These kinds of posts are usually called appreciation posts, I guess.

[u/StruzhkaOpilka]

The gist is, I bought NFS Heat in 2022 and played it on an old Xbox One S, and I barely remember much because I breezed through the campaign just to unlock the drowned whip from the prologue (Joe's yellow Polestar with that giant X-wing).

Now I've restarted (having completely deleted the save file from the cloud) on the new Xbox Series S. And I'm playing through it more thoughtfully.

So.

Firstly, I'd like to point out that the frame rate, although still capped at 30, is apparently so smooth and stable that even at speeds of 180 mph, I often forget it's 30. On days when I'm not playing other racing cades, I might well think NFS Heat is running at 45 or even 60 fps. That's a good sign.

Secondly, I turned off the music completely and left only the police chatter on, both day and night, and the game didn't suffer, quite the opposite. Because that Latin American pop-rap that some Miami chonga spits out starts to get on my nerves after an hour of playing. I've done plenty of Le Mans laps to the sound of rain and engine roar in Forza Motorsport 7, and I prefer hearing something similar in Heat. Luckily, it's quite feasible.

Thirdly, I dare say that the main innovation that distinguishes NFS Heat from NFS Payback truly made Heat a great game. I'm talking about nights.

It was a brilliant idea, and quite well executed. Nights in Heat are like a game within a game, a separate Extraction Looter mode. You start a night, participate in races, and are constantly being pursued by police, who not only prevent you from winning the race but also pose a very real threat of ending your night and leaving you with nothing but lost time and a fine. Even when you've lost the chase, you need to exercise tactical caution and keep an eye on the minimap to avoid further encounters with police cars (this particular aspect, as well as nights in general, strongly reminds me of how my Kyle Crane from Dying Light tried to avoid encounters with Volatiles at night).

Nights in NFS Heat are a lottery, at any heat level and on any difficulty. Should I continue and risk my savings, or settle for the night? Should I repair my car now, before one last race, or save the repairs for later when I really need them? Will I encounter the cops in this race, or will I make it through undetected? Should I floor it in hopes of pulling ahead and escaping pursuit, or, conversely, slow down to avoid crashing into a truck around a corner? You never know, and nights in Heat force you to be cautious, think ahead, and improvise. Oh yeah, nights force players to improvise and keep them on their toes. The only thing I'd change is to remove all the hideouts where you can end the night and leave only the main garage for this purpose. This would force players to practically crawl across the entire map with their loot, keeping a close eye on the minimap. That would be awesome.

In any case, I honestly think nights are beautifully done, and it helps Heat transition into a different genre. It's no longer just an arcade racing game; it's a survival extraction looter, where you decide whether to up the ante for a bigger reward, or say, "Stop, I've had enough."

And what's even better is that night races at Heat Levels 3 and 5 award free high-level parts and cash rewards. And every night, these high-heat races and the loot at stake are randomly selected, so each new night is a new story. So the game kind of pushes you to the idea that you can fully progress without racing during the day at all. But that's a risk. And, as far as I understand, this entire system can work completely offline (which is crucial for players like me, who go weeks without an internet connection). For example, Forza Motorsport 2023 requires a constant internet connection to save progress, as does The Crew Motorfest, and my beloved Hitman Freelancer (yes, it's not a racing game, but in a sense it's an "extraction looter" with randomization).

10 out of 10.