In the sports gaming landscape, it’s an arms race to be the most simulation-style title out there. The more realistic the game, the better the reception among fans and critics. Gone are the days of Nintendo’s Blades of Steel where rules were few and the gameplay was just fun.
V7 Entertainment hopes to change that with the release of Old Time Hockey . The game is set in the 1970’s when hockey was a much different sport than it is today. Think about the movie Slap Shot and you have Old Time Hockey , a time when hockey players were not mandated to wear helmets and no player wanted to anyway. When hockey fights were the norm and not looked at as barbaric and when stick checks were part of the game as much as triple dekes. Old Time Hockey hopes to bring fans back to that simpler time in sports.
In an era where games are getting more and more difficult to play, Old Time Hockey is hoping to become an alternative for casual fans.. In an interview with Polygon, executive producer Mike Torillo said that the focus of V7 Entertainment was to create a game where it was fun to play with friends.
“We wanted to try to capture that experience of, you know, playing on the couch, having a few drinks with your buddies, that whole old-school nostalgic experience,” said Torillo.
While the game will not have the same features of an NHL 17 , Old Time Hockey will have interesting modes for players to delve into and enjoy. Here are two of the featured modes.
EXHIBITION MODE
Ready for some Old Time Hockey? Here’s all the advice you need: “take the shortest route to the puck and arrive in ill humor!” and get used to this phrase: “how could the referees have missed that?” Line up bone crushing open ice hits as your opponents scramble for the puck. Choose from a list of ten rugged minor league teams and play with up to 4 players in a local co-op setting.
STORY MODE
Experience taking a rag-tag hockey team facing a folding season to the championship game to save them. Blue-collared hockey at its best, this season is filled with you needing to navigate the rumours, the pranks, and the realities of a bus-travelling hockey team in the 70s. Read through newspaper articles, unlock hockey cards, grow your team’s morale, and navigate to different parts of the Story Mode from your HUB. A mini-calendar, stats summary, and live ticker are all part of your HUB to keep track of what’s going on around the Bush League.
When it comes to the controls, the creators of Old Time Hockey added a cool feature to the game. To keep with the theme of a game you can play with friends, there is a Beer Mode where players can use just one hand to play the game, which leaves your other hand available to drink your favorite beverage whatever that is. But even with the ability to play friends side-by-side, Old Time Hockey will not have an online mode for players.
“Unfortunately, at this time, it was just outside of our resources,” Torillo said. “It would have been easy to do online, but it wouldn’t have been easy to do solid online. We didn’t want to be one of those stories you hear, where once the online feature comes on, it’s like, ‘Oh, this is unplayable!’”
Old Time Hockey will be released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam early this year. Check out the trailer for Old Time Hockey below.
