Brutally Honest Review of NHL 27
Okay, here comes a brutally honest review of NHL 27 from my perspective. To be honest, I mostly play offline — mainly Offline Franchise Mode. After I’ve cycled through all the players and the 2–3 rookies you get each year, I switch over to HUT and BAP, although I haven’t tested BAP yet. So if you mainly stick to WoC and the online modes, you might not relate to some of what I’m going to talk about. CONNECTED FRANCHISE In my opinion, this is the biggest disappointment of the year.. I think me and many others got hyped after seeing that the requested game mode was finally back, only to find out that it’s basically 1/5 of an actual mode. Really poorly done. Sure, if you have 32 friends and don’t care about realism, or you don’t play Offline Franchise, then maybe this is an amazing mode for you. But this is basically GM Connected without CPU trades, with only one season, no player aging, no changes to OVR, no draft picks and no prospects. What is the point of trading? There is literally nothing to trade for. There’s no draft, no contract offers or negotiations, no line chemistry, no fantasy element — nothing. BOOM one season and its over. It’s a really boring game mode. You could have delivered so much better here, and the worst part is that the dev team is standing behind this mode as something new and finished. If we don’t get meaningful updates and patches throughout the year, this is a complete failure. OFFLINE FRANCHISE Well... as expected, nothing new. A few small adjustments to match the upcoming season and how the league works, but otherwise, nada. You couldn’t even change the menus or backgrounds. It’s basically the exact same mode as NHL 25, which is really disappointing. Laggy menus, glitches and bugs. When a forward gets injured, the defenseman in PP2 4-on-4 is always removed. The same thing happens when you replace a player in the lineup — the player underneath them gets replaced as well. Small things, but they are annoying bugs that have been around for far too long. Last season, people were asking here if you could do something about older players, for example Ovechkin and Kopitar, who were playing until they were 45+ years old. Now Kopitar isn’t even in the game, but Ovechkin continues scoring 40+ goals until he’s well into his 40s. And we all know what he looks like and how he moves IRL nowadays. It’s extremely annoying. I literally dropped him down to a medium/low Top 6 role and 84 OVR, and he STILL refuses to retire. Weren’t you supposed to listen to the community? Also, Kyle Connor somehow managed to score 97 GOALS in a season where scoring was set to medium, and then low after the trade deadline. Coaches’ salaries work exactly the same as before. Todd McLellan wanted $8 million in salary. I offered him $4.5 million — literally everything I had — and he accepted. Wasn’t this supposed to be fixed? Also from what we have seen this summer with Larkin, Hellebuyck and Werenski with asking for a trade, i would want other options to handle the NTC-clauses. For example, in this game there is no way that Larkin gets moved, or Hellebuyck, you should be able to make an call about an player despite having an NTC. This game mode gets a failing grade as well. GAMEPLAY Okay, gameplay feels better. But it’s not $100 better. Not even close. The gameplay feels sluggish, and honestly, it feels like something that NHL 26 could have achieved with a patch. L2 has been nerfed, but there are still ways to exploit it. Just look at TikTok — people have already found glitches. Why wasn’t this a patch? Why wait an entire year and charge people $100 for a patch with no major changes? And your AI opponents are dumber than ever. Just look at this video: https://youtu.be/ZzA_iIgrCqs?si=G1RS8K2jl3F2tzyS They dump the puck in on the PP, while on the PK they refuse to dump the puck and instead try cross-ice passes through the slot while shorthanded!? What happened to your NHL Edge technology that was supposed to replicate real-life situations and gameplay as accurately as possible? Good lord… People need to start holding EA accountable and stop defending them. This year feels either incredibly lazy, or there is simply a lack of resources and knowledge behind the game. Gameplay is better, but it still gets a failing grade. PRESENTATION Okay, your big focus and your big selling point — the thing you