Will this franchise survive
Yes, but not for the right reason without going into specific details om why this game and previous years are not any better, from audio track resampled gameplay replays digitally enhanced to match new engine and consoles. Let's not mention the problems with AI goalies are unable to make a save, with most average player are shooting above 40% over 500 games. IF an NHL goalie let 4 goals in on every 10 shots they would never make it there. With more updates and bugfix then games that have 10 times the amount of details, not to mention that offline be a pro mode has no audio files for the players game interactions and basically we have a 2015 recycled game for the last 10 years and if you were a player in 2010 or prior you probably remember having games 6 on 6 everyone had mics and there was rarely a wait time to start a game. We had lobbies and people even formed their own leagues. Now at peak times we can wait between 4 to 8 minutes and any other times we might wait up to 10 or 15 minutes just to find enough players for a 6V6 game with most times only ending up having 2 or 3 human players on each teams with AI players to fill the open positions. So why is the franchise going to survive you might say, well the same reason that teams like the Canadiens or leafs and other teams from diehard cities in North America who never seem to want to spend money on expensive yet demanded players because owners would be wasting money on them when the arenas can fit more people they sale out whether they win or lose so why spend more if you only make the profits go down well the answer is because the players and fans of this game will keep on buying it even if the change the colors and pictures on the box and call it NHL 26.
The State of EANHL
As a staple elite rank player in WOC for about 5 years now & a big user of the offline modes I have a good understanding of how genuinely bad this game is. Offline modes are shoved to the side so EA can prioritize HUT. All gaming companies focus on what makes them additional money, understood, but there are bugs in these offline modes that are game breaking. There’s a bug in BAP for the past 3 games now where the entire game freezes during a coach interaction. And that’s it. Your be a pro is officially ended. I discovered this bug in both NHL 23 and 24. Reported it to the EA forums with video evidence. The reply I received was “this will continue to happen and hopefully we can fix it next game but for now, make sure to avoid quick closing/resuming your game” and when I told them that simply wasn’t good enough for the price point & people agreed, the community managers locked the post to stop further dialogue between the players. EANHL absolutely loves to take features out of games then add it back a few years later. Not only does this distract from other issues that need to be talked about, they commonly promote these things as being new, which is false advertisement, as is the promotion of the conversation system in be a pro, as when it first came out they marketed it as creating a way more diverse experience. Instead, my coach is telling me to go out there and swing momentum. After the game is done and I’m walking down the tunnel… There has been a cosmetic bug in the game for 4 (maybe 5) years now, where in WOC dressing room you will have on the teams uniform that you just played or are about to play. This is not a big deal but also shows the genuine carelessness and “doesn’t matter, they’ll give us their money anyways” attitude that is very readable. Repeated face off bug in WOC has also been in the game for 4-5 years now, where the game starts, resets to the faceoff seconds later, and does that 5 times before ending the game. Similar to the cosmetic bug (but obviously worse as it affects the playing of the game directly) this shows how EANHL really does not care about the product they’re putting in the store. Name a sports game that wouldn’t have this bug removed by the next game update, or AT LEAST the next game. I’ll wait… The menu is OVERWHELMINGLY slow for a game released in 2024. The loading times have improved. But navigating the menu itself, ESPECIALLY in franchise mode I’ve noticed is VERY slow and buggy. I click on a player to see their stats and have to wait 5 seconds before I can even start to move to the stats tab. They only change the menu & general game layout every 3 years when they release annually. Don’t need to elaborate there. The gameplay itself is below average. And it’s very easy to tell why as someone that’s played at a high level for a very long time - this game is aiming to be casual friendly, which is a HORRIBLE direction for almost any game to take as the dedicated players are usually the really good players. This argument is easily supported by