NHL 24 Franchise Mode Feedback [ Edited ]

[Darrenk1910]

Let me start by saying this. I know EA don’t care about you if you’re not swiping your mom’s credit card on HUT, but this game is absolutely pathetic. A complete embarrassment. When one of your largest streamers is going back to previous consoles from the Obama administration to play a half decent franchise, that should tell you everything you need to know. As someone who doesn’t care about how Cam Neely, Connor McDavid, and Gordie Howe would mesh into one lineup, I’m stuck with the dev’s redheaded stepchild (franchise mode). Here are my takeaways from this game, and the reason why I’ll probably be skipping this game until they prove they can actually do it right.

1. Goaltending. Do you, or anyone you know, just want some stable .910 goaltending? NHL 24 is not the game for you. Do you want your goalie to make a routine save? Won’t get that here. The developers have decided that goalies should flop around the crease like a fish at the Bassmaster Classic. 

2. AI Decision Making. This is a good one. Everyone knows defensemen should be cherry picking in the neutral zone while your forward has a 4-on-1 bearing down on him. That’s how hockey works obviously! I ended my Kraken franchise when I had Jamie Oleksiak and Brian Dumoulin looking for breakaways and poor Jared McCann was stuck fighting for his life.

3. Passing. Would you like to string a couple passes together on the power play? That’s impossible, because nobody is in the correct spot! You WILL clear it for the other team, and you will like it.

4. Pressure. Might as well shut the game off, because you're letting up a goal. And ever notice how it’s harder to get rid of the oppositions but yours is gone the second you regroup in the neutral zone? Since you’re goaltender is still doing the worm in the crease, call it a night and shut the console to save yourself the annoyance going to bed.

5. Penalty Kill. This is one of my favorites. I’ve rifled pucks off my own guy’s head more often than actually clearing the puck. No matter where you aim, your defenseman will stare at the puck until there’s a forechecker in his kitchen and just rifle it at your own guy. The puck will stay in your zone, and they’ll score. Again, because your goalie won’t make a routine save.

6. Coaches. I understand why we can’t have real coaches in the game, but for the love of god, can we get some detail on these guys. Why is it a surprise to find out what shape you have on the PP? Why can’t we see that before we hire him?

7. Generated Player Names. These are a joke. Not even close to realistic in anyway. You’ll find a Roger Nieuwendyk, from Belarus, who’s black with a grey Jagr mullet. I love diversity in hockey, it’s great for the sport, but why does EA insist on making players look pathetic? Why can’t we have AI generated faces like Madden/FIFA? And get that egomaniac Rammer’s name out of the player pool. He could be McDavid and I’d refuse to pick him for what he’s done to this brand.

8. Control of the franchise as a whole. No force trades, can’t edit a player’s number or name, none of it. Even Madden let you do this stuff! I’ve seen Ovechkin sign with the St. Louis Blues and wear #12. What a joke, it’s 2024 and this game can’t give you the basics.

There’s plenty more but that’ll be all. Everyone involved with the NHL brand at EA should be ashamed of themselves. It’s disgusting what they’ve done to a once enjoyable experience. They’ll give you a laser light show at the face off dot, but not AI that can even get the basics right. During COVID, me and a few friends did a Madden franchise (online) where we made our own draft classes, edited overalls relative to age/stats (we had a lot of time on our hands in spring 2020). It was genuinely, the best franchise mode I’ve been a part of. Because we could mold the franchise however we saw fit, and made it fun/realistic. NHL has done none of that, while 2K/Madden/The Show all have had these features for years. Thank you for letting me vent, fire everyone involved with this game.

Edit: Forgot to mention how much it bothers me that every game has to be 8-6 or 10-7.

Edit2: change the title all you want, it’s still an embarrassment to the entire sport