Need for Speed Payback

 PlayStation 4
User Score
4.3

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 1372 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 426 out of 1372
  2. Mixed: 202 out of 1372
  3. Negative: 744 out of 1372
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  1. Calmacil
    Nov 7, 2017
    1
    EA ruins another game with a loot box progression system.
    You are forced to either grind out old missions over and over again, or fork over real cash in order to progress.
    This is bad game design. EA forces Developers to make progression boring on purpose, in hopes you will want to avoid the grind. You are expected to pay, in order to not play the game. Avoid games with such shady    EA ruins another game with a loot box progression system.
    You are forced to either grind out old missions over and over again, or fork over real cash in order to progress.
    This is bad game design. EA forces Developers to make progression boring on purpose, in hopes you will want to avoid the grind. You are expected to pay, in order to not play the game.
    Avoid games with such shady business practices.    … Expand
  2. PeaceWalker
    Nov 7, 2017
    4
    Its not the worst entry, however its obvious that the game was built to please the publisher and satisfy their vision of the series instead of the players. When you first see the open world it appears to be filled with a lot of activities to do. However, the deceptive nature of this becomes apparent as you progress. Pretty much all the story sections are quite dull due to bad writing andIts not the worst entry, however its obvious that the game was built to please the publisher and satisfy their vision of the series instead of the players. When you first see the open world it appears to be filled with a lot of activities to do. However, the deceptive nature of this becomes apparent as you progress. Pretty much all the story sections are quite dull due to bad writing and the game has too much grinding. The free roaming areas lack random diversion like police roaming around to avoid or a running into a random pack of cars to take out.

    In the end, the remaining side activities like challenge races while a little enjoyable are not sufficient to keep you coming back. Having to go through unfun bits in hopes for some fun is simply not acceptable.

    Also, a lot of the cool customization options which used be given as rewards can now simply be purchased by anyone through microtransactions which makes you feel less like you're unique or skilled and that's also not a good thing.    … Expand
  3. igit
    Nov 8, 2017
    0
    Another lootboxes title which gives you 2 choices: grind grind grind or pay for lootboxes with real money. Don't buy this. Don't support this kind of business practices.
  4. cas514
    Nov 7, 2017
    0
    EA can f*** off. Every game from this moment forward will be filled with lootboxes and microtransaction. All of their game from here on out will be specially crafted and engineered to fool you into paying even more for their crappy games. No thanks, an EA game hasn't touched my PS4 and it never will.
  5. TomasLacerda
    Nov 7, 2017
    0
    The cool stuff, like the fast & furious kind of relics, are done by cinematics, not you.
    Micro-transitions.
    No police in the free world, and escaping the cops no longer have the "deal with it" vibe.
    Slot machine is just non-sense.
    Don't waste your money.
  6. Esshadow
    Nov 7, 2017
    4
    This a game had so much potential but in the end it’s dissapointing because it removed a key feature that defines the Need for Speed series, and that is free roaming cops. Instead they replace it with a bait crate system where you have to evade the cops through checkpoints (like a time trial) and you’re not given the freedom to evade the cops from any direction you please. Not only doesThis a game had so much potential but in the end it’s dissapointing because it removed a key feature that defines the Need for Speed series, and that is free roaming cops. Instead they replace it with a bait crate system where you have to evade the cops through checkpoints (like a time trial) and you’re not given the freedom to evade the cops from any direction you please. Not only does this make cop chases not fun to play but it also hinders replay ability as you become bored after you finish the campaign (its like removing cops from GTA...yeah). They also removed online free roam, which begs the question as to why create an open world if the game is so linear?

    The good things about the game are the customization and the world they built. There is a bit of a grind but it’s managable and the story while cliche has good voice acting so it’s passable. The Handling is improved but drifting has become even easier and is the preferred choice over grip as it provides a slight speed advantage. Some minor annoyances are that the off-road section needs a bit more focus and that some cars can’t reach the max level so you are forced to use a car you don’t neseserily like in order to have a chance to compete.

