Need for Speed Payback

Based on its world and racing alone, Need for Speed Payback was a lot of fun.But where Payback really disappointed is in its progression system. I miss the days of simply driving to races, placing, earning money, using that money to upgrade my car and...

Need For Speed Payback doesn’t do many favors for itself. It’s a fun racing game whose flashy story would be fine if I felt like I was building a blinged-out career worthy of it. Instead, I felt driven toward pure stats upgrades, heedless of what the car was or what it looked like.

Need for Speed: Payback is the first full-price game to be irredeemably ruined by loot boxes. It probably won't be the last.

The story shouldn't be a major consideration in the critique of a racing game, but story is an obvious major concern in Need for Speed: Payback 's design. The evidence is in the promotional material. Initial hype suggested I'd be able to immerse myself...

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But it's hard getting angry at Need for Speed Payback when instead a more fitting reaction seems to be one of complete apathy. I feel for developer Ghost Games, and after its promising debut with 2013's Rivals this clearly talented studio's spirit seems to have been crushed by the sheer weight of Need for Speed and the corporate burden it carries. In its hands the series has gone from accomplished to flawed to this, a joyless obligation of a game.

Need for Speed Payback is a well-designed sandbox that's at its most entertaining when you ignore what's supposed to be the core of the game. The story is a dud, and the game's Ultimate Team-inspired upgrade system is an attempt to force a square peg...

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. The unnecessary narrative ultimately holds the game back, but it’s a blast once the world is made available to the player. The off-road racing is addicting and the search for Derelicts could remain a mainstay with the franchise moving forward.