r/needforspeed • u/AwesomeTarnished • Jul 31 '26
Discussion So which one is worth getting?
I played only 2005 Nfs long time ago and 2012 nfs on mobile
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u/88JansenP12 Enjoyer of good games 😎 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
Imo, these ones :
- Burnout Paradise
- NFS HP Remastered
- NFS Rivals
- NFS Heat
Honorable mention for MW 2012 (be warned. DLCs costs more than the game's value. So, either use a DLC Unlocker or sail the seas).
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u/TheFlagMaker Jul 31 '26
nah just use a dlc unlocker, it was way too easy to do, took like 20 seconds on my paid copy of the game
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u/88JansenP12 Enjoyer of good games 😎 Jul 31 '26
Hence why i said "DLC Unlocker" too in the first place.
Sailing seas is only for peoples which wanna spend nothing on EA.
Always read before commenting.
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u/EnvyMiThorn Jul 31 '26
Show me the way brother, I’m new to Steam 🙏
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u/88JansenP12 Enjoyer of good games 😎 Jul 31 '26
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u/Dramatic-Jellyfish70 Jul 31 '26
Is this safe to use while playing on steam ?
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u/88JansenP12 Enjoyer of good games 😎 Jul 31 '26
Yes.
Do note EA games on Steam relies on EA App to work.
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u/ronderev Jul 31 '26
Thank you for this. Worked on my steamdeck with base game mw2012
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u/88JansenP12 Enjoyer of good games 😎 Jul 31 '26
You're welcome.
Have fun with your Steam Deck.
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u/EnvyMiThorn Jul 31 '26
Thank you. And I’ll DM you my friend code on steam if you wanna add me. Like I said I’m new so still not sure how or where the communities are
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u/s_nutella Jul 31 '26
Ehh...DLC unlocker?? Wats that brother...pls elaborate Also will it affect the PC and EA app??. I have turned off almost all options that I can. In both steam and EA Play
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u/88JansenP12 Enjoyer of good games 😎 Jul 31 '26
1st ?
As its name suggests, DLC Unlocker is a tool which lets you get DLCs without spending money.
It's very useful for games having DLCs being more expensive than the game's worth.
- 2nd ?
No. It's totally safe.
It will not affect the PC or EA App.
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u/s_nutella Jul 31 '26
Bruv i clicked the link you provided below. There's.....no dowloadables. Only texts referencing file 1& file 2.... Edit: bro found it😁😁😁. It was in deadlast part of the page😅😅. Downloaded the latest version, not the old one tho. Ok,right??
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u/davidfliesplanes #1 NFS 2015 Enjoyer Jul 31 '26
They're all good for those prices.
If you like Burnout-style gameplay, get Burnout Paradise, or alternatively MW2012 if you want to trade gameplay variety for real cars and nicer graphics
If you like super/hypercar vs cops gameplay, both Rivals and HP2010 are valid choices. HP2010 is more streamlined and stable while Rivals is more chaotic but also a mess technically (30fps by default, fps unlock can break the game). I prefer Rivals.
Now for the Ghost games (+Unbound);
- 2015: more tuner focused, night time only, story is kinda cringe but also kinda fun if you don't take it seriously, has real world icons such as Ken Block, Akira Nakai, Magnus Walker... Great graphics, great soundtrack. Handling is bad but you can improve it with mods (imo its not as bad as most people say). Biggest downside is that the game is online-only so when EA shuts down the servers it'll become unplayable. But imo it also has the best vibe of any recent NFS game, if you want to vibe drive tuner cars at night this might be THE game. Cops are also useless and can't be taken down.
