"Need for Speed: Payback" is yet another attempt by the franchise to bring back its former glory. But it feels so sluggish, as if the devs sat in a meeting saying, "Let's make it awesome again, like we used to!" and then went, "Uh... how?" The result is a game that seems to have ambition and ideas, but in the end comes with the same bland aftertaste as the more recent entries.
There's a story, and it even tries to matter. Three protagonists team up to take down a mafia-like organization that controls everything in Fortune Valley. The city itself feels like it was stitched together from scraps of Las Vegas, the Nevada desert, and a generic "NFS city." Each character has their own type of racing, and the in-race banter is... let's just say, more annoying than fun. Sometimes you just wish they'd shut up so you could nail that corner properly.
Gameplay-wise, everything is familiar: standard races, drifting, drag, off-road, and police chases. But it all feels a little flavorless. On paper, it should be exciting, but in practice it's just ticking boxes on a map. The idea of collecting parts for "derelict" cars-old, rare rides-sounded great, but scouring the map for fragments quickly turns into a grind. More like treasure hunting mixed with boredom.
The cops are here, sure. They'll chase you around. But after "Most Wanted" or even "Hot Pursuit", these guys feel like part-timers. Too easy to outrun, trick, or simply drive past. There's no bite, no tension, no drama-nothing that makes chases memorable.
Thankfully, tuning survived. Fans of tinkering, repainting, bolting on spoilers, and rebuilding their cars from scratch will be happy. The car roster is big, customization is deep, and it's genuinely fun to mess around with. This is easily one of the game's stronger points. The graphics deserve a nod too: a proper day-night cycle, detailed environments, shiny cars, and pretty landscapes. It all looks solid-no complaints here.
But visuals and customization can't replace soul. The game works, you race, you finish it-but it feels like a pale copy of the series' golden years. Did I play it? Sure. Did I race? Yeah. Did I enjoy it? A little. But the thrill, the urge to immediately jump back into another race, just isn't there. That spirit from "Underground", "Hot Pursuit", or "Most Wanted" (2005-not the dreary 2012 one) is missing. Everything seems in place, but the fun is gone.
"Need for Speed: Payback" is a decent enough ride for an evening or two. But if you remember the trembling excitement of losing the cops down back alleys in the classics, "Payback" will feel like a meal without salt. You can eat it, sure-but it won't leave you satisfied.
6 out of 10.
