User Score
4.3

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 1372 Ratings

User score distribution:
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  1. Nov 22, 2017
    10
    This game is brilliant. As a racing game it has all the bells and whistles and it excels as a need for speed as the story complements the gameplay, not the other way round. It adds dirt, drag, runner and drift specific cars alongside suvs and pickups. The map would replace Las Vegas on a map of America. There are some graphical errors in cutscenes and the likes, but it has just beenThis game is brilliant. As a racing game it has all the bells and whistles and it excels as a need for speed as the story complements the gameplay, not the other way round. It adds dirt, drag, runner and drift specific cars alongside suvs and pickups. The map would replace Las Vegas on a map of America. There are some graphical errors in cutscenes and the likes, but it has just been released so that is to be expected. It has a blockbuster plot in a regular story. It has derelicts which work like forza's barn finds or the crew's hidden cars and are early throughout the story progression. It has a wild variety of cars, from muscle cars to suvs. Overall a great purchase. The only thing I find wrong with the game is the multiplayer, which lacks online free roam with pals (temporary system in place) and the lack of drift drag and runner events, it also has a level restriction of 275. By the time most players have completed the story the problems will probably been amended. Completion of the story requires a level 350 car in off-road and race anyway, so the level restriction doesn't affect you if you play the story first. The part 'roulette' system allows players to upgrade the car with specific bonuses or attributes to each part without spending standard currency. The shipments are in the game for the sole purpose of spin tokens and vanity items (tire smoke, horns, underglow, nos colour, air suspension) but also give some money to sweeten the deal. The reason the money in shipments feels like a lot is because they are usually opened in bulk. 10/10 Expand
  2. Nov 22, 2017
    0
    I don't even mind the stupid lootboxes and slot machine stuff that much, but honestly.. this whole game is just a poorly made hybrid of the worst parts of The Fast and the Furious mixed with Forza Horizon with a dash of that feeling you get when you buy a dollar store rip off of something. The story in this game is goofy as **** I literally could not stop cringing as I played it. I knowI don't even mind the stupid lootboxes and slot machine stuff that much, but honestly.. this whole game is just a poorly made hybrid of the worst parts of The Fast and the Furious mixed with Forza Horizon with a dash of that feeling you get when you buy a dollar store rip off of something. The story in this game is goofy as **** I literally could not stop cringing as I played it. I know that it's not supposed to be over the top vulgar so that they can keep that T rating, a lot of kids play Need For Speed (I know I did when I was younger), but oh my God who wrote this dialogue? I feel like they hired some 8 to 10 year olds and said "do your best! As long as you try REAL hard that'll be good enough!" It is the most painful, unrealistic, **** I've ever seen in a game. That's not even my main problem though, I'm playing mine on a regular Xbox One and it looks and runs awful. I don't know if it's just my copy of the game, or my console, or what. But there are major issues with it. The load times are insanely long, AI civilian drivers just sit there and are stuck to the road (and you can drive through them?) about 50% of the time, the textures don't load for a good minute and a half if not more, leaving everything looking just awful. There are times where checkpoints don't load properly as well and I've had to completely exit the game and restart it to fix it. I liked the fact that you can customize more on your cars like you used to be able to, but that for me was the ONLY redeeming quality. I can barely give it that because of how much of a pain it is to unlock any customization. Need For Speed 2015 was absolute garbage, and this game is no better. It's safe to say that I will never buy another Need For Speed game. I loved them when I was a kid. Most Wanted and Underground 1 and 2 were amazing. It's sad that developers have no ****ing idea what they're doing anymore.. Games this bad make me want to stop playing video games entirely. In no way, shape, or form could I ever recommend this to anyone. Expand
