[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Bought it. Played a bit last night. Didn't buy last year's (because I was so annoyed by NHL 15) which was the first one I haven't bought since NHL '95.

I basically only play online now. GM Connected was my favourite mode, so I'm still pissed off that they didn't fix its lag issues and instead just abandoned it. I don't play HUT; it strikes me as the most transparent sort of pay-to-win crap that I can't stand about modern games and their microtransactions... So I guess most of the reason I bought this was for EASHL.

My impressions are that gameplay is improved from NHL 15, for sure. EASHL as a mode is somewhat improved by the anti-griefing stuff. I also think the "pre-select your position" thing is a good idea, but it did result in a long delay before I managed to get into a game. Average is 3 rooms have to be quit out of before the timer elapses just owing to not having enough players to be worth having a game.

The other thing is, and I guess this was true of last year, is there's no player progression. That's a mixed bag for me. Yes, it was annoying having to slog through amateur and rookie skill levels to get your player to a point where he was good enough for the game to really get fun. It was also really frustrating having to try to fulfil the AI's terrible idea of what makes a "good player" to keep your average ratings up and advance.

But now, there's no goal. It appears that the only reason to level up is to get access to some hairstyles or other cosmetic things you can use to personalize your player. It makes the mode a lot like online vs, which I also play, but I tend to get bored of after a while because it's like... okay, I won a game, and my ranking went up a bit. So what? Who cares? Reminds me of those complaints people had about No Man's Sky.

Seems like the only real "keep you engaged" aspect of online play now is either building a HUT team (which, go #### yourself EA, I already spent $80 on your game) or EASHL clubs. So... someone want to start an EASHL club?