Best Hockey Video Games Ever Made

Key Insights

• NHL '94 is the consensus greatest hockey video game ever made and is still being played competitively today, nearly 30 years after release
• NHL 14 is widely considered the peak of the modern EA NHL series, doing everything well at a level the franchise hasn't consistently matched since
• The NES era produced two hockey games, Blades of Steel and Ice Hockey, that defined what the genre could be before fully licensed versions even existed

The All-Time Classic

One game sits above everything else on this list and the hockey gaming community has never seriously disputed it.

NHL '94 on Genesis and SNES is the consensus greatest hockey video game ever made. It was the first fully licensed NHL and NHLPA game, it introduced one-timer goals that changed how people thought about offensive hockey gaming, and its controls were simple enough to pick up immediately and deep enough to reward mastery. There are active NHL '94 tournaments running today. EA built a tribute mode into modern NHL games because the legacy is that significant. You don't need to have played it in 1994 to understand why it's still being talked about in 2025.

The Modern Peak

The EA NHL series has had its ups and downs, but two entries represent the best the franchise has ever been:

NHL 14 is what The Hockey News calls the undisputed GOAT of the modern EA series. Strong online modes, EASHL that let you build and play with a custom team, and an overall design philosophy of doing everything well rather than one thing brilliantly. It's the hockey game most longtime EA NHL players point to when they argue about what the series could be at its best.

NHL 21 sits at the top of Sports Video Game Reviews' all-time hockey list for its refined skill-stick controls and deep hockey logic that rewards players who actually understand the sport. If you want the most technically complete hockey gaming experience ever made, this is the argument for it.

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The Arcade Picks

Not every great hockey game wants to be a simulation. Some of the best entries in the genre are the ones that threw realism out the window and just made hockey as fun as possible:

• NHL Hitz 2003 — Over-the-top hits, 3-on-3 action, and pick-up-and-play chaos that made it one of the best arcade sports games of its era. You could light the glass on fire. That's all you need to know.
• Blades of Steel on NES — Simple, fast, and featuring fights that felt genuinely satisfying in 8-bit form. It shows up in retro top-10 lists consistently because the design was so clean that it held up even as the hardware aged around it.
• Ice Hockey on NES — The one where you mixed fat, medium, and skinny skaters to build your lineup strategy, which turns out to be a more compelling roster management decision than anything in several modern franchise modes. People still remember which combinations worked best.

The PS2 and Early Next-Gen Era

Two games defined what hockey simulation looked like before the skill-stick era fully arrived:

NHL 2004 is a staple of retro gaming lists for PS2, praised for gameplay depth and franchise mode quality that matched or exceeded what the series would produce for the next several years. NHL 2K7 gets recognized as a key next-gen title that set an early bar on advanced consoles when the jump from PS2 to PS3 made everything feel uncertain. Both represent the series at a level of quality that longtime fans reference whenever the current game disappoints them.

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The Honorable Mention

NHLPA 93 is the game that came right before NHL '94 and is remembered fondly by anyone who played it at the time. It doesn't have the full NHL license, the arenas aren't named, and a few things that '94 perfected are slightly rougher here. But the gameplay foundation was already excellent, and without NHLPA 93 there's no NHL '94. It earns its place in the hockey gaming conversation even if it always gets overshadowed by what came next.

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FAQ

What is the best hockey video game of all time?

NHL '94 is the consensus answer and has been for decades. It's still being played competitively today, which tells you more than any review score could.

Is the modern EA NHL series worth playing?

NHL 21 and NHL 23 are both strong entries. The series has been inconsistent in recent years but the skill-stick mechanics and online EASHL modes are genuinely great when the overall package comes together. NHL 14 remains the benchmark most fans use to judge whether a new entry is worth it.

Why does NHL Hitz 2003 have such a strong reputation?

Because arcade hockey was genuinely underserved before it arrived, and NHL Hitz delivered chaos, hits, and pick-up-and-play fun at a level that more realistic games couldn't match. It filled a specific need and filled it perfectly.

Can you still play NHL '94 today?

Yes. It's available through various retro gaming platforms and emulators, and there are active online communities still running tournaments. EA also built a tribute mode into recent NHL games specifically because the legacy is that significant.

What happened to the NHL 2K series?

2K Sports ended its NHL series after NHL 2K11 following a licensing agreement that gave EA Sports exclusivity over NHL games. The series had some strong entries, particularly 2K7, but the exclusivity deal effectively ended any competition in the hockey gaming market.

Hockey gaming has had more peaks than most sports genres, and the games on this list represent the best of all of them. Start with NHL '94 if you haven't. Everything else makes more sense after that.