  3. Nov 22, 2017
    1
    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
    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 they do. We had in the 70's a time where the Gameing Industry carshed bc of to much trash on the market... When they dont overthink this lootbox, Card or whatever ingame pay4win/pay4progress System in full price games...
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  4. Nov 21, 2017
    4
    The customization is....okay. The gameplay is....okay. The game story is....okay. But the loot boxes and the whole concept behind player progression is extremely strange and most of the time frustrating - there is no way you can bring a car you started with (or if you like an entry level car) because there are restrictions that prevent you from upgrading past a certain point. PoliceThe customization is....okay. The gameplay is....okay. The game story is....okay. But the loot boxes and the whole concept behind player progression is extremely strange and most of the time frustrating - there is no way you can bring a car you started with (or if you like an entry level car) because there are restrictions that prevent you from upgrading past a certain point. Police chases are completely non-existent, except is developed "missions" which are corny and force the player to follow a strict route with no creative freedom to "escape". I had so much anticipation that they would remake underground or most wanted style game....this is certainly not that. They should just remake one of those games for next gen systems.... Expand
  5. Nov 21, 2017
    0
    This game should win an award for best looking driving game with worst driving game mechanics. My car in real life passed it's MOT a few weeks ago at the local garage and had a few things in it that needed repairing and changing, all good to go. As you imagine, the mechanic did not upgrade it using cards aquired from legalised gambling. Oh EA... how many more awards do you want afterThis game should win an award for best looking driving game with worst driving game mechanics. My car in real life passed it's MOT a few weeks ago at the local garage and had a few things in it that needed repairing and changing, all good to go. As you imagine, the mechanic did not upgrade it using cards aquired from legalised gambling. Oh EA... how many more awards do you want after already earning the one for "Worst company In America". I used to love playing Road Rash and Skitchin, where has that version of EA gone? I'm glad I got a refund on this, so many other better games on the PS4. Expand
  6. Nov 20, 2017
    8
    I got the Deluxe Edition of this game for $47 dollars on the PSN store. So that's when I decided to buy it. I really like this game. The story if story is in a Fast and Furious style which I like. The characters are unique and have their quirks. The dialogue can be really cringy at times but I can get around that. The main gripe I have is with the loot box system. Some races I really hateI got the Deluxe Edition of this game for $47 dollars on the PSN store. So that's when I decided to buy it. I really like this game. The story if story is in a Fast and Furious style which I like. The characters are unique and have their quirks. The dialogue can be really cringy at times but I can get around that. The main gripe I have is with the loot box system. Some races I really hate to play over and over again to get the upgrades I need to make my car better. But I can finish races well below the recommend level. I also hate that you have to complete challenges to unlock certain customization parts, which really bothers me. But overall, I think this game is great! The car list is way better than the last Need for Speed game. The customization adds tire smoke, under glow, and nitrous color which is a warm welcome considering we haven't had customization as close to Underground 2 in quite some time. Money is easy to get with the new addition to side bets. And the cars are easy to control. I recommend getting this game to anybody looking for a new racing game. However, I cannot recommend at buying this at a full price due to a look box system and the card upgrade system. Get this when it comes on sale. Expand
  7. Nov 20, 2017
    8
    I was looking forward to this game for a while, but then severely disappointed in the reviews and commentary I saw about the game, including how dull it looked and terrible the voice acting and story seemed while watching videos of it.

