Is NHL 17 Still Worth the Full Price of Entry?

Feature Article

Submitted on: 11/01/2016 by Joel Smith

The NHL season is in full swing, and we've already witnessed some fantastic hockey early in the season, especially from the rookies and younger players in the league (I'm no Leafs fan but Auston Matthews is a BEAST).

Over a month into its cycle, we're also experiencing some great gameplay from NHL 17. The developers have made sure to stay on top of delivering a solid and fluid experience for folks new and old.

Now that we're more than a month into the game, let's take a look and see if NHL 17 is still worth your dollars.

What Has Changed Since Release?

Since launch day, there have been a bevy of updates to the game to improve everything from gameplay to visual appearance. On the day of its release, the EA team put out an opening day patch that was ENORMOUS in size, touching on things like goaltending, defense, puck physics and player appearance -- to name off a few things.

Since then, we've had a second patch update, and the first tuner update as well.

What Is The Most Enjoyable Play Experience?

Some people like to jump into a game solo and play out some games. Be A Pro offers a rewarding challenge in taking your pro from the minors and trying to get him or her onto the first line of an NHL team. The grind in this mode can be cumbersome at times but the rewards for your hard work shine through.

If your deal is jumping online and getting games in with others, EASHL is hands down the way to go. There's nothing more satisfying than flexing that team skill and burying the puck in the net. Put a solid crew together and dominate the masses, racking up wins at the same time.

With the many game modes at your disposal, all players can find a mode they enjoy, and have several other options when they want to switch it up.

Is NHL 17 Still Worth Buying New?

If you're a fan of the NHL, then excellent online servers, solid updates, lots of customization and a bevy of game modes means you will have options at your disposal.

Sales do pop up from time to time, but shelling out full coin to join the rest of the NHL 17 community in a great game experience is not a decision a prospective buyer should come to regret. NHL 17 continues to play a good game of puck.

NHL 17 Videos

Member Comments

# 1 Sparkles @ 11/01/16 10:27 AM

Gonna skip this iteration and wait for frostbite next year. Got 16 last year and I'm still happy with that game, still on my year 1 of gm mode haha. But next year seems to hold a lot of changes regarding the nhl; Adidas, Vegas team, etc. So NHL 18 has a lot of things that im looking forward to

# 2 Tomba @ 11/01/16 10:53 AM

I have to say. It ALL depends IF you like the sport and even moreso IF you WATCH the sport...

Games Like Rugby Challange Lacrosse fit in the same category for me.

Hockey ISN'T my favorite sport or is it a sport i actually follow. But I'm all for realism and playing nHL 17 thru the EAAcess trial I saw that NHL 17 IS a quality tile.

Worth the 59.99? Ehhhhh Worth the 53.99? Ehhhh can't say, but maybe the fact that i havent gotten yet means I don't think its worth it.

Again I'd love to get another rugby game or even partake in the lacrosse game BUT theyre STILL 59.99 which can only mean they ARE popular enough to warrant NO price drop.

But here's another thing. it's good to play sports games when the actual season is going. Often too many times I get MLB The Show play it the month of release April and then I get bored.

I think its best to enjoy sports game along with the actual sport. watch a real life match/game and THEN dabble in the video game counterpart. That way you can have a connection the way aybe say multiplayer does with your favorite GEARS OF WAR game...

All this said.

NHL 17 is fantastic and is better than any other NHL game before it MINUS the fact it has no winter classic or outdoor pond mode(I know I know not THAT realistic)

Wait I'd like a NHL Street now come to think of it

# 3 jhawk826 @ 11/01/16 11:06 AM

Absolutely not. The current gen/next gen NHL series is in dire need of a facelift from presentation to the implementation of the Frostbite physics engine. When I play 2K17, I notice the changes (gradual to dramatic) from 2K16. Same goes for MLB the Show. I don't get that feeling with NHL.

# 4 TDKing @ 11/01/16 01:39 PM

This game will never be worth 60 bucks to me till we get GM Connected back (with custom season length of course). I may get it if there is a good holiday sale price.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

# 5 jeebs9 @ 11/01/16 02:01 PM

This is coming from a Rookie. I usually play 2k waaay more then any game during the year. But because of 2k's slowest with roster updates. I have been playing NHL 17 hardcore.

# 6 tsparker8 @ 11/01/16 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhawk826


	Absolutely not. The current gen/next gen NHL series is in dire need of a facelift from presentation to the implementation of the Frostbite physics engine. When I play 2K17, I notice the changes (gradual to dramatic) from 2K16. Same goes for MLB the Show. I don't get that feeling with NHL.

mlb does not give me that feeling

# 7 RoyalBoyle78 @ 11/01/16 03:22 PM

I think its worth it. Good game this year. I'm enjoying it

# 8 punx317 @ 11/01/16 05:46 PM

Worth it but not worth it if your gonna drop money on hut as well

# 9 RayRay34 @ 11/01/16 06:12 PM

39 bucks digitally on both PSN and Xbox box live, now thru the 8th. Might look at picking it up. Loved 16 and only usually do hockey games every other year but might give it a go.