have presented the most — and something I was actually really excited about. I thought it was finally about time. But holy **bleep**, did this turn out badly. This is something I skip every single time. Your “updated fans” are absolutely terrible. The graphics are really bad. It feels like NHL 12–13, and honestly, it’s painful to look at. And the post-goal celebrations — great idea! But... you shouldn’t implement things like this if you don’t have the knowledge, resources or simply the motivation to execute them properly. It genuinely feels like you don’t care. Because it doesn’t look good. Now everything just lags. Hands go through players, players go through players, players awkwardly and stiffly skate back to the bench. VIDEOS ARE ATTACHED IN THE BOTTOM It looks so incredibly unrealistic that it’s almost unbelievable. Jerseys clip through players’ backs and equipment, there’s tons of laggy-looking animation and graphics, and overall the visual quality is just bad. The arena presentation gets a passing grade. Goal celebrations and the fans get a massive failing grade. This is not worth $100. This is a $10 patch. NEW BROADCAST SYSTEM I absolutely love never having to hear Cheryl Pounder again, but you guys dropped the ball a little bit on this one. They repeat themselves way too much. Whenever someone scores a goal, it EVERY SINGLE TIMEsays, “That’s his first of the game.” Also, when a rookie scores their first-ever NHL goal, it doesn’t get acknowledged properly — it just says, “That’s his first of the game.” The same thing happens in the playoffs. Also, this has happened twice now: when you score a goal that gets reviewed and is eventually ruled a good goal, the commentators still say that it’s the previous score. And are you seriously telling me that you made an entirely new broadcast system, but you didn’t add the name of a generational rookie talent like Stenberg? This really needs to be fixed. PLAYER LIKENESS & CUSTOMIZATION Okay, everyone here probably knows that I’m obsessed with face scans and player likeness. But now I actually wantEA_Aljo or someone else from EA, to be held accountable and answer this. What justifies 76 OVR Seamus Casey getting his face in the game before players like Fraser Minten, Zeev Buium — who just signed a massive contract — Ben Kindel, Emmitt Finnie, OR BECKETT SENNECKE!?!?!?….etc.? And the list goes on and on. I DO NOT want to hear “we add everyone we get.” Answer me this as well: EA posts on its own social media when players like Filip Bystedt, Porter Martone, Gavin McKenna and Konsta Helenius get their faces scanned... BUT THEN YOU DON’T EVEN PUT THEM IN THE GAME? WE HAVE 70+ CONFIRMED AND DOCUMENTED SCANNED PLAYERS, 40 WITH 20+ NHL GAME, AND THEY ARE STILL NOT IN THE GAME Seriously, what kind of joke is that? I want a real answer. Your face scans are still well below the standard they should be at, and this has been a massive failure year after year. You know you will not run out of faces to put in the game? There will always be more. No matter how much people work, ask, push and advocate for this, we just get slapped in the face again. Especially now with your new presentation system where players are highlighted up close, with their entire face on screen. Wouldn’t you think it was finally time to make players actually look like themselves? But no. Instead, we have to wait until next year to get another 12–15 new faces. Maybe by 2035 we’ll finally have complete team rosters with proper player likeness? And answer this as well: What is stopping you from adding new face scans throughout the season based on how players perform and develop? Last year, it was absolutely ridiculous that we had to wait ONE FULL YEAR for Ivan Demidov. And Also, in the playtest Alberts Smits had an facescan or Generic face that looked exactly like him, please change it back, i beg you, dont know why you changed it. The facescans in this year’s game ,both the ones currently in the game and the ones you haven’t added , have been getting more attention on social media than ever before, for being bad and for MANY being missing. Maybe take a look and see just how much it actually matters to the community. And you have also literally created generic faces that match both Trevor Connelly and Carter Bear?? But you still gave them an awful face, really puts things into perspective on how little the dev