

For all the integration, however, their effectiveness feels awfully insignificant in execution, and in some cases, invisible all together. Those X-Factors seamlessly blend into the NHL’s modern playstyle and NHL 22’s still-exquisite right analog stick puck handling control scheme the latter’s precision gets better with each annual game.

The impact of those abilities is kept in check by the fact that each team only has a handful of such stars, so it’s not as if every player on the ice has a special ability. The idea being that these videogamey skill boosts represent a player’s specific skillset. Some star players gain speed boosts, others better shot accuracy after a deke, or shot power while skating. For now, it does appear that those who want to play NHL on the Nintendo Switch won’t be able to do so in 2022.Instead, the changes are mostly those X-Factors, which do make rational sense in context.

The same, however, can’t be said for the Nintendo Switch.

EA confirmed that NHL 23 will go live for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. In late August, EA Sports began to release early information on NHL 23, including the release date and available platforms. While the options included the ability to test out NHL 23 for both old and current-generation Xbox and PlayStation platforms, the Nintendo Switch was not one of the options. In late July 2022, EA Sports allowed NHL fans to register and participate in a closed beta of NHL 23. This appears to be the case with NHL 23, and the signs were apparent pretty early in the game’s promotion. Since then, Nintendo owners have missed out on EA Sports NHL games that have been available on Xbox and PlayStation games. The last time an NHL game was on a Nintendo console was in 2010, with the release of NHL 2K11. A simulation NHL-licensed game has been eluding the Nintendo family of consoles for years.