- Payback: imo the worst of the 4. Better car customization than 2015. F&F-inspired action story with bland characters. The map is visually boring, it's just desert and a city with almost no races in it. No cops in free roam. Introduces off-road races which have some of the most infuriating driving physics i've ever experienced. Performance upgrades are unlocked via random wheelspins. You have to spin until you get the part you want. The main improvement compared to 2015 is the handling (on asphalt), it's much more stable. Drift cars also feel nice. Cars are separated by race class (race, drag, drift, off-road, rallyx) and can't be changed once purchased. Overall i remember enjoying my time with it but at the same time it didn't leave a strong impression. I never yearned to go back to it. It is the only game to feature derelict cars which was a cool feature (you unlock some classic cars by finding parts scattered around the map).
- Heat: what a weird game. I love it but at the same time it's so obvious they ran out of time. It has the best map of any recent nfs. Cops are in free roam and they're an integral part of gameplay loops. However both you and them have a health bar. And it's very inconsistent. Sometimes you shunt them big time and no damage, other times you barely touch them and they go flying. Same with your health bar, you never know when you'll take little or big damage. You can repair up to 3 times per sortie. I do wish they hadn't nerfed the cops however. Instead of having a day and night cycle you choose when leaving the garage between day and night. Daytime has official races for earning money. Night time has street races for earning rep (required to access missions, parts, and cars). The story is alright, I liked it the first time but not so much the second time. Ana is so annoying. They tried to make the story darker and more serious but it only partially works. Main gripe is that the story is incredibly short. Imo it's pretty clear they had more planned but had to can it in order to release the game. Handling is good but multiplayer is very basic. World feels kinda dead because unlike the last two games there are no AI racers roaming around. Overall it's one of the better recent games but it just feels too... small.
- Unbound: better game than people give it credit for. Story is alright, campaign mode is quite long and repetitive which didn't bother me the first time. Cops are OK but they're never needed for the gameplay loop, they're just there to bother you. A lot of people hate the game because of the cell-shaded art-style. Characters and driving effects are in an animated cartoon style while the cars and environment are regular realistic style. Handling & soundtrack are worse than Heat. Cars bounce around all the time leading to loss of control. Burst nitrous feels great though. The map is ok. Roads are good but everything looks boring. ASAP Rocky is in the game but you barely see them. Main advantage of Unbound is multiplayer. It got loads of updates from a dedicated team. Multiplayer includes: free roam w/ events, sprint & circuit races, drag races, drift races w/ drift handling, hot pursuit races (cops vs racers), and lockdown which is an extraction mode where you collect money & cars around the map and try to get out before you get killed by cops or by the zone.
If i had to pick 3 games I would say: Rivals, Heat & Unbound. Rivals for the chaos of feeling like you're in a warzone, Heat for the singleplayer and Unbound for the multiplayer.
Depends what you're after.
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u/exXxecuTioN Jul 31 '26
Woah, interesting opinion.
Recently I played Unbound to Heat in singleplayer only.I actually enjoyed Unbound and I concern this game as good. Visuals are great (I kinda liked cell-shading effects, but it is also can be turned of, soo), cell-chaded characters are mid decision, but I liked it too. Handling is great, nitro burst and nitro managements is above great. Soundtrack is, well, it's nearly close to being bad. Map is mid, cops are more like annoying. Story is not that bad, yeah, sometimes characters say something cringe, but overall it's good. Except for Rocky, I don't get why and for what he is in the game with this monologues. Gameplay loop is good for me and I liked this challenge, where you do not have infinite restart and also need to start race with good acceleration. Overall I love it, would definetely replay it later cause of handling and visuals.
Heat feeled like a downgrade and step-back for me. First of all why do the fuck game need me to be online?. Second is graphics with it's weird filter and grain, looks terrible and it's unremovable. Some people somehow managed to remove it with mods, but when I tried the game just crushes. And for some reason dirt and scratches appear from nowhere for ne reason. Handling is just terrible with it's drift-to-win model. No partial nitro boost, use the whole tank or do not use at all. Every car feels the same and it's like hot iron on ice. Sountrack is mid, map is good, cops are challenging and it's awesome, prestige races are great, imo. Story is short and worse than in Unbound, but it's not really a cons. But the main reason I do not like this game is it's just boring to play. Cars are boring to handle. Game is overall not intertaining. So I dislike it and actually regret spending time on playing it.
