NHL 20 review: gameplay, World of Chel updates catch up

Not everything, but they count a lot in the world of sports video games, and NHL 20The biggest success of this year is in this area.

A clear improvement over the images of previous EA Sports hockey titles is evident this year, both in terms of the action on the ice and the way it is presented. And there is enough substance under the hood to save these changes in surface level, which somewhat offsets stagnation elsewhere.

Last year, I was surprised by the EA Vancouver developer's decision to refocus the NHL franchise around World of Chel, a new suite of online modes, and I was delighted by the studio's success. In NHL 19, EA has partnered this online hub with key mechanical upgrades powered by a new physics engine. The company has adopted a similar tactic this time, developing World of Chel while tackling long-standing gambling and presentation issues.

EA Vancouver / Electronic Arts

I called NHL 19 the best-played hockey game in years, reflecting the significant progress made by EA Vancouver in two key areas: skating and collisions. Improvements in NHL 20 are less visible immediately, but I began to feel their impact as I spent more time with the game.

The new animation technology offers a pronounced upgrade of the washer sensors, a perpetual pain point. After years of fury on television as I watched the players fail to catch pucks nearby, I'm glad to say that it's a lot less of a problem. It's not just that players are now trying to reach the pucks nearby, but they can do it without slowing down. Ice hockey is a question of speed and fluidity, which makes it a significant improvement that the players of NHL 20 can receive passes in stride and make games in motion.

This is consistent with the game's new shooting animations. EA Vancouver has added player-specific throwing styles to NHL stars such as P.K. Subban and Alex Ovechkin, whom I appreciate as a superficial but welcome update.

But the studio's work on animation fusion for plans is a change that makes NHL 20 both seem more realistic and to feel more like real world hockey. Most of the delicate, sometimes even physical transitions between positions and actions have disappeared, leading to many missed opportunities. This year's update gives virtual players the appearance of being aware of the situation – allowing them to move and act more like real athletes on the ice – it also means I do not see as much games that should be impossible or remind me, It's a small problem.

I feel closer to the action thanks to NHL 20The reworked broadcast program. Although I like to hear Mike "Doc" Emrick and Eddie Olczyk call games for NBC Sports, their video game comments starting in NHL 15 never lived on television. Ray Ferraro remains the analyst "between the benches" of NHL 20, but the ad, piece by piece, is now run by James Cybulski, a broadcaster who, like Ferraro, lives in the Vancouver area of ​​British Columbia. Their proximity to the studio has borne fruit: it is clear that EA Vancouver was able to register many lines together, which still allows for more eloquent comments. The interactions between Cybulski and Ferraro are very numerous and the tone is livelier and more fun than the relatively normal calls of Doc and Eddie.

My preferred exchange occurs when I score an empty net goal (which unfortunately means that I have also heard it several times during my week or more with NHL 20). Ray notes that he scored 400 goals during his NHL career, but that he scored only two empty nets. James responds with disbelief. Ray said, brazenly, that last-minute situations were safer with him on the bench; and James answers by "what indictment!" Who does not like chops in a good mood?

EA Vancouver also redid the visual side of the presentation with its own graphic overlays and new camera angles. Simulation sports game manufacturers usually put a lot of effort into replicating the way things are done on television, but some highlights in NHL 20 are presented from the point of view of ice level, as if there was a cameraman skating literally alongside players and referees. I guess developers – freed from the constraints of NHL on NBC The brand thought they would rely on the fact that it is a video game. Not only do I do not mind going out of what is possible on TV; I think it works perfectly to give life to replays.