Need for Speed Payback
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Review Summary
Need for Speed Payback is a roadblock for the franchise. A grindy progression system backs up mediocre driving, a lifeless open world, and forgettable storytelling.
Unremarkable Open World
Vile Gambling Systems
Throwaway Characters
Critic Reviews for Need for Speed Payback
Enjoyable arcade handling packaged within a game that gets monotonous long before it rewards your time investment.
Need for Speed Payback is a big, competent, and confident arcade racer but it's really let down by its linear cop chases, its overwrought and insidious upgrade system, its dreadful dialogue, and its superficial action sequences. It feels fine and it looks flashy, but Payback really went all-in on its direct-to-DVD revenge tale and it was a bust for me.
Need for Speed returns in this, a grossly unremarkable open world racer that marks another step back for the series.
The worst Need For Speed game of the modern era, that leaves no stone unturned in its attempts to make itself as boring, repetitive, and exploitative as possible.
Need for Speed Payback successfully returns to its Fast and Furious roots with aplomb, but a focus on the grind and a beautiful but empty world means it ultimately falls short of greatness.
This open world has plenty of racing content, but bad progression, technical problems, and throwaway storytelling make it hard to get invested
Need For Speed Payback doesn't do many favors for itself. It's a fun racing game whose flashy story would be fine if I felt like I was building a blinged-out career worthy of it. Instead, I felt driven toward pure stats upgrades, heedless of what the car was or what it looked like.
OpenCritic Coverage
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