As the title states, this game feels EXACTLY like NHL 18 with a few minor changes, both good and bad.
The only really interesting addition to this game, for me, is the online Ones mode where you play 1v1v1 in half of a rink on a pond. You can customize your character, and much like the EASHL mode, unlock customization items as you progress.
Oh and for any trophy hunters, this seems to be the first NHL game since NHL 10 where it's possible to get a Platinum trophy without dumping your entire life and bank account into Ultimate Team.
Now for the bad;
- The skating feels the same, if not even a little more arcade-like than NHL 18.
- If you played the beta, you'll know that poke checking was almost impossible to do without getting called for tripping, and unfortunately, they barely improved it. You will go to the box at least 50% of the time you try to poke check on even the most reasonable attempts.
- There are now "loan players" in HUT like it's a professional soccer league or something, where you might get awarded a fairly highly-rated player, but you'll only have him for 10 games and you're not allowed to extend his contract.
- Playing offline, the AI teammates are still oblivious to what's going on around them when it's most convenient for the CPU team (almost purposely skating out of position in the offensive zone to allow a breakaway when a turnover is about to happen, skating over rebounds that are tap ins, etc.)
- P.K. Subban is on the cover ? (I'm a die-hard Hawks fan)
So to sum it all up, if you don't care about any of the online modes, you're golden with keeping NHL 18 for quite a few months until EA has made numerous patches tweaking this game, if they even plan on doing so. Or maybe just save your money and wait for NHL 20 because you're really not missing much as of the time this review was written.