35 Video Games from the 90s That Shaped a Generation

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NHL ’94

This is clearly the Canadian in me coming through, but I wouldn’t be a “good Canadian kid” (hat tip to Don Cherry) if I didn’t include EA’s NHL ’94 on this list.

While the overwhelming majority of sports game up until that point had featured fictional players from made-up teams, NHL ’94 let hockey fans really play as the same superstars who hit the real life ice. You had line changes, full seasons, and crazy multi-player action.

And, for better or for worse, NHL ’94 also kicked off the tradition at EA to release updates to all its sports video games franchises on an annual basis. Some updates would be whole new games with a wealth of new features, whereas others were little more than roster updates. In either case, it was “in the game” until we arrived at the age of DLC.