Need speed payback review11/9/2022 ![]() ![]() And this must be done with multiple car types, not just one, since offroad, drift, drag, race, and runner vehicles all have separate upgrade paths. The result is you either invest time grinding or spend real money multiple times to get up to snuff, or alternately feel consistently underpowered in every race you enter. The further into the game you go, the longer it takes to reach the next story event’s power threshold. Growth is tied to random improvements on sale at any given time at the tune-up shop, along with a literal slot machine mechanic – all of which tie back to currencies obtainable through real-world purchases. ![]() Instead of giving you clear control over how to make a car better, you’re forced into a strange confluence of currencies, speed cards, spare parts, and numerical values. In what I can only presume is an effort to extend the life of the game and encourage engagement with the microtransaction system, improving the performance of your rides is a slow and poorly paced process. Payback’s greatest sin is its infuriating progression mechanics. Until the late game, street races lack the speed and control that can make a game like this feel tense. Police chases don’t have the urgency and challenge of earlier franchise entries. Drifting is oversimplified and imprecise. Handling across all the car types is often loose and vaguely out of my control. No matter the vehicle, I struggled to enjoy the feel of the rubber against the road, or to really recognize how any one car in a given class was different from another. In practice, between collecting parts from cryptic road maps, rebuilding the vehicles, and upgrading them, these versatile rides end up feeling like they’re simply not worth the ample effort required to make them viable competitors. Ostensibly, it’s built to let you find the parts to an old car and rebuild it into a monster. It’s too bad that the derelict car system is so tiresome. Modding your car’s visual style is versatile, but never feels especially meaningful or worth the time and money. The cars you drive through these attractive settings are varied and cool to look at. Tons of events, races, and activities can be tackled around the map, and I appreciate the breadth of content, even if some of the races feel like copies of events I already completed. The open world has plenty of billboards to smash through, switchback roads to drift along, and secret collectibles to track down. On the bright side, the open world of Payback captures the stark beauty of the southwest United States, with the glitzy trash of Vegas, the sprawling deserts of Nevada, and the jagged rocks of southern Utah. ![]() After “crushing it” and “doing it for the streets” with “drifting anarchist hackers” for several dozen hours, I found myself longing for the nuanced scripting of a Jason Statham film. With each new stereotypical character intro, plot beat, and dialogue line, the vapid storytelling made me wince a little more, right up until the unfulfilling and anticlimactic ending. Tyler and his crew have been betrayed, and they’re out for revenge against the nebulous threat of “The House,” a shady organization that runs the Need For Speed analog of Las Vegas. Payback is like being behind the wheel of a riding mower as you cut the lawn of a beautiful estate it may be pretty and have lots to look at, but it’s still a tedious chore. The sheer scope of activities is impressive at first, but consistent technical problems, hackneyed storytelling, uneven balancing, and a wildly frustrating progression system all combine to sap the fun. In pursuit of that novelty, Payback throws an enormous array of activities at the wall to see what might stick, including car customization, police chases, drifting, collectibles, offroad jumps, blink-and-you-miss-them drag races, and supercar highway sprints. ![]() Need For Speed has repeatedly attempted to reinvent itself, trying out new twists within the arcade racing milieu to stay fresh after 20 years of releases. ![]()
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