Finally, an arcade-style hockey game is coming back to video game consoles and the PC.
V7 entertainment — a Vancouver-based independent game developer — has released a trailer for Old Time Hockey, and it looks like a mix of NHL 94 and NHL Hitz.
However, Old Time Hockey does not feature NHL teams, or any professional league at all for that matter. The five-on-five game features a fictional league called the “Bush Hockey League”, and is set in the 70s. That means no helmets, full line brawls, etc. Basically picture the 1977 movie Slapshot as an arcade video game, and that seems to be a pretty good summary of what we have here.
Here’s the trailer:
Just watching that immediately brings back memories of NHL 94, NHL Hitz, Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey, and Blades of Steel. Aaaaah, those were good times.
The game does not have online multiplayer, but has a story mode, co-op mode, and a “Beer Mode”… which allows you to hold the controller in one hand, while enjoying a drink in the other. I like the way the people at V7 think.
Old Time Hockey is set for an early 2017 release on PS4, XBOX One, and PC. It will be the first hockey video game of any kind to be available on the PC since NHL 2009.
