NHL 08 is one of my most-played sports games of all time. At just 18 years old, I would visit friends’ houses and play against them or spend countless hours online against others. The soundtrack lives in my head rent-free, including tracks that eventually introduced me to my favorite band of all time, Paramore. In fact, I probably played more NHL 08 than every subsequent NHL game combined. But that’s more because of how I’ve strayed from the series and less to do with how much I loved NHL 08 way back then.
So when a chance to try out NHL 25 came my way, I had to say yes.
It’s a bit shocking how different everything is. The presentation (painfully slow menus, mainly), improved graphics, and overwhelming focus on Ultimate Team stand out the most. I don’t fault the amount of HUT content, though, because I know it’s a huge revenue generator in just about every sports game now. Modern sports games in general want you to open packs incessantly, and it’s easy to see how addicting that can become. I’ve done the same with baseball and Pokémon cards throughout my life, although none of this kind of content would matter if the game wasn’t fun.
But the bustle of the game’s menu made me feel lost. There’s so much to read, so much to see, and so much going on all at once. Back in my day (back aching badly today, by the way), everything seemed a whole lot simpler. I’m not as much of a live-and-die sports fan as I used to be, but I still feel immense love for my teams, the sports, and as I’ve discovered, games like NHL—and the gameplay of 25 still reminds me of that love.
Although I don’t want to say I’m hooked yet, I am greatly enjoying what I’ve had the chance to skate with so far. It was when I got back into the gameplay itself that those old familiar feelings started coming back for me, including my nostalgia for the sport that I discovered alongside and thanks to my grandpa, who passed away five years ago this past weekend.
My love of hockey began, unfortunately, the same year that the league went on strike and missed an entire season. But during that off-time, I talked with my grandpa about our hopes for the next season, the Rangers’ roster, and more. It filled us both with hope and joy to share that bond about puck.
Because of all of this, NHL 25 felt like a long-lost friend that I reconnected with rather quickly. Although it’s been an entire teenager’s lifespan since NHL 08, the gameplay is reminiscent of some of the more fun years of my life before I became an adult, and it’s been a joy to relive them through the lens of something new. With the Skill Stick, Hit Stick, dekes, hip-checks, and other buttons all in the same place I left them, I picked things up again so quickly. But it all feels more polished, and with additions like separate buttons for kinds of checks, or to skate backwards while entering the offensive zone, it’s just very clean. Granted, there’s not much innovation you can do with a sport as old as hockey, but the nostalgic enjoyment still somehow felt new.
The new game, coupled with a renewed sense of excitement as my New York Rangers are once again a big favorite (NHL 25 simulations picked them to win the Stanley Cup this year, actually) has me ready for more when it comes to Franchise Mode, Be A Pro—and yes, even HUT.
After just a small taste of NHL 25, I’m looking forward to digging into everything it has to offer, if only so I could re-live my youth again, no longer bogged down by the “sports games are the same every year” negativity that yearly buyers seem to always have to express. It feels freeing and exciting.
But also, what the hell is up with the two Devils on the cover? Come on now, EA, don’t be blasphemous. Let’s get Adam Fox or Igor Shesterkin on that bad boy for NHL 26.