    Overall this game could have had a higher score but it’s missing the main feature that differentiates the need for speed series to other games like forza horizon, the crew etc, and that is free roaming cops. At the moment it feels like a it’s trying copy those games and overall it feels incomplete.I just hope they add free roam cops and online multiplayer in a future update or this game will die early due to its lack of replayability.    … Expand
  7. Ryknow
    Nov 8, 2017
    0
    Just disappointed EA. Pumping the machine with paid cards? Really. This game is a shame, you did not come up with anything new, but brazenly copied other people's ideas.

    I'm a fan of the NFS series since 2000. I saw a lot, there were both weak and strong projects, but EA never went down to borrow just a handful of ideas from other games, and then hiding behind the fact that "the games    Just disappointed EA. Pumping the machine with paid cards? Really. This game is a shame, you did not come up with anything new, but brazenly copied other people's ideas.

    I'm a fan of the NFS series since 2000. I saw a lot, there were both weak and strong projects, but EA never went down to borrow just a handful of ideas from other games, and then hiding behind the fact that "the games began to do much more expensive" are stuck in our transactions.

    You just fell in my eyes and in the eyes of many fans. And yes, it's not even about money. For this you do not want to pay, just a disgusting plot, a cliche on a cliche, a very boring world, fairly flat cars, problems with light are clearly taking place. Frostbite can not be adjusted to racing. Cars behave on the road just awful. I do not know who these people are that put the game 10 points. Maybe it's just those who devour any product .... If this game was not in the title of the legendary NFS, she would not have surrendered to anyone. The series has slipped, the worse it just can not be games.

    You will never again kindle a fire inside me, a happy moment in the past. You broke my heart    … Expand
  8. McEmow
    Nov 8, 2017
    1
    A full priced game with Free-to-play lootbox elements? Are you kidding me??? Watch my word... This studio will we the next that will be closed by EA. I must admit, NFS 2015 was a OK game. It has it's flaws but it had soul in it. This game has NONE of that magic. Combined with the crazy card/lootbox system, this is the race failgame of the year for me.
  9. Drage
    Nov 9, 2017
    2
    Sigh.... Where To begin, I am a HUGE Fan of the Need for Speed Franchise and Have been since "Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed" Released way back in 2000.... Sence then i have Played Literally Every NFS Game to be created and I can Honestly Say this is By far the Most Disappointing game Of not only the Series but the year of 2017 overall.

    Instead of Listening to NFS Fans EA instead    Sigh.... Where To begin, I am a HUGE Fan of the Need for Speed Franchise and Have been since "Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed" Released way back in 2000.... Sence then i have Played Literally Every NFS Game to be created and I can Honestly Say this is By far the Most Disappointing game Of not only the Series but the year of 2017 overall.

    Instead of Listening to NFS Fans EA instead seems to have created what they feel is the new "Hot" Thing Right now. Players are forced to Sit through Hours of Cringe-Worthy Cinematics when all anyone wants to be doing is bloody racing.

    while at its core the Driving is a Slight Improvement over previous Enrerys in the Series its Bogged down under so much Unnecessary Crap that it's VERY VERY hard to actually Enjoy the racing for what it is. a BS Broken Progression system designed to create an emphasis on Selling Loot Creates. A Complete Lack of Replayability Hamers EA's Need for you to Spend more money home even further. The Removal of by many accounts the best aspect of Modern NFS Games Actual Cop Chases.... Not These On Rails Go where we tell you to Go or you fail the "Race" Nonsense, An open world filled with nothing but Busywork with all of the Fun Striped out for a reason ill never understand.

    This game had loads of potential But. ya........ EA screwed this game Hard..... in the Hopes that it in turn will force us (the Players) to Spend as much money as physically Posible.

    What Really Hurts me is that EA will take this as NFS cant sell copies.... that its the NFS brand that is at fault..... God Forbid you made a game Players and Fans NEVER wanted.... If you wanted to make a Fast and Furious Inspired game it should have been the First movie in that franchise where the emphasis was still on street racing..... Remember EA.... that thing your games have Always been about.

    I Prey there will be more NFS Games.... I Hope they will focus more on the Driving and less on well Everything Else....

    For the Love of Got People..... Can we Just Get a Streetraceing Game.... It Doesn't need an "Involved" Story I just want to Race in a game with a proper Progression system where if I find a Car I like I never need to get rid of it to be competitive.