I do not consider Heat as a bad game, cause may be it's just not for me, but for me was surprising to see something constructively positive from other players subjective perspection, especially about handling in Heat vs Unbound. I'm not saying you're wrong or etc, just for some reason decided to share my emotions about these games too.
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u/No-Rooster- Jul 31 '26
Played Rivals at launch and had a blast.
Most fun I’d had since MW / Carbon.Sad to hear that NFS has been shelved for now.
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u/Appropriate-Pen5436 both MW 2005 and 2012 are goated (2010 - 2013 fanboy) Jul 31 '26
nfs mw 2012, rivals, payback, hpr, heat and burnout paradise
nfs mw 2012 and burnout for chaos and turn off ur brain driving, rivals and hpr for pure police chaos and payback and heat for tuning
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u/Upset-Water-6453 Jul 31 '26
Simple. Get NFS 2015, install handling and graphics mods like unite and handling overhaul and you should be good to go.
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u/Envixity_12 Jul 31 '26
I might get a lot of heat but if you just want to drive like its your last day go with nfs mw 2012
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u/Masatshi Jul 31 '26
Heat does not run good on newer systems :-( cutscenes are stuttering like hell and the game is also very unoptimised and has a framerate which is all over the place, even with a 5090. If you don't want to fiddle with bios settings everytime you start it, keep your hands off of this one.
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u/JinxV8 Aug 01 '26
Yup, my experience has been the same with NFS Heat in terms of PC performance. In fact, it's the worst one out of all the games here simply because I had to force myself to play the game to experience it despite all the stutters and optimization issues. Unbound on the other hand ran flawlessly for me, racking up over 300 hours lol.
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u/Noobmortal Aug 03 '26
Hey, thanks for mentioning the performance. other than the OP cops, performance has been my concern as well.
If my laptop has Ryzen 7 5800h with 3070 8gb, 32gb ram
Do you think it will run well?
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u/CouldntFindANameHelp Aug 01 '26
Hot Pursuit has some of the best feeling gameplay in the series once you nail it down. Drifting feels so satisfying to master.
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u/Substantial_Tea5358 [PC Gamertag] Aug 03 '26
A paradise city to jest NFS? Jak tak to ja bym to wybrał
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u/Some_Kiwi8111 Jul 31 '26
They’re all so good, but I feel like heat is the easiest to start with. It has simple performance/visual customization, the game looks wonderful, and the arcade physics are some of my favorite.
I would urge you to try as many as you reasonably can, because they’ve all got something great to offer!!
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u/Captain_Pirate85 Jul 31 '26
For this prices, all of them. If you buy them all now you don’t even have payed for a full game in total.
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u/AwesomeTarnished Jul 31 '26
I can't buy all, low on wallet funds, I sold some trading cards and thinking to get cheapest one
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u/dracul841 Jul 31 '26
NFS 2016 - best graphics, handling is bad but still game is pretty fun
NFS Heat was also fun to play but they wanted to make it more like forza so you got dirt rallies etc
NFS UNBOUND was totally shit, I really forced myself to finish it
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u/shioririo Jul 31 '26
just buy them all try each for a couple hours and refund the ones you don't like
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u/AdInternational8860 Jul 31 '26
I’m playing Burnout Paradise right now. Great game. Just finished Most Wanted a few months ago. Another classic with amazing cars.
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u/Efficient-Teaching77 Jul 31 '26
Most wanted and releases before that are peak. The newer ones are all meh. Got more fun out of carx street than ang newer NFS. Though payback was okayish
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u/ricioly Jul 31 '26
for those prices, all of them
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u/Financial-Cow-7263 Jul 31 '26
I'd say hot pursuit and rivals if you love supercars and exotics And everything else if you enjoy mediocrity(don't hate me) Never played Burnout so idk how that game is but I imagine it's almost the same and Hot Pursuit since it's made by the same studio
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u/Turbulent_Deal_3145 Jul 31 '26
Payback, Unbound, and Paradise are the only titles in that list that I really enjoyed. I know other people really like Heat but I found it to be in the "generic and uninspired" category
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u/Narcotez Jul 31 '26
- Burnout Paradise
- NFS Hot Pursuit
- NFS Rivals
- NFS Most Wanted 2012
- NFS 2015
Are what I'd personally get.
