Need for Speed: Rivals Reviews

Need for Speed: Rivals is ranked in the 83rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Daniel Krupa
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Nov 19, 2013

Fast, furious, and fun. NFS: Rivals blends Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted to great effect.

Read full review

9 / 10
Nov 17, 2013

Ghost Games will likely get there, though, and what they've conjured up in their debut effort is a remarkable achievement. Before downsizing, Criterion created some of the last generation's very best arcade racers in Hot Pursuit and Burnout Paradise. Ghost Games has carried on that torch and crafted a racer that any of its competitors would do well to match in the new generation.

Read full review

Nov 14, 2013

Need for Speed: Rivals is a wholly enjoyable open-world racer. The driving is solid, its streets are a joy to explore, and its racing assignments--though a bit repetitive at times--are incentive enough to keep you coming back for more.

Read full review

8 / 10
Nov 21, 2013

Low on innovation but high on spectacle, as the cumulation of the last several years of Need For Speed games the first entry on the next gen is already one of the best.

Read full review

9 / 10.0
Nov 19, 2013

Retains many of the staples from the Need for Speed series, but paves its own path with its dynamic shared worlds

Read full review

8 / 10
Nov 14, 2013

Need for Speed: Rivals smartly builds on the strong foundation of its predecessors to deliver an aggressive arcade racer that bristles with energy.

Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Nov 18, 2013

It's not the most stable racer, but Need for Speed Rivals puts spectacular ideas to great use

Read full review

Nov 23, 2013

There's a fantastic game hiding inside of Need for Speed Rivals, but there aren't enough systems in place to draw that greatness out where it belongs.

Read full review

Kotaku
Top Critic
Yes
Nov 14, 2013

Need For Speed: Rivals puts you in a gaiant , connected web of high-speed car chases where you can join in on (or spoil) other people's fun.

Read full review

USgamer
Top Critic
Nov 14, 2013

Need for Speed: Rivals takes some of the best features from prior franchise entries and combines them with a seamless single-multiplayer mode to create an absolutely terrific, utterly bonkers race-and-chase game that looks and sounds as good as it drives.

Read full review

Dec 3, 2013

Dozens of hours of gameplay, the only racing game on PS4 at launch, a fantastic showpiece for your next-gen hardware of choice, and a hyper-connected experience—Rivals is one of the best games to own on PlayStation 4. Rev your engines, folks, this will be on hell of a ride.

Read full review

8 / 10.0
Nov 16, 2013

Just be sure to take breaks when playing the racer campaign, as the grind, and the suicidal cops can wear on you.

Read full review

8.4 / 10.0
Nov 16, 2013

Despite some rough edges and aggravations, Need for Speed Rivals is still a fun and exciting ride. Hunting down your prey as the police or getting to your hideout in the nick of time is exhilarating, and constantly sharing a social sphere with other players feels like a natural step forward for a series intent on putting players on opposing side of the law.

Read full review

Paul Tassi
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Nov 19, 2013

Need for Speed: Rivals is one of the more fun installments in the series, and certainly a great PS4 launch title. But it needs deeper customization and tweaks to racing SP loss in order to more fully realize its potential, and a more involved attempt at a story would inject some life into a relatively stale campaign mode. Fortunately gameplay is so intense and fun you forget about most of the game's other issues, and it can certainly be enjoyed despite its lingering issues and relative lack of depth.

Read full review

9 / 10
Nov 14, 2013

The end result is a game with crystal-clear vision and execution. Rivals ends up being a rather unique racing experience--one that isn't meant for everyone, but will be beloved by those that "get" it.

Read full review

8 / 10.0
Dec 4, 2013

Need For Speed: Rivals is a must have for fans of racing games with a friends list full of similar gamers; everyone else should weigh up their options. There's plenty to do, but be prepared for some mild annoyance.

Read full review

7 / 10
Nov 24, 2013

Excellent driving mechanics and visuals are sadly hindered by too many major issues.

Read full review

80 / 100
Nov 21, 2013

Need For Speed: Rivals' main theme is about blurring the stringent lines between two things we consider to be opposites. Challenging the traditional definitions of two opposing ideals and showing that they are not just more similar than you think — but require each other to exist. It's all very yin-and-yang, and the theme is implemented in every aspect with varying degrees of success. The mixing of single-player and multiplayer gameplay is the most obvious and calculated element to take on the theme, and is the one thing that really excited me throughout my time with Rivals. It is a fantastic idea that company spokespersons on convention stages have been promising would change the way we game in this next generation.

Read full review

Nov 25, 2013

'Need for Speed: Rivals' offers more visceral fun than ever in the series' next-gen debut.

Read full review

7.5 / 10.0
Nov 19, 2013

Rivals brings a solid, core competency while introducing interesting new online features. Unfortunately, these features never quite gel to their full potential.

Read full review