NHL 17 First Impressions: Online Versus Mode

By Chase Kimball | Aug 9, 2016

Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

While missing the same things as Hockey Ultimate Team, Online Versus mode provided a more authentic and organic hockey experience and has been my favorite thing to play so far.

After trying out Hockey Ultimate Team, next up was Online Versus Mode. In online versus mode, you are still playing against someone else online, but you play as preset NHL teams. These teams are accurate as of the end of the playoffs last season, so Matt Carle was on the Lightning’s second line of defense and Cory Conacher was nowhere to be found.

My opponent chose to play as the Calgary Flames while I, of course, laced up as the Tampa Bay Lightning. While the rosters being from the end of last season didn’t hurt me as the Lightning, my opponent still had Jonas Hiller in net and little to no offensive presence other than Sean Monahan.

Once both of our teams were selected, we chose our jerseys. Almost every notable jersey for every team was available to wear, even alternates and stadium series jerseys for the teams that had them. I thought this was a very nice touch for individualization and players who love old and new jerseys alike.

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From there, you are taken to the screen for final customization of settings before you play. Here, you can change the strategies of your team to fit your play style. The game has each team’s offensive, defensive, power play, and penalty kill strategies, line ups, and set ups. However, you can change these to fit how you play.

Personally, when I play, I prefer an aggressive forecheck and aggressive offensive pressure while my defense collapses in front of the net if something was to go wrong. Even though that isn’t how the Lightning play in real life, I was able to change their strategies, plays, and even their line up if I wanted to fit what I’m comfortable with. After this was done, my opponent and I were off to the ice.

I was greeted with the same fly over of Tampa Bay leading to Amalie Arena that was used in NHL 16 and the same pregame predictions from Eddie Olczyk and Mike “Doc” Emrick. When I first played NHL 16 I was very impressed that there was an actual pregame newscast from these two hockey reporters in live action.

It felt somewhat real as it looked like an actual pregame show. The only problem was that there were about seven different conversations that were played on a loop which got old very fast. This effect looses its luster even quicker in NHL 17 as nothing, not even what the two are wearing, has changed.

The gameplay is the same as HUT and the only difference between the two is pre-set teams. That being said, Online Versus mode felt more organic and natural than HUT. Team chemistry is a factor in this for sure. Accurate NHL rosters provide maximum chemistry no matter what team you play with.

While you can build team chemistry in HUT, a new feature was added called synergy. Previously, to achieve maximum line chemistry, players would have to be on the same team (consumables to change the team of a player can be purchased) and of different playing styles. (A line of snipers wouldn’t be effective as no one would pass.)

That was manageable and doable as there are plenty of talented NHL players of different playing styles. In the NHL 17 Beta, not only is that necessary, but synergy is also a new factor. Synergy also has to be with the playing style of a player and to be honest, I don’t completely understand it.

When I first loaded up HUT, their “team of the week” was a team of players at the wrong position. Defenders were playing as forwards and forwards were playing as defenders. This team was advertised by saying the new synergy mechanic allowed you to make YOUR team how YOU wanted it. The main thing I wanted out of NHL 17 was a realistic hockey simulation game.

One in which strategy and hockey IQ is rewarded instead of one person offense and the ability to put any player at any position. I see no reason why the ability to put a defender out at forward or vice versa would be desirable and an important feature to the game, much less rewarded with good chemistry.

With that not being a factor in Online Versus mode, gameplay felt more authentic and realistic, which I loved. This mode provided the most realistic hockey experience of any NHL game I’ve played to date. Even the goalie mechanic seemed more accurate as Jonas Hiller had a much harder time stopping pucks than Ben Bishop.

Quick passes from 2-1 or 3-2 opportunities led to goals, as did rebounds that were not eaten up by the goalies and quickly delivered slap shots. These same shots that were goals in Online Versus would have been almost wasted offensive opportunities in HUT.

And yes, while the person between the pipes may have had something to do with this game, I played other games against teams such as the St. Louis Blues with similar outcomes. Win or lose, these games felt more authentic and were seldom blowouts. I was most impressed by this and my hands on time with this mode caused me to start counting down the days until NHL 17 hits shelves.

Next: NHL 17 First Impressions: Hockey Ultimate Team

What are your thoughts on what you’ve seen of NHL 17 so far? What would you like to see more of or hear about? Make sure to check out our Facebook page @BoltsByTheBay for over 50 more screenshots and even video from the NHL 17 Beta. Stay tuned to Bolts By The Bay for more NHL 17 information coming soon!