Pucks for Brains

Introduction I have a very extensive hockey video game collection. Almost every game from across consoles since the development of video games, I have it. I have every iteration of the EA NHL games, with two exceptions. NHL 15, which was a disgraceful feat of mismanagement and simply should not have been released, and NHL 26, which did not list any new features. I know that people say “that’s true every year, it’s always the same game!” and to some extent that is true- the developers are heavily limited in what they can add, from a combination of funding, time pressure against large changes, and executive pressure away from creative changes and towards microtransactions, in a given year. The addition of icon passing in NHL 24 was a game changer- genuinely the best addition they have made in years, and I’m not sure how any of the more recent titles were playable without it. The pressure mechanic adds an element of realism in a fun and interesting way. I’m not just a gamer either- I hav...