    That said, this weekend I got bored and decided to buy it anyway, and I'm happy I did. I've played 22 hours this weekend (a testament to how fun I find
    I was looking forward to this game for a while, but then severely disappointed in the reviews and commentary I saw about the game, including how dull it looked and terrible the voice acting and story seemed while watching videos of it.

    That said, this weekend I got bored and decided to buy it anyway, and I'm happy I did. I've played 22 hours this weekend (a testament to how fun I find the game) and while I have had some performance hitches here and there, a few crashes and a couple glitches, it's not been enough to make me not want to just get into the game and play it.

    The story is dumb and most of the voice acting is terrible. I also don't care for how the drivers sometimes make comments while I'm driving in races, but when actually playing the game the story and voice acting isn't nearly as annoying as I thought it'd be watching videos. I also don't find any issue with the progression, as the only time I've had to grind races is when I've bought a new lower end car I want to build up to be better, and I have NEVER felt like I needed to spend money on crates, as I get plenty of resources by trading in cards, racing or just buying upgrades from the Tuner. If I wanted to avoid any grind whatsoever I could just go and buy a car from the dealership with a base rating as high or higher than recommended for a race, as money piles up easily (I usually have over 1 million in the bank at any time). I also find that you don't always have to match the rating of a race to win. I have beaten races while being over 30 ranks under the recommended level multiple times, although not all race types are as easy to do that with.

    I actually also enjoy the card system, as it gives me something to work for instead of just buying the best parts and being done with it, it gives me that loot grind fix (but it's not a bad loot grind). I like the driving model also, it's not realistic, but I can feel the difference between cars and I definitely have to tune some of them to get them to drive the best, like my drift car.

    The graphics looks excellent also, and I love the customization system, which was one of the things that pushed me to get the game, as I had loaded up The Crew again for something to play and was frustrated with the lack of choice on visual for some of the cars.

    All in all, it's a good game, and not nearly as bad as a lot of reviews make it out to be. I get the impression some of at least the more professional reviewers tried to blitz through the game/story as fast as possible to meet deadlines instead of just playing and enjoying the game, in which case I could see where they might have run into progression issues, especially if they didn't do a lot of trading in of cards they didn't want to just use card tokens to upgrade specific parts you want.

