NHL 15 News Post

NHL 15 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions (Xbox One, PS4)

09:44 PM - August 25, 2014 by Steve_OS

The NHL 15 demo is available now on Xbox Live for Xbox One users. PlayStation 4 users can expect the demo tomorrow afternoon when the PSN Store updates with new titles.

UPDATE: The NHL 15 demo is now available for PlayStation 4 users. If you can't find it, click this link.

Some have had luck going to "New Demos" all the way over to the right. Games>New>Demos>New Demos (all the way over to the right) and grab the NHL 15 demo. Thanks @TheFlopfish)

The demo weighs in at 2.58 GB. Here are the details.

New York Rangers vs. Los Angeles Kings
Full game with three two-minute periods
Play in Madison Square Garden or Staples Center
Gameplay Camera Angles: Dynamic Low, Dynamic Medium, and Dynamic High
Practice Mode: Master the Superstar Skill Stick with a free skate against a goalie
Difficulty Settings: Rookie, Pro, All-Star

If you can't find it, try searching for it with Bing.

Play a few games and let us know what you think of this year's NHL title on Xbox One!

Game: NHL 15Reader Score: 6.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 16 - View All

NHL 15 Videos

Member Comments

# 101 habslover10_GoYanks @ 08/26/14 10:58 AM

I like the new skill stick personally it makes the game look less robotic. Maybe the higher the deking rating, the bigger the radius that you can move the skill stick left/right?

# 102 18 eighty 5 @ 08/26/14 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simaofan-20


	It's definitely at a better framerate which is definitely noticeable and better. The graphics while in game , you don't really notice them nearly as much as you do post whistle. Also, thankfully it seems the basketball puck, flip dumps are gone

Yep the demo on PS4 is clearly a better offering. Still not convinced about the game yet. Having fun with the demo though.

Quick update and my last thought on the demo for the day. Midnight here and bedtime for me but the game is actually fun. The really frustrating things that aided the CPU in the past have been tidied up. Some things are still there but the puck is definitely looser and it is much easier to disrupt the CPU so they don't go full beserk. Beserk mode is toned back but you can still see it at times. My CPU team mates can refuse to pick up forwards waiting right in the slot for the one timer which the CPU sets up for all the time.

Last thought on the skating, on Xbox One it just feels a slight bit awkward. On the PS4 it is smoother and the tighter deke motion actually feels pretty good. Finished my last game as NYR and finally scored multiple goals shutting out LA 4-0 on 16 shots to 2. Something about the game still has me hesitating. I have moved from a default position of unimpressed before the demo to enjoying the offering. I think the Commentary team are great, really liking the new presentation and the sound of the new voices. However both teams tend to play the same way and set up exactly the same on offense. Hopefully the retail game may be different??

Good night you buggers. Enjoy.

# 103 10spro @ 08/26/14 11:00 AM

When they showed some gameplay demo a few weeks ago, I noticed that the dekeing animations were more realistic and looked sweet. However, I find that in the demo version, dekes are not as easy to pull and seem to fall short and limited at times.

Hitting and colliding is not as drastic as 14 although when the CPU does it, it does seem to have more weight in it when you get crushed.

Would like to see the CPU get more penalties than well, I haven't seen one yet in five trials. On the contrary, if I use the stick lift it's almost an automatic trip to the sin bin.

Nice to see the dump ins NOT have the air effect as the bounce is more realistic, the CPU passes are not as tape to tape as in previous years which is nice, unless you happen to be shorthanded when they scored three straight goals on me after I took a five minutes major resulting in a 3-2 loss.

Being touted as a new from the ground up build up on the new -gen has some nice pluses but I wasn't totally floored by this demo. Gameplay as mentioned by most does seem to be on steroids at times.

Improved presentation for sure, even puck physics and the commentary is alright nothing to brag about or dump on them this early, it's different. Nice to see the hybrid icing working here, will try the PS4 version and see if there are some differences,

And yeah, way too many generic faces, hope they clear that up.

# 104 Money99 @ 08/26/14 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by habslover10_GoYanks


	I like the new skill stick personally it makes the game look less robotic. Maybe the higher the deking rating, the bigger the radius that you can move the skill stick left/right?

Does it also depend on how fast you're skating at that time? More speed, less movement?

And can anyone comment on how aggressive your CPU teammates are? Are they still pretty passive?

# 105 Simaofan-20 @ 08/26/14 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by centauris


	I don't think going from complete control of your stick and puck with the right stick to no control at all is necessary a good thing.

The difference between last year and this year is the animations are more realistic. In years past, you'd be able to pull off moves that you shouldn't be able to do in certain situations. What you can pull off depends on your balance and position with the puck, the way it should be. Also, the animations in the last games were very robotic and looked awkward when you did moves. It didn't look like real dekes while in this game, they do. You should be restricted based on player and the position you're in to make said deke

# 106 Haeyena @ 08/26/14 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Money99


	Does it also depend on how fast you're skating at that time? More speed, less movement? And can anyone comment on how aggressive your CPU teammates are? Are they still pretty passive?

