So it is a wonder how the Florida Panther managed to win back-to-back championships through the EA Sports NHL Sim. Opinions were expressed already. The game has terrible looks was the most common comment. They were shading the graphics so much, something that even a hockey puck blasted by the sun would not have said.
There was an official celebration tweet by EA Sports for the big win, with the Panthers raising the Stanley Cup for the second time. But instead of cheers from a live crowd, the Twitter responses turned pirate with gamers throwing insults at the cheap-looking celebration animations. Someone went ahead to ask if this was from NHL 08. Ah!
It’s not just the graphics either. All kinds of accusations have been made against EA for reusing the same old animations every year. “This shit sucks, you can certainly do better because its essentially been the same celebration animation since at least NHL 19,” one very annoyed fan tweeted. Another one said, “Crazy how NHL 2K10 has a better Cup Celebration than this trash LMFAO.”
But along with that, there is the matter of the player models. Some people noticed that the one for Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov resembled nothing near him. “That doesn’t even look close to BARKOV🤣🤣,” commented one user. Another remarked, “That looks more like Huberdeau than Barkov loll.”
Then the whole gig about the simulation’s accuracy. Did you remember how EA simulated the Oilers as winners? This just never happened. “Thought Edmonton was winning according to your simulator,” sarcastically reminded a user to EA. Another one just said, “And your simulation will have them knocked out of the playoffs second round next season lol.”
Amidst all these insults, a few players stood alongside to throw in a bit of constructive criticism. One gamer begged EA to fix the screenshot functionality during celebrations: “Can you please allow for screenshots and video takes during these Stanley Cup celebrations? Everytime I want to take either, it immediately ends the celebration and punts me to the end of the game screen.”
There were some other suggestions made on player ratings for next year’s game as well: “Better make Bob a 89 overall with exact elite potential next year. You can program him to drop off at exactly 39 years old but no sooner.”
The reaction out there sheds light on increasing frustration among NHL gamers who feel the franchise has gone stagnant with other sports games evolving. Rehashing the same animations year after year, together with graphics some say look worse than the games of ten years ago, is evidence that the very community needs change.
Will they listen? Never quite known. But if they want to keep the player base happy, they definitely have to step their game up before NHL 26 hits the ice. Maybe some rowdy Cup celebrations that aren’t from this decade? Just a thought.
For now, Panthers fans get to enjoy their back-to-back championships, albeit simulated, while the rest of us will just have to look forward to EA telling us and showing us someday that they still know how to make a hockey game not looking like 2014.
