Need for Speed Payback Reviews
Need for Speed Payback is the perfect game to get into if you've been missing the old Need for Speed.
Despite high hopes, Need for Speed Payback comes up short. It might be at home in a 1980s arcade, but we expect more from racing games these days and unfortunately, an extra year in deployment wasn’t enough to save this interaction from franchise fatigued.
If you stick with it you'll find a decent racer here but getting past the inane narrative, broken progression systems and longing for racers past takes some doing.
Despite the cringey dialogue and general over arcing storyline, Need for Speed Payback is a pretty enthralling 4 wheeled crusade. It may contradict itself by featuring linear, checkpoint ridden roads on a wide open, treacherous continent, but the races themselves are slick, chaotic and heart pounding for the most part, and with numerous secondary objectives and challenges to complete, there’s certainly a lot to keep you and your car occupied.
Need For Speed Payback is a step in the right direction in some departments, but a few poor choices where it counts sets the game back overall. If you are looking for an adequate solo affair and don't mind grinding for speed cards to upgrade all the vehicles in your stable, than it is possible to find something worthwhile hidden behind Payback's misguided structure. If thrilling online races and roaming with friends in endlessly customizable cars is more your style, you are better off looking elsewhere.
Despite the microtransactions, the game is still a lot of fun, the driving is nice and easy to lose yourself in, especially with the varying environments and the open world challenges. Pushing yourself to get those 3 star ratings can be extremely fun, and the story is engaging and looks amazing all the while. I would love to be able to shout at you, screaming, “GO GET THIS GAME”! But it’s just not good enough for that; while I do recommend the game. I can’t say that its worth £50.
Need for Speed Payback is a fun but ultimately flawed and frustrating game. I was optimistic going in based on what had been shown prior to release, and while the racing action is indeed as tight as ever (albeit lacking in set pieces which were so prominently advertised), there are just too many issues which add up to drag the experience down. It’s another classic case of quantity over quality, and while it isn’t an inherently bad game, it’s seriously let down by its linear structure, tedious progression and upgrade system, and terrible dialogue.
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
Need for Speed Payback with its gambling system based on speed cards instead of real car parts is pure Pay2Win. In addition the open world is empty and lifeless though there is a lot to discover in terms of racing events. The rubber band effect is really bad in this game and cops are as unrealistic as ever in the Need for Speed franchise. Last but not least is the grind which you will have to do if you want to proceed in the game. Don't touch this game – ever!
Review in German | Read full review
Downfall of the Need for Speed franchise continues. Payback isn't a long awaited return to form and although developers fixed some of the predecessor's issues, the overall impression is even worse. They added microtransactions, loot boxes, card upgrades, and the story is also quite silly. The resulting game has some qualities, but they are buried under a pile of rubbish.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
The whole time I was playing Payback, I was thinking “I’d be much better off just replaying Burnout Paradise or one of the Forza Horizons”, which is sad but true.
Need for Speed Payback just reuses its predecessors' formula. Despite having a very weak storyline, it kept me entertained for a few hours with its varied tests and missions.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
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.
Whilst there are moments when the arcade racing feels like fun, there is an omnipresent sense of Déjà Vu, that you've played this all before.
Terrible narrative aside, Need For Speed: Payback is a fun addition to the prolific racing franchise
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
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 example of one step forward, two steps back. While the world is more beautiful than any of its predecessors, it feels empty in much the same way that the game does. All of the systems seem to be their own worst enemy. Want to build a car? How are you going to upgrade it? Want to customize its looks? You've got to complete unnecessary challenges. Want to progress the story just to see if it gets better? You've got to make sure your car is the appropriate level. All of these things, combined with an unimaginative and frankly boring story result in a racing game that makes it frustrating to race. While there's still the rush of pushing past second place a few meters before the finish line, that rewarding experience is not due to any innovations that the series has made here and the innovations that make this entry in the series unmemorable and unattractive.
The villains of NfS: Payback are a faceless gang of crooks becoming wealthy through dodgy gambling practices. I am not sure if this level of Kafkaesque irony is sustainable in the gaming industry nowadays.