NASCAR Heat 5

I think that the biggest thing that will hurt this game is the versions that came before it. I’m not sure people will spend the money on the latest edition if they’re still having fun on the last few entries. The career mode is worth the jump I think, and the more people that do will ultimately find themselves filling up multiplayer lobbies too. While the base price of the game is $49.99, ten dollars cheaper than most triple A titles, it should be an easy buy if you haven’t played a NASCAR Heat title before. But if you’re still having fun with any of the previous iterations you may choose to wait for a sale.

NASCAR aficionados will likely love getting more action where they can, especially with the cancellation of events due to the pandemic at this time, but those that like a more varied racer might want to look elsewhere. If you want to dip your toes in the NASCAR water though, and find out why it’s more than just turning left, HEAT 5 could well be a good shout.

If you skipped last year’s NASCAR Heat 4 and are looking to pick up a new NASCAR game, NASCAR Heat 5 is the one to grab, no doubt. It is indeed the best NASCAR game to date. There’s such a small margin between them, however, that unless you’ve got a wad of cash burning a hole in your pocket, there’s no real reason to pick this up if you do already own NASCAR Heat 4. Hopefully there’ll be some genuine new features and improvements in next year’s inevitable NASCAR Heat 6.

That familiarity with what's lacking is repeated throughout NASCAR Heat 5 in both good and bad ways. Sure, it's a yearly update and to expect too much would be foolish, but this game really feels like NASCAR Heat 4. In a good way, nothing got worse and long-term fans will be able to jump right in and have an enjoyable time. On the other hand...could this have just been a DLC for NASCAR Heat 4?

If you’ve played NASCAR Heat 4, you’ll know exactly what to expect from the latest sequel. I mean that almost literally, as the main complaints from the community is that it’s essentially the same game with the 2020 season liveries and driver updates. If you already own last year’s outing, there’s not much reason to upgrade unless you’re a die-hard fan, but if you’re new to the series or skipped a few of the last ones, NASCAR Heat 5 is a great starting point, even for amateurs to the sport.

The evolution of the NASCAR saga has taken a step forward with this Heat 5.

With these criticisms in mind, it's hard to recommend NASCAR Heat 5 to players who already own the still-excellent NASCAR Heat 4, but for those who have either never played a racing game or haven't bought one in years, the game is a perfectly fine option. Annoying technical issues and lack of innovation aside, this is a polished racing simulator that takes every gameplay element that worked so well last year and improves them. One could make the argument that that simply isn't enough to justify a AAA price tag, and there's certainly a lot of merit in such an argument. Overall, however, NASCAR Heat 5 is a healthy serving of familiar racing fun that's still head and shoulders above a lot of other sports simulators available on today's market.