    Overall This Version of NFS has alright Racing at its core.... But sadly you spend so little time actually Driving that it's very easy to Forget how good NFS driving could have been if EA focused on that Instead of the Mountains of Garbage they chose to through on Top of This Poor Game.

    Drage    … Expand
  10. OliverRC
    Nov 7, 2017
    0
    No matter how much you like the game, dredging up a micro-transaction system from the bottom of the free-to-play mobile cesspool and putting it into a AAA priced game is going to land you a zero score.
  11. Leenat40
    Nov 7, 2017
    3
    You done it again, EA! **** up another once great IP with loot boxes and never ending microtransactions! The story is also as cringe as they come and the characters are just stereotypes!
  12. KENSEI
    Nov 7, 2017
    0
    Very very bad. WORST. The worst game in a series. Developers think only of money. Have spat on all community. unplayable game. EA end your career. Please don't buy this f*cking game
  13. Tatovr
    Nov 7, 2017
    2
    Loot boxes. Just that is enough to ruin any game and any experience. I will rank any upcoming game that includes Microtransactions or loot boxes like this.
  14. Chavez_0
    Nov 9, 2017
    0
    What's the best way to self sabotage your game, you ask? Let's ask Ghost and EA....

    Loot boxes?....Check! No free roam cops?....Check! Terribly uninteresting story and characters?....Absolutely. **** Speed Card upgrade system designed to make you spend real money to avoid inane grinding?....You better believe it! This game could have been great. All they had to do was build upon    What's the best way to self sabotage your game, you ask? Let's ask Ghost and EA....

    Loot boxes?....Check!
    No free roam cops?....Check!
    Terribly uninteresting story and characters?....Absolutely.
    **** Speed Card upgrade system designed to make you spend real money to avoid inane grinding?....You better believe it!

    This game could have been great. All they had to do was build upon the strong base they had in Need for Speed (2015), however, for all of the positives of that game they've essentially wiped them away and changed it. This game is driven towards making you mindlessly grind for upgrade parts or spend real money (on top of the $60+ you've already spent) in order to keep your car competitive.

    It's a bad system and is sleazy as hell.    … Expand
  15. javironcho
    Nov 8, 2017
    0
    The game performs poorly, it has framerate drops and crashed twice, but the worst part is that they put loot boxes on a racing game and did the same stupid thing shadow of war did, pay or grind.
    Save yourselfs $60 and buy anything else
  16. Nasos
    Nov 20, 2017
    0
    Worst Need for Speed ever
    Stupid story with typical stereotypes (black, woman and protagonist revenge)
    Lootboxes everywhere, this game is pure vomit
    Don't buy it even it's free on psn
  17. kyper007
    Nov 7, 2017
    0
    Ох эти лутбоксы,они все сильнее и сильнее съедаются в игровую индустрию.Это просто раковая опухоль,которая растет и скоро задушит ее.Нельзя этого допустить.
  18. kitchen-fish
    Nov 7, 2017
    1
    i wan't lootbox and micro transaction in any game.

    Hide UI some seconds if crash in race.
    No show range to point when point map.

    terrible frostbite graphis engine.
  19. KingDonald
    Nov 7, 2017
    0
    I was amped up for this until I watched some of the footage with the stupid characters like the chick with the stupid hair and the diabolical retarded dialogue coming out of their stupid faces. So my money is staying in my pocket. Still waiting for a decent car modding game on PS4. Anything EA touches turns to crap.
  20. narcoguajiro
    Nov 7, 2017
    0
    was specting so much from this game, but EA did it again, the car controls like garbage, the single player story is as lame as it can get, do not buy this game
  21. EagleSixTango
    Dec 10, 2017
    1
    Microstransactions. I don't want common and rare turbo and transmission cards! I mean WTF? Graphics are absolutely laughable. When the game starts the models look N64 era. For real. Then after about 1 min the they start to improve. Barely. So sick of unfinished games created around microstransactions.
  22. karelpica99
    Dec 20, 2017
    0
    Well, its EA... they f***ed up Battlefront 2 and they sure did f***ed up NFS aswell. Lootboxes, u get a Lootbox system, u get a lootboxes System EVERYONE gets a Lootbox system.... F**K u EA

    Card... CARD for upgrading/tuning your Car... what a joke and even the most lazy way i could think of... pathatic... the "Story" is cheesy I Hope someday EA will get bankrupt for the stupid s**t
  23. RJ_Crooks
    Dec 28, 2017
    1
    So many things wrong with this game.

