This franchise’s appeal is tied up in the thrill of burning rubber through fantastic races. Mind you, Need For Speed has never been renowned for great plots. Even worse, in some instances what looks like the set up for a juicy set-piece – such as hijacking a supercar from a semi-truck on a highway – turns into a cutscene, wrenching control from the player entirely. Hilarity ensues.Īctually, hilarity doesn’t ensue, because the major events that mark the campaign’s progression are generic to say the least. Seems The House is trying to fix all the races around Fortune Valley, so in the interests of justice and payback, the team decide to take down this organisation one race at a time. After being betrayed by a business partner at the behest of a shady gambling syndicate called The House, the team relocate out of town and plot their revenge. The game’s campaign is set in the Las Vegas-esque Fortune Vally, and it centres on a trio of obnoxious street racers and their laconic mechanic. It’s just a pity that this is where the goodwill for this game stops on a dime. Whether players are kicking up dust on an off-road race or gliding through the night on a runner mission, Need For Speed: Payback looks the part and then some. Thanks to the Frostbite engine, which seems to issue forth better-looking visuals across EA’s games on an annual basis, racing through this game’s myriad missions is eye-candy on speed.

Visually it doesn’t scale the heights enjoyed by Forza 7 or Gran Turismo: Sport, but it’s still a very pretty-looking racer. The fact that a game sold at full price at retail has microtransactions in it is bad enough, but what’s worse is that action here is bland to the point of banality.įirst, let’s get the positives out of the way Need For Speed: Payback looks stunning.

To be blunt, this game is one of the worst the franchise has seen for a while and a depressing signifier of things to come.

To say Need For Speed: Payback is a disappointment is an understatement.

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