The NHL playoffs are heating up as the league's best teams compete for the coveted Stanley Cup. As the tournament goes on, we're looking back at the greatest hockey video games that have graced our consoles over the years.
Question: What’s your favorite hockey game?
NHL Hitz 2003 - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Hockey Viewer
Source: Midway Games
When it comes to a lot of sports games, I veer more towards wacky arcade nonsense than traditional simulation. I always gravitated to NFL Blitz over Madden and NBA Jam over NBA 2K. The same is true for my hockey games. I love arcade nonsense and, as it turns out, hockey is ripe for it. The one I'll always remember is NHL Hitz 2003, which got me through some of my tougher college days through its fast-paced play and wanton violence.
Midway was the master of bone-crunching hits in their sports titles and few games are better suited for that style of play than hockey. This is a hard title to find these days, but I'm willing to bet that the quality still holds up.
Blades of Steel (NES) - TJ Denzer, “MAKES THE PASS!!”
Source: Konami
Oh, Blades of Steel. How many years did I spend with my friends playing this game through, having showdowns and getting into the some of the best fights in hockey games at the time. Blades of Steel came out of Konami when the company was at some of its best. I like Ice Hockey a lot, but Blades of Steel brought a flavor all its own, adding penalty shots and fights with different perspectives to make it all the more exciting. They made it ridiculously fun to re-explore in single-player and head-to-head, too. I know hockey games have had decades of evolution since Blades of Steel, but I don’t think anything will ever hit like that game for me.
Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey (N64) - Asif Khan, Shacknews CEO/EIC/EIEIO
Source: Midway Games
While there have been a lot of amazing hockey games released throughout video game history like NHL 94, Blades of Steel and NES Ice Hockey, my personal favorite would have to be Wayne Gretsky’s 3D Hockey for Nintendo 64. The fast-paced arcade style gameplay was super fun. The game had excellent presentation too. Much like the game’s titular character, Wayne Gretsky’s 3D Hockey is the GOAT.
Tape to Tape - Bill Lavoy, Dash 94 Main
This was tough for me because there have been so many great hockey games over the years. However, I’m left with no option but to go with Tape to Tape because it’s been a hot minute since we had a truly great hockey video game experience. Tape to Tape, which is still in early access, thinks outside the box and brings levels of style and wackiness that we haven’t seen in hockey for many years. It’s also just superb.
Tape to Tape weaves roguelite elements into a hockey game. You play as Angus, then choose your superstar companion and get assigned three benchwarmers. As you play games and unlock more traits, attributes, and stuff, you level your team to get better and better. If you lose an elite or boss-level game, your run ends and you start again. The next run could be totally different in terms of your so-called power ups, so no two campaigns are ever quite the same.
At a time when the main player in the hockey video game space has been somewhat uninspired, Tape to Tape is here to not just fill the void, but carve out a new definition for what good video game hockey can be. It’s one of the best hockey gaming experiences you can have without the need for context.
NHL 99 - Sam Chandler, 90s baby
The 90s was a special period in time. Nintendo released the iconic Nintendo 64 and with it came a new era of sports titles that took full advantage of 3D models and environments. Of these sports titles was NHL 99, the first and only EA NHL game to arrive on the N64. For those that grew up playing this, it no doubt cemented their love of the sport. Shout out to the announcer in this game, too!
Ice Hockey - Donovan Erskine, Hasn’t actually played a hockey game
Source: Nintendo
Shacknews Managing Editor and hockey expert Bill Lavoy told me that 1998’s Ice Hockey would be a solid pick for this Shack Chat. Nintendo actually developed and published this one, which I think is pretty cool. I guess the only takeaway would be that it’s probably not too violent compared to other hockey games. Also, there’s something quite charming about retro sports games. Realism is about the only thing that most modern sports titles have going for them, so it’s nice to look back at an era when the games looked considerably worse but were far more fun.
NHL 94 - Steve Tyminski, Stevetendo show host, Always time for hockey!
Source: Electronic Arts
What is my favorite hockey video game? I have to go with NHL 94 for this one. I have such fond memories of playing NHL 94 on our SEGA Genesis with my brother. He would play as the Devils and I would play as the Sharks. Anyone who knows hockey knows that the Sharks weren’t very good in 1994, but we still had fun games that would result in shouting and fighting. There was a SNES version of NHL 94 as well and my brother and I would play that with the same results. There were a few ways to score goals in NHL 94. You could set up for a one-timer or cut across the goal mouth and sneak it past the goalie. Trying to set up a one-timer against someone who could actually play defense was challenging. Fast forward to more modern times and I have played NHL 94 on the Stevetendo show a couple of times too. Also, NHL 14 had an NHL 94 mode and NHL 21 had NHL 94 Rewind so even the folks at EA, who don’t make the best decisions, knew that getting NHL 94 back in some form was the right call. I could have gone with Tape To Tape or NHL2K for my favorite hockey game but NHL 94 is the greatest hockey game ever and will always be my favorite.
Those are our favorite hockey video games of all time. What's yours? And how do you see taking home the Stanley Cup this year? Sound off in the Chatty!
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replyDonovan Erskine posted a new article, Shack Chat: What's your favorite hockey game?