I had a few times where i could make a really nice pass from the corner to a winger that had made his way to the slot behind the D. Scored once or twice doing that. If you run out of position in your own zone and change players a bit you WILL mess up the AI. They can't think for your crappy play. I know because I'm a huge fan of hockey but a terrible NHL video game player.

# 107 Simaofan-20 @ 08/26/14 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 18 eighty 5


	Yep the demo on PS4 is clearly a better offering. Still not convinced about the game yet. Having fun with the demo though.

Why would that be the case?

# 108 alangst @ 08/26/14 11:31 AM

Having not seriously played a Hockey game since nhl 10 on ps3, I was blown away by the look and feel of the game. Did make the mistake of starting of rookie (since I havn't played hockey in awhile, but had to quit after a 10/12 shot start in the first where the Rangers never once controlled the puck..lol).

My main takeaway was basically that the game seems to be fun...alot of fun. Also, I love the inclusion of 3 difficulty modes and practice in the demo, which should net me alot of playtime before the 9th.

The only mistake was by EA releasing this on the same day as madden. After having so much fun with this, I'm gonna stick with the vault version of M25 instead of M15, and just hold out for NHL.

As soon as PSN gets back up, I can't wait to try it out on ps4 and see if there's any noticeable feel to the game.

# 109 centauris @ 08/26/14 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simaofan-20


	Why would that be the case?

it's not the case though. so i'm not sure what he means.

# 110 Arrowhead21 @ 08/26/14 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simaofan-20


	Why would that be the case?

Hardware......?

# 111 ddhex27 @ 08/26/14 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by centauris


	it's not the case though. so i'm not sure what he means.

I can say that the ps4 version has way more responsive skating and less "clunky" player control compared to the xbox one demo.

I have no idea why this is the case, but it is. I'm not complaining!

# 112 Simaofan-20 @ 08/26/14 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by centauris


	it's not the case though. so i'm not sure what he means.

Ya, its confusing lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arrowhead21


	Hardware......?

Parity. No way EA would allow one version be better than the other

# 113 Money99 @ 08/26/14 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simaofan-20


	The difference between last year and this year is the animations are more realistic. In years past, you'd be able to pull off moves that you shouldn't be able to do in certain situations. What you can pull off depends on your balance and position with the puck, the way it should be. Also, the animations in the last games were very robotic and looked awkward when you did moves. It didn't look like real dekes while in this game, they do. You should be restricted based on player and the position you're in to make said deke

Does anyone remember this video?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgGna21AjBU

At the 20s mark it shows a stationary player deking around his feet and in front of him.
So you're saying this kind of control is gone?

Now, I'm not complaining. Not at all. I've actually been thinking that the skill stick took a bit away from the game to a degree. It turned it into a more 1-on-1 contest than an actual hockey game.
I'm very interested in seeing this new system. Sounds like it's a big improvement.

Thanks for the impressions!

# 114 Mikey88 @ 08/26/14 11:56 AM

Has anyone noticed there are more on the fly strategies? theres a few more things you can adjust in the neutral zone which should help in online vs play.

# 115 ASB37 @ 08/26/14 12:02 PM

PS4 demo is up on the store?

# 116 ManiacMatt1782 @ 08/26/14 12:05 PM

The good. Hardcore plays amazingly well. The game is sloppy like hockey should be.

The Bad. Online ranked surely won't be on hardcore, and I can't make a GM connected league to play that way friends. So I will either have to play the computer the way the game is meant to be played, or have the arcadey "Simulation" settings for any online games.

# 117 merchant1874 @ 08/26/14 12:05 PM

I cancelled my preorder due to the of omissions but I wanted to test the game out anyway.

To me it's the same NHL I remember but is it just me or do the visuals have a grainy filter going on? It's not a really sharp crisp looking game.

It's not my TV or settings as madden is crisp as something really crisp.

Playing on PS4

# 118 SVCbearcat10 @ 08/26/14 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASB37


	PS4 demo is up on the store?

As far as I can tell, it is not... which makes it all the more impressive how so many people are saying how bad the game is (playing on the PS4).

# 119 ddhex27 @ 08/26/14 12:35 PM

If you create an Australian or Euro PSN account the demo is up on those stores. That's how I got it.

# 120 Anoir @ 08/26/14 12:37 PM

Yeah I'd like to just point out to all PS4 players out there that the EU version of PS4-Store already has the demo out, if you wanna play it from the US just create an PSN EU account for it

« Previous 1 2 3 4 567 8 9…20 21 Next »

More Links

NHL 15 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions (Xbox One, PS4)