team care, its honestly sad. Customization in NHL is so far behind everything else that it’s honestly ridiculous. Why can’t we change the color of skates or sticks? Why can’t we edit faces? Skin tone? Etc. Another failing grade. However, I do want to give you credit for adding the new generic faces. That was one of several things that me and many others have been asking for, and they are actually well done. But honestly, it also feels like an easy way out of having to do more. Still, you did it, and they look good. So credit where credit is due. But I think there are MANY more people asking for more freedom and more customization. The technology clearly exists. Also - When you remove a player’s neck guard in customization, they still wear it during games. It’s not a huge issue, but it’s something to keep in mind and hopefully fix. There’s currently no way to remove it. Take some help from the FC team or the Madden team. Maybe in 5–10 years you’ll be somewhere close to where they are. I also found a clip from Mbon Hockey talking about NHL 27 that I’m going to include here. I think he absolutely nailed it. CONCLUSION I do not think this is a finished product worth $100, not even 50-70$ I think you have taken a step backwards. I think we deserve better. It’s been two days and I already feel done with the game. It’s genuinely sad that nobody else is making a hockey game. You should seriously consider changing the model to releasing a new game every other year, while updating the current game with roster updates and patches for a smaller fee in between. This year’s game is proof of why that model would make much more sense. Thanks. Please pass this alongEA_AljoNHL 27 FINAL Facescan LOCKS
Okay,, this is the last time I’m going to bring this up. At some point, enough is enough. Several of us have been pushing this for years across multiple forums. Now that NHL 27 is approaching, we’re seeing an unfinished game mode in Connected Franchise being presented as the feature you’ve spent so much time working on, with the message essentially being, “We heard you, here you go, thank us later.” Honestly, it’s embarrassing, because the mode is so poorly implemented that it’s almost laughable: one season, no draft, no overall changes, no aging, and ultimately very little substance. There’s no meaningful change to HUT apart from coaches, no major changes to BAP, and we still haven’t heard anything about the traditional offline Franchise Mode. NHL is so far behind the other EA Sports titles. Why not take a page from their book? Why not get help from other teams when the technology and expertise already exist within the same company? Hockey fans shouldn’t have to settle for mediocrity every single year. Now to my main point: NHL player face scans. This is my final list and post, and this absolutely should NOT be an issue in 2026. You should be able to deliver this. New players enter the league every year, current players change their appearance, and there is simply no reason anymore to leave players out when it has already been documented that they have been scanned, in some cases, several years ago. How is it possible that players like Christian Dvorak and Logan Stanley still don’t have a face scan in the game in 2026? Give us something. We’ve been asking for this for years. It has gotten better, and you deserve credit for that, but IT HAS TO GET EVEN BETTER. You put Macklin Celebrini on the cover and want to celebrate the next generation of NHL stars, THEN DO IT. Here is my final list. If at least 80% of these players are not included in NHL 27, then in my opinion, this is a failure. Seriously. At that point, I think many of us offline players will start walking away from this game, the only game available for the sport we love. Thank you!EA_Aljo ANA Beckett Sennecke (Already Scanned) Ryan Poehling Roger McQueen (Already Scanned) BOS Fraser Minten Hampus Lindholm (Face Update) Ivan Ivan (Already Scanned) BUF Logan Stanley Zach Benson (Hair Update) Noah Östlund (Already Scanned) Konsta Helenius (Already Scanned) Louis Crevier CHI Anton Frondell Ryan Greene Sam Lafferty Wyatt Kaiser Nick Lardis (Already scanned) Ethan Del Mastro Sacha Boisvert (Already Scanned) Bowen Byram (Helmet Fit Update) COL Sam Malinski Nick Blankenburg Parker Kelly Joel Kiviranta Fabian Lysell (Already Scanned) DAL Wyatt Johnston (Hair Update) Justin Hryckowian