakes to the action. Grudge Match also includes Impact Players, who earn special X-Factors related to their standout performance in the previous matchups, along with new contextually driven cinematics and commentary that turn up the heat of rivalry."
The intro animation is immersion breaking on several levels. Several payers in the team-up shot are not handed the correct orientation (Boeser is shooting left, Miller right). Why do the solo shots of the featured players not have sticks? Have you ever seen something like this intro pack on a hockey broadcast? I'm open minded to the new feature. But like... Why? Why this? Of all the things to with presentation and intros? Why can't we just have hockey as it is? Did this test well with some focus group?
Focus group? LOL
LOL, are you implying that they don't focus-test the game? They MUST...
Regardless, I agree with hdce. Why do the shot callers at EA Sports feel that the fanbase wants this? I think a more realistic TV-like intro package (maybe even using IRL footage) would do MUCH better both on these forums AND in the eyes of the general public.
Commentary such as the Hughes brothers crunching bodies lol. It's just generic fluff that is applied to everything sadly. :(
