Improvements to the hitting system are coming to NHL 25.
EA Sports NHL released the first deep dive into NHL 25 gameplay on Thursday. At the same time they released a blog post detailing further improvements coming to the game, including bodychecking.
NHL 24’s bodychecking mechanics received mixed reviews among the community.The addition of total control allowed players to hit with buttons or the joystick.
Certain X-Factors like truculence allowed for overpowered hits, while a common complaint was smaller players easily knocking larger players off the puck.
The changes to hitting from EA are:
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Improvements to hit alignment to ensure more consistent outcomes
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New shoulder check animations from back-skating
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Improvements to shove and hit conflicts with shooting controls
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Get-up time is scaled based on player fatigue and the level of hits taken
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Fatigue drain varies based on the size of the hit delivered, the bigger the hit the larger the stamina loss
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AI will now use the hip check
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Player sizes factor more into hit outcomes
Fatigue and player size contributing to the severity of the hit is a welcome change, and an improvement to alignment would be a significant quality of life change.
The new Next-Gen Vision Control mechanics should help hitting become useful and less overpowered in NHL 25.
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