It’s hard to get controls right in sports games, as NHL 24 proves

polygon.com:

What makes for a highlight-reel moment in sports? It’s not just the raw athletic skill on display — part of the how-did-they-do-that thrill comes from the difficulty and risk associated with a low-percentage play. Making a spectacular diving catch can get you into the SportsCenter Top 10; touching grass with your face as the ball rolls to the outfield fence is more of an America’s Funniest Home Videos kind of thing.

Flashy plays have always been difficult to pull off in EA’s hockey video games, and rightfully so. That changes this year in NHL 24, which is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The game’s developers at EA Vancouver and EA Bucharest decided to revamp their long-running control scheme in an attempt to make those jaw-dropping moves easier to do. It’s part of a multifaceted overhaul to the flow of the game on the ice.

I’ve long argued for more accessible controls in simulation sports games. Particularly in EA Sports NHL, part of the experience has been locked away behind a barrier of complex button and stick inputs, despite the series’ excellent tutorials. Here, the admirable goal of simplifying the finger gymnastics required for the skill moves is undone by an implementation that prioritizes them over key controls and actions — even ones as essential as shooting the puck.

Known as Total Control, the new scheme puts four fancy puck-handling options front and center. I can now bring the puck between my skater’s legs, do a toe drag, tuck the puck past the goalie with one hand, and employ lacrosse-style maneuvers like “The Michigan” just by pressing one of the controller’s face buttons. This setup makes it incredibly simple to pull off these highlight-reel moves in NHL 24,