They utilized Electronic Arts' Ignite engine and built the game off of that, attempting to generally improve on the series' previous installment.

Critics who played the beta wrote generally positive reviews and noted it as a good precursor to the full game.

The gameplay improvements and new additions to the game mainly received praise, while criticism was aimed at some lack of depth and general innovation.

NHL 17 is an ice hockey simulation video game powered by the Ignite engine, created by Electronic Arts.

[1] It features game presentation in the style of the NHL on NBC, with commentary being provided by Mike Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (color) and Ray Ferraro (ice-side reporter), with the network's score bug appearing on-screen as well.

[2][3] The game can be played on five different difficulties; "Rookie", the lowest, "Semi-Pro", "Pro", "All-Star", and "Superstar", the highest.

[6] During a game, players maneuver around the ice with normal skating and deking and are able to seamlessly pass to teammates to create scoring chances.

[7] One newly added celebration was a mimicked version of baseball player José Bautista's iconic bat flip that occurred during the 2015 American League Division Series.

[7] The goalie will make either a technical or athletic save depending on the type of shot that they are facing; if the goalie has a good portion of the net covered already, they will block the puck with their body in their current position; if they are caught off guard, then they will resort to their athleticism and quick reflexes to make a save instead.

[21][22] According to NHL 17 lead producer Sean Ramjagsingh, the developers wanted to take from the series' previous installment and generally improve on it.

[14] The development team within EA Canada wanted to improve on the overall gameplay by introducing a better physics system and enhanced artificial intelligence.

[26] The final round of the voting was between Russian forward Vladimir Tarasenko, of the St. Louis Blues and American center Joe Pavelski, of the San Jose Sharks.

[32] The game's soundtrack was revealed on July 27; the EA Trax was unavailable in the previous two NHL titles.

[29] Players who partook in the beta were able to access the EASHL, HUT and Online Versus modes as well as the game's team and arena creators (named the "Creation Zone").

[36] The game's World Cup of Hockey mode received a trailer that was first shown during the 2016 Gamescom convention on August 16.

Pre-orders of any edition of the game came with a special EASHL equipment bundle as well as a unique goal celebration, imitating the one from NHL '94.

[39] The inclusion of the Bautista bat flip celebration, which could be viewed during the beta, received wide media coverage, with sites such as Yahoo!

[16] Jake Sundstrom of SB Nation's Fear the Fin blog enjoyed the game's team and arena builders, but commented that they need "a little more depth".

He also praised the game's improved AI systems for CPU teammates and opponents as well as the online connectivity.

[45] SB Nation writer SkyonAir, of the Stanley Cup of Chowder blog, praised the player and team creators as well as the gameplay overhaul for goaltenders.

[47][48] Critics mainly praised the new additions to the game, such as the Franchise Mode and team customization options as well as the improvements to gameplay.

[52] IGN's Glenn Wigmore awarded the game an 8.4/10 score and stated that it "offers such variety that it’s easy to recommend to many players."

He criticized the World Cup of Hockey mode for seeming too gimmicky and felt that it wouldn't receive much gameplay from players after one month.

Bertz complimented the changes made to certain parts of the gameplay, saying that "shooting, passing and checking are all solid," although he felt that odd puck pickups and player pivots slowed down the game speed.

He finished his review stating that the developers continue to make only "minor improvements across the board, yet the NHL series has yet to tap its true potential this generation.