Play Wayne Gretzky Hockey Online

Wayne Gretzky Hockey arrived on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991, published by Bethesda Softworks. It was one of the early hockey titles on the console, appearing at a time when sports games were still establishing their conventions on 8-bit hardware. The game tried to capture the full scope of a hockey match, not just the on-ice action.

You control a five man hockey team, skating up and down the rink to shoot the puck into the opponent's net. The main objective is to outscore the other team within three periods. Signature mechanics include body checking opponents to separate them from the puck and calling for a line change to manage your players' stamina. The game also features a surprising number of options off the ice; you can create custom players, design your own teams, and adjust coaching strategies. The pacing is quick, and the difficulty can be sharp, especially when the computer seizes on a mistake. It feels like a straightforward, sometimes scrappy, interpretation of hockey from that era.