NHL 16 | |
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The NHL 16 revised cover, featuring Jonathan Toews
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Developer(s) | EA Canada |
Publisher(s) | EA Sports |
Series | NHL series |
Engine | Ignite (PS4, X1) |
Platform(s) |
NHL 16 NHL: Legacy Edition |
Release date(s) |
NHL: Legacy Edition NHL 16
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Genre(s) | Sports (ice hockey) |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Aggregate scores | |
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Aggregator | Score |
GameRankings | 82.23% (XB1) 79.67% (PS4) |
Metacritic | 80/100 (XB1) 78/100 (PS4) |
Review scores | |
Publication | Score |
Game Informer | 7.5/10 |
Game Revolution | |
GameSpot | 8/10 |
GameTrailers | 9.0/10 |
IGN | 7.8/10 |
NHL 16 is an ice hockey simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by EA Sports. It is the 25th installment of the NHL series and was released on September 15, 2015 in North America and September 17 and 18 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The game was released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with a separate release for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 titled NHL: Legacy Edition. Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks is the official cover athlete, marking his second appearance on an NHL cover, following NHL 11.
Featuring game presentation in the style of the NBC Sports Network, NHL 16 runs on EA Sports' advanced Ignite game engine and features many game modes, including one that has the player take control of their own custom player and pursuing a career in the NHL and one that has the player play as the manager of any NHL team. The fan-favorite EA Sports Hockey League (EASHL) mode, an online co-operative play mode, also returns to the game after being left out of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of NHL 15, the game's predecessor. Upon release, NHL 16 received positive reviews and was declared an improvement over NHL 15 by critics.
NHL 16 contains several game modes; "Be a GM", where the player controls the general manager of a team of their choice, "Be a Pro", where the player controls their own custom player and progresses his career, Hockey Ultimate Team, where the player collects cards of real-life players, build a team, and then take on either players online or A.I. teams, and EA Sports Hockey League, abbreviated as EASHL, a multiplayer-only mode where players can use their own custom player to join other teams, also with custom players controlled by other people, and take on other teams. The EASHL returns after being dropped from the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of NHL 15. It features some changes in its progression system to address balance issues, including a switch to a class-based progression model similar to Be a Pro mode, and the removal of attributes and boosts. A beta for the EASHL mode was available for NHL 15 owners from July 30 to August 10.