NHL 22 trailer reveals October release date on PS5, Xbox Series X

2021 is an exciting year for the EA Sports NHL franchise. It’s making the leap to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, now powered by EA’s Frostbite engine, which will deliver “the biggest visual upgrade in a year for [the series] never, ”lead producer Clement Kwong told the media in a presentation last week. But perhaps the most important part of this generational transition is that EA leaves no one behind.

When NHL 22 Launching October 15 on PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X, it will offer “full feature parity” across all four versions, according to Sean Ramjagsingh, vice president and general manager of the NHL franchise at EA Vancouver. This is unusual for sports games. The versions of Madden NFL, FIFA, and especially NBA 2K that released on the new consoles last fall weren’t the same games as their next-gen counterparts, whether they offered improved gameplay or entirely new modes.

Now this is a difficult needle to thread – if you just bought a shiny new console, actually prefer an experience that is markedly different from what you have already played on your previous machine. Otherwise, you could also run the next-gen version with backward compatibility, right?

It seems that EA Vancouver aims to offer the best of both worlds. Current and latest generation versions of NHL 22 both are powered by Frostbite, which means that PS4 and Xbox One players will be able to enjoy many, perhaps most, of the benefits that the engine transition brings. Kwong said the game “will offer a substantial improvement” on the visual front “that is immediately recognizable to [PS4/Xbox One] players too “.

That includes greatly improved ice, with a slick reflective surface that also contains layers of depth. EA Vancouver has “completely rebuilt” dozens of player models to make their faces more accurate to real life, Kwong said, complete with eyeshadow and enhanced skin. And the use of a technique called delayed lighting allows for the integration of light sources that are authentic to each NHL stadium.

Of course, the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of NHL 22 It will offer some graphic bells and whistles on top of all of this. Kwong mentioned better shadows and “dynamic lightning across the entire ice surface”; more details for players’ faces, jerseys and gear, with “all stitches visible”; and improved particle effects on ice.

“All visual updates […] that just wasn’t possible with Ignite, “Kwong said in an interview with Polygon after the presentation, referring to the engine that powered some EA Sports titles on PS4 and Xbox One.” We pushed Ignite to the limit of what it was capable of. “

Image: EA Vancouver / Electronic Arts

EA Sports’ FIFA and Madden NFL series made the switch to Frostbite on the previous generation of consoles (2016 for FIFA, 2017 for Madden). NHL was one of the last current series that Ignite still uses; EA Sports UFC 4, which launched in 2019, was also made with Ignite.

Another change that comes to NHL 22 On all platforms there is a streaming presentation update with new augmented reality graphics. You’ll see stats, performance comparisons, and even penalty announcements appearing in colored overlays with giant, loud letters. EA Vancouver is designing these pop-ups to be useful and smart, so to speak. Kwong told Polygon that the goal is for the game to deliver this type of information “in the context of the move you just made or the move you are about to make” and to do so without interrupting the flow of the action.

The switch to Frostbite will also pay dividends on the ice itself, in the form of “increased spatial awareness for gamers,” EA said in a press release. And improvements to the game’s physics system will allow for “physically accurate stick interactions.” But the biggest game changer is something EA Vancouver is taking a page out of the Madden NFL playbook for: introducing Superstar X-Factor skills to 150 of the NHL’s best players.

Built into exhibition games, as well as Be a Pro and Franchise modes, the X factors will exist in two types: Zone Skills, which are major assets for “elite game-changing” talents in the league, and superstar abilities, which are less powerful, but will still distinguish players who have them. At launch, the top 50 NHL players will have a Zone ability at NHL 22 – just one for each, because the payoffs are that huge – while 100 players will have superstar abilities.

Image: EA Vancouver / Electronic Arts

For example, Auston Matthews, who is NHL 22cover athlete, just two years after his appearance on the NHL 20 box – is blessed with the Zone ability known as Shock and Awe, which gives it “exceptional” power and accuracy of fire when it comes out of a deke (or just makes a deke). He also has five different superstar abilities, including Puck on a String, which acknowledges his excellent stick-handling skills. That all sounds very impressive, but it’s worth noting that when Superstar X-Factor’s abilities debuted in Madden NFL 20, we found that they didn’t matter much.

To hear Kwong say it, the show is part of an effort to expand the NHL franchise’s potential player base: “How do we build excitement? […] For those who may be casual players, but are really avid hockey fans? “EA hopes Superstar X-Factors will spark a debate on which players deserve these skills in NHL 22. Considering how bad the series’ previous generational transition was, the decision to bring next-gen players for the journey this time seems smart.