Get ready to hit the ice in the NHL series, with epic hockey gameplay so realistic, you might want to bring a mouth guard. We have implemented custom systems to screen out potential scammers and we have partnered with Ravelin, one of the world's best fraud prevention platforms. The biggest change to NHL 23 is the inclusion of women players from the IIHF in Ultimate Team's roster of unlockable athletes. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

Plus, the choppy commentary, inconsistent tone, and repetitive cut aways during stoppages make it harder to become immersed in the hockey than it’s been at the series’ peaks. This is a strong year for out-of-the-box balancing, though, and the various arcade modes have their charms, even if they’re just limited sidebars.

While the jump in visual quality might not be as noticeable compared to last year’s first foray into current-generation consoles, NHL 23 still manages to look much cleaner than its predecessor. EA SPORTS™ NHL® 23 is greater together with the introduction of mixed women’s and men’s teams in HUT, and planned for November 2022, the arrival of cross-play in WOC for players on the same platform generation. Canadian goalscoring machine Sarah Nurse makes history as the first female player featured on an NHL cover. It used to be the highlight of the year when NHL was released, I´ve bought every game since 1995, but it all stops after NHL23.

Small iterations in some areas, big quality of life changes in others, and the rest of it pretty much stayed the same, warts and all.

A more harrowing thought than it would seem, considering that I criticized NHL 22’s Be A Pro mode for feeling copy and pasted out of NHL 21. There are rare instances when an entry will give a significant overhaul to features or add something that breathes fresh life back into the series – such as the surprisingly fresh FIFA 23.

NHL 23 does bring a slew of improvements, though it more or less falls in with the in-between years, especially when considering that the biggest changes should’ve been old hat by now. On-ice projections for NHL teams, national teams, and more immerse you in the moment, even in offline modes. All that makes NHL 23 feel more like it’s simply stumbling along until another year, and we can only be hopeful it’ll be better than the last. In this variant, a player hits up the puck from behind the net, and another hits it into the net from the front.

The expansion of franchise mode is the biggest improvement over last year, though it almost feels like the only mode that was actually worked on, while everything else was simply lifted from NHL 22, unchanged in their function. The refinements have definitely made improvements to the on-ice gameplay, making this the most enjoyable installment in years. Last-chance puck movements and the much needed inclusion of women players in HUT are great but they don't change the core gameplay in a way that makes this significantly different from NHL 22 – especially since the new IIHF stars are completely missable for anyone that isn't interested in playing HUT. We don't share your payment details with third-party sellers and we don't sell your information with others.