Need for Speed Payback Reviews
Despite righting some wrongs of its predecessor, Need for Speed Payback fails to capitalise on the opportunity to put the franchise back on the podium
Terrible narrative aside, Need For Speed: Payback is a fun addition to the prolific racing franchise
Payback is good – assuming you're talking about the 1999 film.
Based on its world and racing alone, Need for Speed Payback was a lot of fun.But where Payback really disappointed is in its progression system. I miss the days of simply driving to races, placing, earning money, using that money to upgrade my car and in
Need For Speed Payback is a mixed bag. One the one hand it’s a fun arcade racer with great customization, a wide range of cars and race styles and some truly great single player moments. Yet with the other hand holding an underwhelming multiplayer experience, lather, rinse repeat story missions, and some awkward storytelling pacing, NFS never seems to hit top gear in its goal to capture the glory of the old days.
If Ghost Games can find a way to properly refine and execute their ideas, they're on track to something great. Need for Speed: Payback, however, finishes in the middle of the pack, and that's a damn shame.
And in the end, delivers open-world racing that confuses and confounds moments after it surprises and delights.
Need for Speed Payback might be a new low point for the franchise. A horrendous progression system compounded by uninteresting characters and terrible AI only illustrates how far behind this series has fallen compared to the other arcade racers out there. The multiplayer is solid, but that's like saying at least the car wreck didn't cause a fire, too.
Need for Speed: Payback has a lot of competitions to complete and has everything you can expect by a game of the series. It is also heavily focused on grinding, because is the only way to avoid the infamous microtransactions.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Need for Speed Payback is at its best when you're completing story missions, speeding through thrilling set-pieces and battling against cops and criminals.
Pay-to-Win and Wait-to-Play do not a Triple-A title make. Final rating: $$$ out of 10
Need for Speed Payback is a decent racing game held back by a weak story, grinding, and micro-transactions. If you can live with these elements, you will have a lot of fun in this game.
Need For Speed: Payback is fast and fun. It's definitely a fantastic addition to any game library and if you've left the franchise completely. NFS Payback makes the case that it's time to come back.
Ghost games took one step forward and two steps back with Payback. The game doesn't require an internet connection anymore and its gameplay is more diverse and fun. But rally races are quite rather exhausting than exciting. Physics are poor, textures take time to load and the high importance of Microtransactions is another mistake made by EA this year.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Need for Speed Payback is the perfect game to get into if you've been missing the old Need for Speed.
Yet another attempt by EA to make the series relevant, Need for Speed Payback does few things right while doing so much wrong. From the dull and cliché story to the straight and narrow police chases, there's just nothing with this game that brings out any sort of excitement. The game looks nice and drives well, but it just isn't much fun which is the worst thing a video game can be.
Need For Speed Payback continues the road NFS 2015 took. It tries to be varied but none are deep enough and rarely shine throughout. On the other hand focusing on a loot box system breaks both balance and rhythm of progressing and you put all of these alongside problems in narrative and boring mission design, it's a frustrating experience that shows how much Payback is not worthy of the NFS name
Review in Persian | Read full review
Boring free-to-play grindfest which for some reason costs $60. There are much better alternatives on the market.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Need for Speed Payback is a well made arcade racing experience that is somewhat held back by a terrible progression system.
Need for Speed Payback squanders its open world on races against rubberbanding AI, linear escapes from a timer instead of the cops, and a broken economy that will leave you grinding for far too long. Throw in a bland story and unlikable characters, and you've got a franchise on a serious downward trend.