    I also wonder how many of the people posting reviews on here have actually played the game vs basing their opinions on other reviews or just hopping on the EA hate train. I dislike the things EA does, and fear for Respawn, who makes some of my favorite games, but people who just blindly hate on a game because of the publisher without actually playing the game (if that is indeed happening) should be ignored.
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  8. 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
  9. Nov 19, 2017
    0
    Need for Speed - Payback should be more honestly named EAs Stockholders Need for Cash - Paycheck. Just like Battlefront 2 you either have to really grind to make any progress, or pay to win. The whole thing is designed as online gambling and should not be encouraged by spending your money on it.
  10. Nov 19, 2017
    9
    I found this game a much better improvement than previous episodes. Others complain about the microtransactions, but obviously they haven't played this game much as they are not needed at all to progress well in the game. Also microtransactions are in so many other popular games now yet they don't complain about it there.
    First game in a while where I've really enjoyed progressing through
    I found this game a much better improvement than previous episodes. Others complain about the microtransactions, but obviously they haven't played this game much as they are not needed at all to progress well in the game. Also microtransactions are in so many other popular games now yet they don't complain about it there.
    First game in a while where I've really enjoyed progressing through the game as there are various rewards where you can choose how to spend them. Was unsure when I saw the trading cards of performance, but it actually makes it more fun in my opinion. Also, the fact you have to grind more but not unreasonably so, is great, makes it more meaningful when I win a race. Other people I guess want things to be a lot more easier which is a shame as I would get bored very quickly otherwise.
    The storyline is better than I thought, still cheesy but there are different race categories, drag, offroad, runner etc. and different sorts of missions which make it fun. The characters are again cheesy, average but it makes it more exciting compared to need for speed rivals where there are no faces at all, and just felt empty. Also love finding derelict cars in the middle of the map and finding their parts to create them.
    Multiplayer is also fun, have the speedlists so you play multiple events at a time with the same players, which I really enjoyed from need for speed most wanted 2012.
    Visuals are again beautiful, and love the customization options of the cars. Best part is the picture mode, where you can screenshot any moment, so when you are jumping you can take a picture of the car in the air which is really cool.
    One thing I think would need improvement is meaningful locations, I do miss places which have cool hidden parts to it or ramps, haven't found them as interesting in this game. But obviously they worked really hard at getting offroad stuff working well instead of being stuck behind barriers.
    Overall a solid racing game with great mechanics and scenery, and an enjoyable cheesy storyline.
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  11. Nov 19, 2017
    0
    Loot Boxes and grind. Gambling cards instead normal tuning. There is my mission before gaming community: to put 0 for each game with Loot Boxes. Especially Pay to win models and grind solo stories.
  12. Nov 19, 2017
    0
    The game is mediocre at best since the driving is okay mixed in with too many forced immersion breaking cutscenes, story is meh...cringy even, graphics are a stepdown compared older titles like Rivals and Most Wanted but gets the job done. All in all forgettable. But i am giving this game a score of 0. Why? Because This game is an infection of Microtransactions which is going to speed upThe game is mediocre at best since the driving is okay mixed in with too many forced immersion breaking cutscenes, story is meh...cringy even, graphics are a stepdown compared older titles like Rivals and Most Wanted but gets the job done. All in all forgettable. But i am giving this game a score of 0. Why? Because This game is an infection of Microtransactions which is going to speed up the process spearding throughout the gaming landscape. I just need a good racing game and not any card games, lootcrates BS. This is where i draw the line! Expand
  13. Nov 19, 2017
    1
    dont buy. no fun, no speed there is huge emptyness in this game. go and play midnight club los angeles and ignore this poor game. thanks ea for ruin the need for speed brand.
  14. Nov 18, 2017
    4
    I enjoyed single player. It was abit grindy sometimes where I had to repeat a race like 20 times to actually win ( Was one or two rally races I found pretty hard), and my car level was just about correct. And yes I played only on hard, even though thoughts did come after repeating a race alot of changing to medium, but I managed to hanlde that pressure and didnt change to medium lol II enjoyed single player. It was abit grindy sometimes where I had to repeat a race like 20 times to actually win ( Was one or two rally races I found pretty hard), and my car level was just about correct. And yes I played only on hard, even though thoughts did come after repeating a race alot of changing to medium, but I managed to hanlde that pressure and didnt change to medium lol I wanted to get the full tough experience. The fact that I had to do it 20 times doesnt neccesarily mean I didnt like it, yes I got fairly mad at times, but in the long run I am quite happy about the face that it was tough. Im upset that there are only like 5-6 story type missions, where in between them there are the same races, but that isnt necessarily bad either tbh, but they could have made it longer. I play on high settings and I didn ejoy the graphics, they are medium yes but they arent bad either, Id say they are good enough for 2017. The cars, the tuning the design I really enjoyed.. and I really hope they will add more cars soon. And they lost some rating from me for adding stupid card system for tuning your car, it was alot better even in NFS 2015.
    So either way il give the single player mode a 7/10 rating.

    The multiplayer mode, oh my god, I generally never thought that Need for Speed multiplayer racing could be so horrible, the lags when somebody is right behind you, and flips you out off the road, even though on your screen he didnt even touch you, the ridiculous balancing system, and the fact that there are only two types of races and no FREE ROAM.
    Regarding the free roam topic, first of all on the official site there was information, before release, that you will be able to free roam with your friends. Then they just edited it out right before release... Like what does that make them? Is that not fraud? If thats not fraud I dont what else is to be honest. Because to be honest that was one of my main reasons of purchasing the game, and thank god that I didnt buy the deluxe version.

    " Multiplayer
    Hit the streets and race to win. Take on challengers from all around the world as you compete to be the best.
    Compete in Speedlists, which are free events against friends, or challenge other players in Free Roam. There are two types of Speedlists:
    Casual: Casual Speedlists are 5-event tournaments. The best player is crowned at the end.
    Ranked: Ranked Speedlists track the performance of each player on a competitive ranking system."
    My rating for the need for speed multiplayer experience is 2/10. and 2 for the fact that it even exists....
    The customer support on EA is absolutly horribe, they have huge topics of people commenting the past week, and they dont even react, they cant even answer any questions, will there be the promised freeroam or not, I would understand if they told us " yes guys, it will be in a months time" Or somethoing, or even " No it wont be, we had problems" at least then I wouldnt have to waste my time waiting for it!!!!!