the release of total control, as it makes moves that are supposed to take SKILL and IQ to set up & execute & makes it easy and accessible for anyone to do, even if you just loaded up an EANHL game for the first time. You dumb down the ceiling for skill, which means you allow luck to play more of a factor in the game. I have read a study that hockey is indeed the luckiest sport, but how many times in real life do you see teams out shoot their opponents by 15-20 shots and spend the entire game in the offensive zone and still lose by 2-3 goals? There are simple things that can be implemented to stop major issues. Picking up pucks requires skill IRL, especially when contested. You don’t have some magnet in your blade. Yet, in EANHL it seems like one game you do and the next game you wouldn’t be able to pick up a soccer ball with your blade if you tried. A dead by daylight styled skill check to all players within reach of the puck would be an amazing add. It doesn’t take a genius to know that just putting your player in position and HOPING that the game gets the puck for you isn’t sustainable and simply isn’t good enough. Again, price point. Franchise mode power play roles are still bugged after multiple years NEW BUGS: Player can’t line change in BAP and just skates into the boards & is penalized for a poor line change. Shot clock commonly reads the incorrect shots in all modes. The game commonly fully crashes in BAP mid game after simming to your next shift. I will add more new bugs to this post in the comments as I discover them, that’s if community managers don’t lock my post to stop meaningful dialogue between the players who have been ripped off. I’m sure there are a lot more problems in HUT as well even though they prioritize it so heavily, but I refuse to play that mode as it only encourages the company to not care about the rest of the game WHILE promoting gambling to children in a very cruel way (having them buy packs in hopes of drawing idols). In conclusion, if you genuinely support EANHL and their products, you’re either a HUT main with not much experience in other modes, or a mid/below mid player that benefits from EA’s constant pursuit of a casual friendly game. Thanks for the read!We lack the computing power for Mouthguards... this is getting frustrating.
You know not everyone wears there mouthguards incorrectly, right?Why is the only option to wear it wrong. Make it so helmets can be sitting on top of your head, not strapped too. Sometimes people do that, so it should be the only option. Untied skate laces as well. And you are telling me you just lack the ability to put a visor on a Jofa helmet? You can't because you don't have the power, the the know how, or the technology doesn't exist. If you listen to anything I've said. MOUTHGAURDS GO IN YOUR MOUTH.
Same game different year same problems
EA is continuing to show they have no care at all for the gameplay experience. I'm hearing there were finally updates this year I was excited and bought again... First three seconds of launching my be a pro and it is the same reel I've been watching for 4 years now... First time trying to play a game and all the same bugs are there for 4 straight years... Not even remotely trying to fix them either. In fact gameplay has gotten even worse. I can be skating away from a defender in the middle of the ice but somehow he hits me, while chasing me, so hard my guy struggles to get up. Defenders pick off or hit anything withing 5 ft of them but then your own guys just skate backwards letting the team shoot freely on your goalie... This game has become so beyond broken and just a money grab this will be my last year if I don't sell it before Christmas
IceQ? More like Brain Freeze - OWN GOALS
IceQ? More like Brain Freeze - OWN GOALS Hi all, I have been playing this game for decades. The last few years the "own goals" thing has gotten utterly ridiculous, both in BAP and Franchise. This is from BAP a few minutes ago. The best part is hearing Pounder (THE WORST EA announcer of all time, but that's on another post) say, "You don't see that very often," as it happens for the SECOND TIME IN ONE GAME. of the HUNDREDS I have seen, this is BY FAR the worst. Done by an 11 year veteran, no less. NHL teams go ENTIRE SEASONS without an "own goal." ICEQ? Seriously? this is infuriating. Please fix it. I could not get this clip to load to EA. https://youtu.be/m8lJoJ8IbNw
Be a Pro NHL 25 doesn’t have Macklin Celebrini
I go drafted 3rd overall by the Ducks, and it doesn’t seem Celebrini was drafted 1st overall by the Sharks in Be a Pro. Is this a glitch? Or does he start in the minors? What gives, EA? That’s a huge detail oversight. Bedard was in the last game when I was drafted in the first round I was really excited for this head to head California matchup.