    The story is trash and littered with ridiculous over the top Fast and Furious style dialogue. The progression system means nothing as the rubber-banding makes for overly aggressive and almost unbeatable AI. EA was nice enough to incorporate another pay to play loot system for those who feel spending $60 on a sub par game isn't enough. It was a    So many things wrong with this game.

    The story is trash and littered with ridiculous over the top Fast and Furious style dialogue. The progression system means nothing as the rubber-banding makes for overly aggressive and almost unbeatable AI. EA was nice enough to incorporate another pay to play loot system for those who feel spending $60 on a sub par game isn't enough. It was a struggle to stay interested for more than a few hours. This is not a good game!    … Expand
  24. v3nomro
    Mar 30, 2020
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I dont even know where to start ! This is by far the worst need for speed ever made ! Offroad in nfs ? Seriously ea ? If we want offroad we have other choices like wrc, flatout etc ! The story is very poorly made, races also ! If you enter into a drag tournament or whatever then you expect to play drag races, not forced to play sprint races with a car optimized for drag races... PATHETIC. Some races are incredible hard and the boses are childplay, again not very smart devs, director ! I hope these devs will never create another nfs game ! I will never pay more than 10€ on a game made by ea ! I gave 1 point for graphics !… Expand
  25. Vinicius1993
    Jan 11, 2019
    0
    game is ridiculous. not even talking about de hole microtransaction thing. the gameplay is terrible, you`re basicaly driving on rails, its even worse on off road races (the car basically cannot be controlled at all).

    worse nfs today...
  26. Shirai
    Jul 20, 2018
    0
    Another lootboxes title which gives you 2 choices: grind grind grind or pay for lootboxes with real money.
  27. Lonitx
    Dec 2, 2019
    2
    stay away!

    the gambling for parts/microtransactions **** is just riduculous, dayly login bonus and there is even a random crates mechanic.
  28. Kampfbiest0072
    Jul 5, 2022
    0
    This game was ruined by EA's greed like so many others. While the game is nothing special anyway and the "biggest map of any NFS" is just like that because it's set in a desert with very few streets in such a way that you know the entire map before you are half through with the bad campaign, the slot machine reward system for the special items and the literal Las Vegas slot machine upgradeThis game was ruined by EA's greed like so many others. While the game is nothing special anyway and the "biggest map of any NFS" is just like that because it's set in a desert with very few streets in such a way that you know the entire map before you are half through with the bad campaign, the slot machine reward system for the special items and the literal Las Vegas slot machine upgrade system should be illegal as they are promoting child gambling by selling this game to children. The gameplay is nothing much to speak of and the upgrade system has you either grind for ages to hopefully get lucky on the slot machine so your cars get faster or, guess what, buy micro transactions. I'll say it again, this game should be illegal. I got this game on ps plus and I'm glad for it because EA doesn't deserve a single penny for this game and will not get a single penny from me.… Expand
  29. Ismaur
    Nov 14, 2017
    1
    Yet another "EA" game. Upgrading cars with cards? Who is the target of this? 5 year olds? If so shame on you EA, shame for encouraging gambling among children. I scored this 1, just because the game is playable.
  30. david14
    Nov 14, 2017
    1
    Loot Box is the dead of the good games.

    Putting this into games seems to have become a new type of cancer that affects the games, no longer do you just have to buy the game in half many times and then have to buy the remainder parceled in DLCs
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Awards & Rankings

19
#19 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017
24
#24 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
61

Mixed or average reviews - based on 59 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 59
  2. Mixed: 36 out of 59
  3. Negative: 9 out of 59
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Feb 6, 2018
    70
    Ticks all the boxes and delivers a decent, playable experience, but it's hugely derivative and feels far too familiar, especially if you've played The Crew. [Jan 2017, p.92]
  2. games(TM)
    Dec 31, 2017
    40
    An infuriating slog hurt by its own structure. [Issue#195, p.80]
  3. The Digital Fix
    Dec 15, 2017
    60
    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.
    Read full review
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