# 10 onlybygrace @ 11/01/16 06:51 PM

NHL 17 is a fantastic game, flaws and all

# 11 Retropyro @ 11/01/16 08:32 PM

I held off on the EA Access trial for this until the first patch.

I like it, but I don't see much of a difference over 16. At least enough to drop the full price on it. I'll just wait until it hits the Vault around April and stick with 16 for now.

# 12 CujoMatty @ 11/01/16 11:38 PM

This years NHL is the best in the series to me. I finally feel like I get beat by a better team not just a better goalie. That fact alone has turned me away from this series for years.

# 13 BSDShoes @ 11/02/16 12:43 AM

NHL (and Madden and FIFA) are on sale on PSN and XBL (requires gold) right now.

# 14 snc237 @ 11/02/16 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparkles


	Gonna skip this iteration and wait for frostbite next year. Got 16 last year and I'm still happy with that game, still on my year 1 of gm mode haha. But next year seems to hold a lot of changes regarding the nhl; Adidas, Vegas team, etc. So NHL 18 has a lot of things that im looking forward to

Very slim chance NHL gets frostbite next year. More like NHL 19 will be the year

# 15 brandon27 @ 11/02/16 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snc237


	Very slim chance NHL gets frostbite next year. More like NHL 19 will be the year

Didn't they say all EA sports titles are moving to Frostbite next year? That's what I thought anyways.

As for the question, is it worth it? Maybe if you're hardcore into hockey you'll see the value at that price point. Personally, I think the price point on all games has gotten too high, but that's another issue altogether.

NHL17 for me, felt different out the box, after some updates and tuners, it doesn't feel like the same NHL 17 as before. The addition of owner mode to franchise was, nice I guess, but the fact I can't simply build my team a new arena is a bit mind boggling. Or the fact that it doesn't have me moving into a new arena as the Wings actually are next year in year 2 similar to how Madden does is questionable to me as well. Why they didn't allow the ability to just replace your arena without moving the team though is a bit odd.

That being said, the gameplay is the usual to me. I'd say if you're a diehard hockey fan, you'll think it's worthwhile especially at a sale price like it is presently, but if you aren't. I'd wait until it gets a bit cheaper.

# 16 MizzouRah @ 11/02/16 12:11 PM

I think it is, but hockey is my favorite sport.

NHL 17 is much harder for me this year on the new 4/4 full sim, which is great. The franchise mode, which I thought I wouldn't like the owner stuff.. is actually pretty fun. The menus are much faster to navigate and cleaned up nicely. Presentation is much better with total goals shown and more popups like next 3 games on the schedule, milestones, etc.. commentary has some extra lines. Sliders for most of them now go from 0-100.

Overall, I'm having a blast as an offline only player.

# 17 RoyalBoyle78 @ 11/02/16 02:32 PM

xbox one guys, EA access has all EA sports titles on sale now, NHL17 38.99, so you don't have to pay full price right now if you want it.

# 18 slickdtc @ 11/02/16 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RayRay34


	39 bucks digitally on both PSN and Xbox box live, now thru the 8th. Might look at picking it up. Loved 16 and only usually do hockey games every other year but might give it a go.

Kinda salty now, I just paid $60 for it on Monday.

Eh, I'm having fun.

# 19 mikeq672 @ 11/02/16 06:03 PM

If youre a legit hockey fan and/or dont enjoy only playing against the CPU, no its not worth 60 bucks. Game is hot garbage again.

The game is completely unsure of the direction it wants to go, whether its a fun arcadey type, or realistic sim type. This leads to a broken mess of a game where its more effective to figure skate around and flick the puck from the blue line than it is to play a real hockey style game. I have a good record in vs and eashl, most of the time the game is not fun, even when winning. You constantly feel like someone is getting screwed over(whether thats you or your opponent) thanks to the ridiculously high percentage of absolute garbage that goes into the net.

If youre not a real hockey fan, you probably wont notice all the broken parts of the game, unless of course youre playing eashl as the away team and the home team has an entrance prop. Then youll quickly realize how broken the game is because the prop covers half of your defensive zone and you cant see, while your opponent can see just fine. Almost 2 month from release and this hasnt been patched, shows you slow and inaffective this dev team is.

# 20 S�dy @ 11/03/16 05:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MizzouRah


	I think it is, but hockey is my favorite sport. NHL 17 is much harder for me this year on the new 4/4 full sim, which is great. The franchise mode, which I thought I wouldn't like the owner stuff.. is actually pretty fun. The menus are much faster to navigate and cleaned up nicely. Presentation is much better with total goals shown and more popups like next 3 games on the schedule, milestones, etc.. commentary has some extra lines. Sliders for most of them now go from 0-100. Overall, I'm having a blast as an offline only player.

Yep. Far from perfect. After playing the Beta, I actually sold my PS4 because I thought it sucked. Played a lot of NHL 04 at that time. When hockey season (and the WC) came back and I read about how great the game is offline... I couldn't resist and got an XBOX One with NHL 17. Really enjoying it so far, best entry so far as an offline player. Challenging but not unfair.

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