NHL 21

In the past, sports games have always had to deal with the same stigma: a noticeable lack of innovation that grows worse with each yearly entry. That's why games like NHL 21, following its long lineage of superb hockey titles, had to do something extreme to stand out from its predecessors – and it certainly succeeds.

More than just a mere revision of the basics, NHL 21 offers an incremental step forward for the franchise as a whole. Featuring the first updates to the Be A Pro mode in a long while, and fixing some of the visual issues of last year's entry, this is the hockey title that every fan deserves.

Rise to Glory

A new hallmark of sports video games has been the career mode where your player must climb up the ranks to the top of the food chain in whatever sport they play. We've seen it happen with FIFA and Madden, so it's only natural that NHL 21 follows a similar path.

Enter the Be A Pro mode. You start your journey as a minor league player navigating the trials and tribulations of professional hockey. While this might not sound like anything new for the series, it improves over previous entries by adding some personality to the whole ordeal.

There's still some room for improvement, though. While a similar mode exists in NBA 2K21, that game features full voice acting and animated cutscenes – something that's still missing from NHL 21.

Improving the Basics

Long-time fans of the franchise won't be surprised to hear that most of the game modes in NHL 21 remain virtually identical to last year's NHL 20. Another thing of note, however, is that, while there have been only minor improvements, nothing has been made "worse." In the world of sports games, that's certainly an achievement.

HUT mode returns this year, adding a new HUT Rush mode that feels more like an arcade take on the overly competitive mode. It offers a good distraction from all the serious competition, and it's certainly something that returning players can look forward to.

An area that I hoped NHL 21 would update was the menus and the overall UI. Unfortunately, it remains just as clunky and slow as last year. A disappointment, to be sure, but a minor one, at least.

Animations and Visuals

I think most returning players would be dying to see how next year's entry upgrades the visuals of their favorite sports franchises. We've seen it before with other games, so why not NHL, right? Well, this point is a bit of a mixed bag.

In terms of overall visuals, there have been only minor changes compared to NHL 20. Things like the surface of the ice and the overall level of detail of each player remain virtually identical here, which might already be one of NHL 21's biggest letdowns.

That said, animations – particularly those of the player-created characters – have been noticeably improved. You can now customize the way your character walks and skates; as minor as it sounds, it offers a greater degree of freedom and customization to the game that was sorely missing.

Pros

• Great overhaul to the Be A Pro mode
• New animations for player-created characters
• HUT modes remain as fun as ever

Cons

• Poor UI and slow menu navigation
• Can feel repetitive for returning players