To all of my goalies out there, I know the last few years have been hard. Whether you're a Be A Pro goalie, a World Of Chel goalie, or just play goalie when your friends ask you, it's often been an unforgiving, painful, and frustrating experience. The controls at times would put you in an awkward animation, leaving openings that even a pee-wee player could score on. NHL 23 had "human reactions" which allowed for spectacular saves when they worked. 99% of the time the new reactions would put the puck in your own net instead of making a spectacular save.
With NHL 24 however, EA has laid the foundation to hopefully make the goaltending position fun again.
NHL 24 brings with it changes to the game that will make both the game and playing the goalie position feel more realistic. As well, they've introduced some changed to the controls that will make manning the pipes much less painful.
Gameplay Changes
Gameplay changes coming to NHL 24 will make the goalie position feel a lot more authentic. The all-new Goalie Fatigue System will affect the goalies ability to react to shots, and over time as more pucks get put on net you'll notice your goalie start to get worn down under the constant pressure from the opposing team. Cover the puck for a whistle, and you'll be able to give your goalie a breather, in return eliminating the negative buff that you had just previous faced. You can also rely on your defensemen to ice the puck, clear the puck out of their zone, or force a whistle some other way. That being said, the way some World of Chel defenders play, you may be better off covering the puck.
Tethered Control System
The new Tethered Control System will gives goalies something they've needed for a long time, an anchor system to fall back on. This feature will allow players to slide back and forth making highlight reel saves, and then auto-returning them back to a centered position, just like real life goalies. This is similar to MLB The Show's "Anchor" system, which allows you to place your hitting indicator wherever you'd like, and no matter where you move the bat, it returns to the same position. This feature will help goalies center themselves after sliding across to make big saves, eliminating the chance of those pesky out of position goals that happen as a result of not getting centered in time.
New Instinct System
Instincts are a one of a goalies most powerful tools. As a high IQ goalie, you're able to anticipate at times where someone may shoot the puck. Have a forward on a partial break who's a shooter that likes to shoot the puck glove side? In real life, goalies anticipate this, and that split second anticipation can mean the difference between making a save or letting a bad goal in. Now goalies in NHL 24 can guess the location or direction of a players shot, and anticipate where the puck will go. Guess right, and you'll be rewarded with a bonus boost on your save attempt. Guess wrong, and you'll find yourself looking silly and the puck likely in the back of your net.
With these new changes, it is unsure if they will result in better or worse gameplay for goalies. One thing for certain is that the game will likely feel a lot more "in control" for any netminder, and while we still have to wait and see if these changes result in better goaltending gameplay, it's nice to see EA giving some love to one of the more forgotten positions in sports.