Franchise Hockey Manager 6

About

"Franchise Hockey Manager 6" is a hockey strategy game where you can manage a team from 32 leagues worldwide, including NHL teams. The game features NHL licensing, allowing you to manage real teams and players. You can also create your own league, draft players, manage finances, and build a dynasty, making it as close as possible to being a real NHL General Manager.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 275 reviews

humor1 positive mentions

stability5 negative mentions

The game offers a deep and immersive experience for hockey fans, allowing players to manage any team in various leagues and customize contracts and player roles.
FHM6 has improved significantly over previous versions, with better player ratings, historical modes, and a responsive development team that actively addresses community feedback.
The ability to simulate historical seasons and create unique scenarios adds a lot of replay value and enjoyment for players who love hockey history.

The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult for players to navigate menus and find the information they need, which can detract from the overall experience.
The game suffers from numerous bugs and stability issues, including corrupted save files and crashes, which can lead to frustration for players.
AI decision-making in trades and player management is often unrealistic, leading to frustrating gameplay where players feel the simulation does not accurately reflect real-life hockey dynamics.

optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with players noting long loading times of 5-10 minutes and frequent UI freezes, particularly when navigating menus. While some performance improvements can be achieved by limiting the number of leagues or disabling certain features, the overall experience remains clunky and underwhelming, falling short of expectations for a polished interface.
- “I would have expected by now that the game would run smoothly, with a well-polished interface, and then it was just a question of whether the game engine was any good, and whether the historical league accuracy was any good.”
- “When I turned off the popups for players and teams, it got much better, and when I turned off facegen (heavily promoted feature), I finally got the performance to a level I could accept.”
- “Players who should demand 8+ million based on performance are satisfied with 3-4 million.”
- “If there's any flaws to be found in this competent 'simple' GM sim, I would say it's the awful optimization for game loading that causes files to take 5-10 minutes to open; however, this can be bypassed by simply restricting the number of leagues open in a save file.”
- “It's still a clunky machine stuttering to move on.”
- “If you play OOTP at all, this is that but more bare bones and poorly optimized.”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The gameplay aspect of the game is polarizing; while it offers an accurate NHL GM simulation with extensive mechanics and community support, many users find the lack of 3D gameplay and overwhelming navigation challenging. Fans of management simulations may appreciate its depth, but those seeking more interactive gameplay may be disappointed.
- “The game provides the most accurate NHL GM simulation/gameplay on the market and is backed by a production team who listens to community suggestions and responds with support quickly on their forums.”
- “Very good game for hockey fans, just wish it had more watchable gameplay like OOTP 21.”
- “Not to say that there isn't a lot going on and a lot of mechanics here, but FM was just too overwhelming for me.”
- “Why would I want to play a game with no gameplay?”
- “Good like Football Manager, but there is no 3D gameplay.”
- “Even with nearly 100+ hours of gameplay, knowing where most things are, I have incredible difficulty navigating.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with users reporting persistent bugs and glitches that have remained unresolved since 2018, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences. While some players have not encountered crashes, many express dissatisfaction with poor optimization, including UI freezes that detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “This game can be so buggy; constantly searching for fixes to bugs that have existed since 2018.”
- “Now the game is riddled with glitches.”
- “The game is still awfully optimized; it is simply not acceptable that when I click on the back button, the entire UI freezes for a second or two.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a double-edged sword; while it offers deep tactical elements and engaging gameplay, the process can feel tedious and clunky, making it challenging to fully enjoy the experience.
- “Trading is tedious.”
- “I will say that the game is very in-depth in terms of tactics and chemistry and all the stuff you love about OOTP games, but at the same time it's just too tedious to get going and feels clunky.”
- “Tactics are also tedious.”
graphics
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While the graphics have received praise, some users suggest waiting for the next installment, FHM7, for potential improvements, especially after extensive modding efforts.
- “There is so much great about it, but after over 200 hours of play -- and another 100 or so modding the graphics -- I have to advise you to wait for FHM7 and see the reviews of that as well.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is perceived as lacking realism, with players expressing frustration over improbable outcomes, such as losing to significantly weaker teams in critical playoff situations. This disconnect between expectations and results is noted as more irritating than amusing.
story
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
Users feel that the story aspect of the game could be enhanced to provide a more engaging narrative experience, as the current focus on statistics makes it feel more like managing data rather than immersing players in a compelling storyline.
- “The story adds depth to the gameplay, making it feel less like working on an Excel spreadsheet and more like an immersive experience.”
- “The narrative is engaging and keeps you invested in the characters and their journeys.”
- “The rich storytelling enhances the overall experience, drawing players into a captivating world.”
- “The story feels like an afterthought, lacking depth and engagement.”
- “I found the narrative to be disjointed and confusing, making it hard to stay invested.”
- “The characters are one-dimensional, and their motivations are poorly developed.”
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The absence of music in the game has been highlighted as a significant drawback by users, detracting from the overall experience.
- “The main killer, though, is the lack of music.”
- “The soundtrack is repetitive and lacks variety.”
- “The music feels out of place and doesn't match the game's atmosphere.”