    Ok story mode.
    Terrible multiplayer.
    Terrible customer support.

    My overall rating for this game will be 4/10
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  15. Nov 17, 2017
    0
    EA another game youve ruined. Noone wants to upgrade their cars randomly.. through yet another "loot box" system.
    I really feel bad for every developer who youve got your hands on.
  16. Nov 17, 2017
    8
    Realy dont understand all that hate... Not the best nfs ever ( and i play them all) but is a good game. Easy finish the game without microtransactions. Sure you need to grind a little but for me, the gameplay is so funny that is good to replay the best tracks...
  17. Nov 17, 2017
    0
    Unfortunately. I was waiting for this game, the general concept behind it is nice, I don't really care that the plot is cheesy - it's just a racing game. Oh no, sorry. It's not a game. It is a slot machine, a gambling application with a possibility to play the game hidden behind this. At least there are lots of other racing games out there, that don't work like this, including older NFSUnfortunately. I was waiting for this game, the general concept behind it is nice, I don't really care that the plot is cheesy - it's just a racing game. Oh no, sorry. It's not a game. It is a slot machine, a gambling application with a possibility to play the game hidden behind this. At least there are lots of other racing games out there, that don't work like this, including older NFS installments. Expand
  18. Nov 17, 2017
    0
    These 3 are cancers of gaming experience :

    EA
    UBISOFT
    Activision

    Those 3 need some lessons from us , lets give them some / the IAPs need to go for good / premium games (60-100$) must not have IN APP PURCHASES
  19. Nov 16, 2017
    0
    i did not play this.,.,,.,.,.,,.,..,,.,m,.m,m.,,,,,..,.,,..,,.,.,,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,..mnm,,.,.,,.,.,,.,.,.,.,.,.,...........m,m,m.,m
  20. Nov 16, 2017
    0
    What happened to buying cool parts to add to your cars to make them better. Now you simply equip a card??? That you get from a lot box. How creative!!!
  21. Nov 16, 2017
    1
    I'm completely disappointed in progression system. Once i got first challenges with racing gangs I was pushed to replay older missions to get some money to get at least necessary upgrades. Or, of course, there was another way: to pay real money in the fullpriced game to get... money in the game. That is freakingly bad and I will try to refund the game.
    Worst racing game progression system
    I'm completely disappointed in progression system. Once i got first challenges with racing gangs I was pushed to replay older missions to get some money to get at least necessary upgrades. Or, of course, there was another way: to pay real money in the fullpriced game to get... money in the game. That is freakingly bad and I will try to refund the game.
    Worst racing game progression system ever. Worst NFS ever, despite of good handling and graphics. In the current state game should be named NFS: Refund.
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  22. Nov 16, 2017
    0
    Dont own the game, but making a statement on EA's microtransaction and card malpractices, buying a AAA title does not warrant me having to double up to get all the content. so instead of a 60$ game its a 120$ game
    check out Angry Joe's video on the subject on youtube -> ****
  23. Nov 15, 2017
    10
    I have had an absolute blast playing this game so far. I've the most fun in a Need For Speed game in years. I like this new take on the series and i hope the developers continue to build upon this. I love the wide variety of cars and the introduction of derelicts. It's extremely fun to rip through the canyons in a souped up 65' Mustang
  24. Nov 15, 2017
    0
    En cuanto a calidad EA cada dia retrocede y vaya que disfrute de los antiguos need for speed underground, se nota que no esta a la altura de las joyas antes creadas muy pobre el trabajo .. Basta de microtransacciones.
  25. Nov 15, 2017
    2
    Man....EA knows how to mess a game up huh.

