(AfroGamers.com) With the NHL 19 release this year, you can see the efforts EA Sports put into the game’s core mechanics have paid off well. Some players may complain that the game doesn’t look different from the previous games, but the idea of improving the gameplay makes NHL 19 the best hockey game we have at present.
It’s true that the game looks the exact same. If you have played the NHL games, especially from the NHL 14, you will notice that the presentation is the same. That’s why many negative reviews are floating around on the internet. It still catches the attention because the gameplay improvements have improved the core. This is what NHL fans have been waiting to see for a long time.
Game developers at EA introduced a new Real Player Motion system. This new animation system makes the gameplay feel a lot smoother than the previous years’ crossovers and iterations. The RPM system has been the most exciting element in NHL games, and NHL 19 uses it in even better ways. The improvements and 
gameplay changes made shooting and skating look more realistic.
When you play against AI, everything looks natural, as opposed to the gameplay we saw in NHL 18 and its predecessor. Goals don’t feel forced, so you can expect fair gameplay. The difficulty level is accurate and you don’t see AI unfairly managing to throw you off. Although there are no major changes in the way game presents itself, adjustments in AI behavior make NHL 19 the best hockey game you can play in 2018.
As it is mentioned above that the game does feature “minor changes,” you can expect to see some glitches. There are instances when players unexpectedly glitch into each other and make weird expressions due to performance lag. These problems aren’t big and can be easily fixed as the game is set to receive updates.
If we look at the arenas, both the outdoor and indoor environments are believable. EA has paid attention to small details and it’s visible. Marks on the snow, the reflection of objects, shadow under the sun in outdoor settings and lights in indoor arenas look realistic. These things altogether make the game’s visual presentation more realistic.
EA has also improved the audience settings and reactions. You can still find some over-excited fans in the crowd who repeat the same movements, but almost all the characters have different move sets. Crowd distribution is thoughtful so you won’t see uncoordinated activities.
NHL 19 presents itself in the same NBC inspired layouts. The good thing is, despite having the same announcers, the audio part in the game series is no more annoying. Dialogues are not repetitive. You will hear Eddie Olczyk and Mike Emrick seated in the commentary box. Ray Ferraro supports the duo with his ground reports. Everything looks interesting here.
Controlling has become better. You don’t have to struggle to make players move as everything works smoothly and the speed is spot on. It makes turning quicker and it’s easy for the first time players to get a hold on things. You’ll still be struggling to figure out the best ways to avoid penalties and score better. When you’re playing against the AI in challenges, you will need practice.
Milestones and objectives bring interesting things to spend time on. The daily challenges are fun. They bring you milestones and objectives to hit for almost anything.
NHL 19 may not be the game you expected it to be, but it strengthens the series with the ‘improvement’ formula. Instead of adding fancy stuff, EA improved the core gameplay and that’s what makes NHL 19 a solid hockey game.
Loot boxes and wrongly implemented microtransaction are major controversies in video game industry these days. Thankfully, NHL 19 doesn’t turn away people as there’s enough room to make progress and the system doesn’t force you to pay.
Staff Writer; Jay Baker
Have any Gaming Tips? News? Hit up our Video Games Guru at; JayBaker@AfroGamers.com.