Lian Bichsel DET Axel Sandin-Pellikka (Already Scanned) Emmitt Finnie Jacob Bernard-Docker (Already Scanned) EDM Spencer Stastney Colton Dach Joshua Samanski Isaac Howard (Already Scanned) LAK Joel Armia Samuel Helenius Alex Turcotte (Change hair) MIN Danila Yurov MTL Alex Newhook Josh Anderson Alexandre Texier NSH Justin Barron Ryan Ufko Zachary L'Heureux Joakim Kemell (Already Scanned) NJD Timo Meier (Face Update) Dawson Mercer (Hair Update) Arseny Gritsyuk Connor Brown Lenni Hämeenaho NYI Emil Heineman (Already Scanned) Calum Ritchie (Already Scanned) Pierre Engvall Maxim Shabanov Marc Gatcomb (Scanned at the 2025 NHLPA Rookie Showcase) OTT Shane Pinto (Face Update) PHI Christian Dvorak Nick Seeler Porter Martone (Face Update) Denver Barkey Nikita Grebenkin Alex Bump Oliver Bonk (Already Scanned) PIT Justin Brazeau Benjamin Kindel (Already Scanned) Parker Wotherspoon Elmer Söderblom (Already Scanned) SJS Colin Graf (Already Scanned) Igor Chernyshov (Already Scanned) Ty Dellandrea Pavol Regenda Quentin Musty (Already Scanned) SEA Bobby McMann Berkly Catton (Already Scanned) Ty Nelson (Already Scanned – AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds) Jacob Melanson (Already Scanned – AHL) STL Dalibor Dvorský (Already Scanned) Matt Kessel Logan Mailloux TBL Pontus Holmberg Charles-Édouard D'Astous Jakob Pelletier TOR Troy Stecher Steven Lorentz Easton Cowan (Already Scanned) UTA Brandon Tanev Liam O'Brien Kailer Yamamoto Danil But VAN Zeev Buium (Already Scanned) Drew O'Connor Linus Karlsson Aatu Räty (Already Scanned) VGK William Karlsson Kaedan Korczak Keegan Kolesar Jeremy Lauzon Nic Dowd Braeden Bowman (Already Scanned) WSH Cole Hutson (Already Scanned) Hendrix Lapierre (Already Scanned) WPG Isak Rosén (Already Scanned) Brad Lambert (Already Scanned) Rookie Locks – Must Have Must haves & Already Scanned at the NHLPA Rookie Showcase 2024-25 (Documentedj Viggo Björck Alberts Smits Caleb Malhotra Carson Carels Caleb Desnoyers (Already Scanned) Brady Martin (Already Scanned) Radim Mrtka (Already Scanned) Braeden Cootes (Already Scanned) Victor Eklund (Already Scanned) Carter Yakemchuk (Already Scanned) Jett Luchanko (Already Scanned) Adam Jiříček (Already Scanned) Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (Already Scanned) Brayden Yager (Already Scanned) Jani Nyman (Already Scanned) Jack Finley (Already Scanned) Frédéric Brunet (Already Scanned) Konsta Helenius (Already Scanned) Francesco Pinelli (Already Scanned) Bradley Nadeau (Already Scanned) Samuel Honzek (Already Scanned) Goalies Frederik Andersen (EDM) – Stanley Cup Champion, 552 NHL Games Jesper Wallstedt (MIN) Logan Thompson (WSH) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) Jet Greaves (CBJ) Daniel Vladar (PHI) Confirmed Scanned at the NHLPA 2026 Rookie Showcase Carter Bear (DET) Justin Carbonneau (STL) Trevor Connelly (VGK) Andrew Cristall (WSH) Cole Eiserman (NYI, Face Update?) Gavin McKenna (TOR, Face Update?) Roger McQueen (ANA) Quentin Musty (SJS) Bill Zonnon (PIT) Charlie Cerrato (CAR) T.J. Hughes (COL) Cole Hutson (WSH) James Hagens (BOS, Face Update!) Porter Martone (PHI, Face Update!) Sacha Boisvert (CHI) Roman Kantserov (CHI) Kashawn Aitcheson (NYI) Filip Bystedt (SJS)Team record missing on in game pop up
During one of the in game instances between face-offs it showed the coach (home team), it was showing the team record, however it was missing all of the data (win, loss, etc). I was in franchise mode with a custom roster and a created team (expansion option). So I am not sure if it affects all teams or just created teams. Please see the attached image. https://www.xbox.com/play/media/LBHTypPME6Offline Franchise Mode - Roster Limits and Generated Prospect Preferences
Here is my annual inquiry on the two, in my opinion, biggest issues with offline franchise mode... Are generated prospects to be drafted still missing preference template combinations? IE forwards don't generate with "carry" "efficient" and "don't block," and defensemen missing literally any combination of "balanced/balanced" or otherwise??? Or has this been fixed? Is the roster limit during the pre-season and after the trade deadline still 23? Or has it been fixed to be 50 as long as the player is signed to a two way or one way deal? Been asking for the coach preference / player preference fixes since the mechanic was introduced 6 years ago....6 years... Been asking about the roster limits for the better part of 10 years....lol 10 yearsSim engine issues
