25/100

Forgive me for this review being so bleh, I just wanted to get all my thoughts out and be done with it. It's kinda hard to rate this game because of it being part of a yearly sports series. Do you rate it based on how fun it is, or what new it brings to the series? I decided to emphasize the latter more, which is why this rating is so low. Because... Well, I'm actually not sure what they did add. You put a screenshot of any frame in this game and compare it with screenshots from the last 5 or 6 NHL's, and there's no telling them apart. All the offline modes are literally unchanged and have been since NHL 21, as all EA cares about is Ultimate Team. Because that is the only mode that makes them all the extra cash, why should they invest in anything else? As someone who doesn't play HUT at all (I mostly just play Be A Pro and Franchise Mode), seeing my modes remain stagnant for so long has been beyond depressing, so much so that I've pretty much given up with NHL altogether. I downloaded FHM 10 a few weeks ago, and while I'm a long way from understanding it, I can already tell it is way, way better than any alternative EA has put out over the years. For yours and everyone else's sake, please do not buy this game if you haven't already been a victim of doing so.