A year after implementing some major gameplay improvements, NHL 25 from developer EA Vancouver is the first in the series to appear only on next-generation systems.
Fittingly, the latest release in the annual sports series again makes some key tweaks to the on-ice action and impressively leans into the next-generation horsepower to upgrade both the underlying gameplay systems and presentation.
The question now is whether the game can notably build on the impressive foundation or whether many of the changes will still feel like typical annual updates all sports games get.
If it's the former, NHL 25 begins to set itself apart as an industry leader, not just as the best in its own weight class.