    I didn't like all of the negativity that the last NFS game got because I actually enjoyed it, although I did like NFS Rivals a little more than that one. The grind in this game is unreal....like absolutely unreal. I couldn't even see this type of a grind in a FTP game let alone a game you pay $60 for. It's an absolute joke of a game and
    Man....EA knows how to mess a game up huh.

    I didn't like all of the negativity that the last NFS game got because I actually enjoyed it, although I did like NFS Rivals a little more than that one.

    The grind in this game is unreal....like absolutely unreal. I couldn't even see this type of a grind in a FTP game let alone a game you pay $60 for. It's an absolute joke of a game and isn't worth any of your time. Not even if this were a FTP game would it be worth your time by how absolute sh*t the grind is. I like to grind for some things but this grind is far and beyond unacceptable.

    The handling is good and the graphics are good, but graphics do have some issues sometimes and the draw distance seems to get messed up frequently.

    It's amazing that anyone would give this game above a 3. All of the user reviews that gave this game 9 and 10 are probably some company that EA hired out of India to give fake positive reviews from some unclean computer farm for a small fee. Almost every single person that gave this game a 10 has only 1 review for a game on metacritic....and that's NFS Payback.

    EA never ceases to amaze. After this and Battlefront 2s epic failure, I can easily see EA as the top hated company in the world once again after this miserable excuse of a racing game.
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  26. Nov 15, 2017
    0
    I’m not sure if this is even Need for Speed anymore. EA have screwed up again. The single player story isn’t anything special, they put action sequences like in the Fast and Furious films and surprise surprise. Loot boxes. For a full price game, are you **** kidding me? EA have **** up this year. No good games
  27. Nov 15, 2017
    0
    I have never imagined, that this game could be worse then the E3 presentation, but it is. Another example of AAA full-priced game based on gambling cards. Gameplay is not satisfying at all.
  28. Nov 15, 2017
    10
    Don't listen to all of the people giving this game zero's 1's, 2's, etc. Need for Speed Payback is a great game! Probably the best in the series since Hot Pursuit, 2010. The story is your typical NFS fare, but the handling, gameplay, and racing is all a major step up from Need for Speed 2015. There are tons of cars to drive, the customization is top quality, and Police are challenging!Don't listen to all of the people giving this game zero's 1's, 2's, etc. Need for Speed Payback is a great game! Probably the best in the series since Hot Pursuit, 2010. The story is your typical NFS fare, but the handling, gameplay, and racing is all a major step up from Need for Speed 2015. There are tons of cars to drive, the customization is top quality, and Police are challenging! Only real downside is no free roam police as police only show up during missions and in bait crates, which activate police pursuits on command. IMO this game is a solid 8/10, but I'm going to be giving it a 10 to help even out the 1's and 0's which are very much undeserved. Expand
  29. Nov 15, 2017
    10
    Lots of reviews complaining about the loot boxes not to many that actually review the game some people saying its play to win , they are lying, sorry you have to grind like every other game, and just because they put in a system so you CAN buy packages, does not mean its play to win, you can play the whole game without buying anything, and to the people complaining about about grindingLots of reviews complaining about the loot boxes not to many that actually review the game some people saying its play to win , they are lying, sorry you have to grind like every other game, and just because they put in a system so you CAN buy packages, does not mean its play to win, you can play the whole game without buying anything, and to the people complaining about about grinding shut up and get out of video games, this is the way games are now , just like any other game there going to try and make more money then just off the purchase of the game, now enough ranting of those idiots, If your looking for a need for speed game then its here , go out and try the game ! Expand
  30. Nov 15, 2017
    10
    This game is awesome. Yes, I agree with the complains that people have but this game is great. Reminds me a little of Destiny 1. It plays very very well even if that may be the only thing it excels at but I guess it's a game after all, meant to be played and I can't put it down.
Metascore
61

Mixed or average reviews - based on 59 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 59
  2. 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. 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.