Can we please make the sim engine a bit more consistent. This was an ongoing issue last year. There is no reason why Calgary, Chicago, or Canucks should be winning their division in season mode or connected mode. This continues after the latest update. Let’s achieve some realism here.Post Update finds
Still a little disappointed after the first update… The jerseys are definitely not clipping through the equipment/pants as much as before, but it is still happening. It seems to happen more in some situations than others, and it is especially noticeable when players are wearing white away jerseys. Sticks and hands still going through eachother like crazy, more than before. Another example is when the camera zooms in on a winger in the faceoff circle and he has his stick resting vertically against his pants. The stick can still clip through the pants. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of that one. It is also still impossible to remove neck guards. If a player has a neck guard equipped by default, there is no way to remove it. It’s great that you added Gavin McKenna! But where is Cole Eiserman? He actually played 12 AHL games last season and currently has an active NHL contract, just like the other players who are included. His absence is honestly very confusing. It is also really disappointing to see that McKenna still has his “AI scan” from last year, especially considering that you literally promoted him by saying: “Gavin McKenna getting scanned into NHL 27 👀” among others that im 100% sure of that we wont see until next year, if ever, bummer. That is a disappointment. There are also no new face scans or updated appearances for players such as Trevor Connelly, Carter Bear, and others. That is unfortunate to see. Sam O’Reilly (Head 172, Eyecolor Brown, Brows 7, Color black, Hair 26, Color Darkbrown) Liam Pue (Head 140, Eyecolor Brown, Brows 2, Color lightbrun, Hair 56, Color Darkbrown) Hope to see these 4 in next update/patch🤞🏻….. And as we know, never any new scans added after launch, so this is what we have to work with for the rest of the year… The CCM Super Tacks X helmet and the Bauer helmets have also unfortunately been changed for the worse and butchered, again. I’ve been waiting for three years for players such as Kasperi Kapanen and Alexander Holtz to no longer have XXXL-looking helmets, and you actually fixed that! The hair was cut slightly on the sides, but the helmet size and fitment were perfect. The hair also wasn’t clipping through the helmet during gameplay , it was only an issue in customization. In gameplay, the helmet actually looked perfect. Although the hair clipped through on the sides in customization,, the fitment and size was perfect, sad to see every helmet had to change and now it looks very silly and unrealistic on many players instead of fixing the individual players experiencing these problems. Now, however, it once again looks too large, too wide, and compressed. The “AI scans” also seem to contribute to this issue. With players such as Holtz, McNabb, Whitecloud, Zub, Kapanen, etc., their heads end up looking very round and large. This makes the helmets sit strangely on their heads, which in turn makes the helmets look far too large and unrealistic. The Bauer helmets have also become very compressed and tall after this fix. Unfortunately, they don’t look right… The overall result starts to look more like an arcade game rather than the realistic player likeness and equipment presentation that NHL is capable of delivering. It feels like the same old story and the same disappointment once again this year for people who really care about player likeness and visual authenticity in the game. I’m not bringing this up just to complain. These details genuinely matter to a lot of players who care about authenticity, and I hope the team can take another look at these issues. Please forward this feedback to the appropriate team. Thank you.EA_Aljo
Can we please get player faces instead of silhouettes?
EA_Aljo is there a reason you can provide from the devs that explains why every EA game has faces for players that are generated in later years, but we still have nothing. If they are using generative AI for commentary then could they at least could give us generated faces.
