Need for Speed Payback Reviews

Need for Speed Payback is ranked in the 17th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9 / 10.0
Nov 7, 2017

Need for Speed comes back stronger than ever with an open-world game that has a great story mode and gameplay mechanics adapted to every player.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

Heavy
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Nov 7, 2017

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.

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8.5 / 10.0
Nov 14, 2017

Overall, I can truly say that this game has breathed new life into the series. This is a true comeback for the series and Ghost Games has done such a good job providing lots of entertainment and fun with this game. Despite the shortcomings of the game, I have enjoyed my time while playing it and I hope that the series can continue on with the same kind of feel. It was such a rush in a good kind of way and I can’t wait to get the same kind of feeling in the next installment.

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80 / 100
Nov 7, 2017

Need for Speed Payback is an epic racing game thanks to his cinematographic style. Fans of the franchise will be very satisfied with all the content that awaits in the game.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Nov 7, 2017

Need For Speed: Payback may not do anything new, but it brings together elements of Forza Horizon and Burnout Paradise to create a fun and explosive racer.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 6, 2017

Need for Speed Payback feels like the natural evolution of the series, and that’s a good thing considering the game ends with a great tease for a potential sequel. While I finished the story in around 15 hours, it’s worth noting that there are a ton of side events and collectibles that I failed to collect in that time. I could see myself easily doubling my time within Payback, and do so with a smile on my face the entire time.

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Atomix
Top Critic
80 / 100
Nov 7, 2017

Need for Speed: Payback is a fun, great open world with a story campaign that works well. Racing is exciting and all of the car modifications are interesting, besides lacking from its technical side.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Nov 7, 2017

The Need For Speed formula seems to be a little worn out, but Payback tries to get all the good stuff from the franchise plus some new additions to renew it, even if it doesn't get to be the best game in the series.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Nov 8, 2017

Need For Speed Payback represents EA's answer to where most racers are headed -– massive worlds, large car lists, extensive customisation options and plenty of things to do.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 6, 2017

A overall good game can still be brought down by bad business decisions.

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4 / 5.0
Nov 6, 2017

EA and Ghost Games set out to make the quintessential Need for Speed by bringing in aspects that worked in the past and has mostly succeeded.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 7, 2017

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

8 / 10.0
Nov 9, 2017

Good fun for those looking for a game that plays like a summer popcorn action flick.

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76%
Nov 21, 2017

Need for Speed: Payback is fast, exciting and beautiful, with breathtaking landscapes and great looking cars. Unfortunately, the final experience is watered down by a hard to digest progression system that feels like a whole lot of grind, loot boxes and multiple currencies.

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75 / 100
Nov 6, 2017

With some excellent improvements to car control, customization, and cinematic moments, Need for Speed Payback delivers on the promise of a better racing game. That said, it occasionally has a few engine knocks with chunky dialogue and invisible walls barring your path in the vast open world they've created. It's a good step for the series, and it should provide a good foundation for Ghost's next time behind the wheel.

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7.5 / 10.0
Nov 7, 2017

Need For Speed: Payback is a solid, lengthy and entertaining racing game, but it's unable to reinvent its genre. The work by Ghost Games is weighted down by its stiff singleplayer structure, which clashes with a progression system that, whilst clever in theory, fails to be as balanced as it should be in practice.

Review in Italian | Read full review

AR12Gaming
Rizentral
Top Critic
8 / 10
Feb 23, 2018

Need for Speed Payback is the perfect game to get into if you've been missing the old Need for Speed.

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7.5 / 10.0
Dec 6, 2017

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.

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7.5 / 10.0
Nov 13, 2017

Ultimately we can say that, although NF Payback is not yet the perfect title, it actually manages to provide us with several interesting features that make it at times better than the previous one. We find a nice story and not too demanding, suitable for the type of game. Even the driving system is not bad and definitely improves, perhaps also because accompanied by a technical sector that, at least in the single player, proves decidedly superior. We do not have all those annoying frame drop that we found instead in NFS 2015 and we manage to play in a calm and fluid way, without any kind of problem. Too bad only for some details that, in our opinion, have a little 'spoiled the title, like the Speed Cards, which we find too random and unidentifiable. All in all, however, a chapter that is able to make us hope for the future, while still waiting for the real Underground 3!

Review in Italian | Read full review

73 / 100
Nov 7, 2017

Need for Speed: Payback delivers exciting new ideas, but it is not the arcade-racing dream we hoped for.

Review in German | Read full review