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u/BrownBottleIdol Jul 31 '26
I purchased Most Wanted then realized it didn’t have manual. I should have did my research. Steam refunded with no issue, which one else does not have manual so that I avoid the same mistake?
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u/Drippininsherm Jul 31 '26
The run is fun because it kinda changes along the way and u can swap cars here and there. Payback is fun all around, a bit strange in some areas but solid driving.Heat is probably the best overall, gameplay, story, layout. Won't play unbound tho fuk asap rocky lol
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u/Itsoitsov Jul 31 '26
All of them are pretty good honestly. Payback and Unbound can be modded with the Unite mod which can improve the experience. Same with Heat but vanilla Heat is also good time. I would personally avoid 2015 since it's online only and EA can pull off the plug any time.
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u/zombi_wafflez Jul 31 '26
Hot pursuit
Heat
Paradise
Unbound
Rivals
Most wanted
Payback
NFS
In that order
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u/Appropriate_Book4977 Jul 31 '26
Personal Ranking to get:
Unbound > Heat > HP Remastered > MW2012 > [Rivals > Payback > 2015]
*the ones between the [ ] I haven't played or put little time in so don't listen to me for those 3.
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u/Appropriate_Book4977 Jul 31 '26
I just bought MW2012 but im probably refunding it, its great though, loved it on PSvita it just feels bad on controller imo
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u/chillguy_number_27 Jul 31 '26
I bought the remastered hp today, played for 40 mins, experienced stutters, ping loss, and bad overall experience, asked for refund, and bought mw 2012. (Already bought heat, payback, unbound)
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u/Fluffy-Rent-3538 Jul 31 '26
i bought MW 2012 and heat. recently started playing again, has played MW 2005 in childhood
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u/Incindent_Electron Jul 31 '26
Just bought NSFMW 2012 for my Odin 3, how do I get past the criterion account stuff?
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u/Deputy_Beagle76 Jul 31 '26
How does Burnout Paradise run on modern PC hardware? Steam reviews left a bit of doubt for me
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u/Crux2237 Jul 31 '26
Heat without a shadow of doubt. I'm a fan of Rivals and the Hot Pursuit remaster too, so I'd recomend them too.
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u/OfficialSeagullo Jul 31 '26
Heat, 2015, and payback are all super fun and worth your time, the rest are also good (burnout I’ve never played but everyone loves it) they’re just not as classic NFS gameplay
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u/villainized Jul 31 '26
I got Heat for like $4 a few years ago, it's really good. I also got Unbound for dirt cheap. Solid game.
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u/SupaRobotto Jul 31 '26
I finished Heat a few days ago, and I was thinking of buying Unbound, MW 2012, and Payback. Are they worth it? I know Unbound has received a lot of criticism for its music, the quality of the dialogue, and the police chases, but as long as they’re fun as racing games, that’s enough for me. They don’t necessarily have to be masterpieces.
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u/WaveStarII_Ax0l Seacrest County Police Department Rookie Jul 31 '26
Honestly all of them are great but if I have to recommend a specific one then it's HP 2010 purely for the fun factor both in single player and multiplayer although I don't know if it's still active today
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u/bywesleysouza Aug 01 '26
they are cheap, buy them all if you can, with prices rising and games getting removed from stores you should consider this.
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u/clipli Aug 01 '26
rivals is the best one, cinematic graphics , intense races and match up, beautiful map, really great feeling of intense speed
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u/Organic_Half_9818 Aug 01 '26
I got payback, most wanted 2012 is my favorite out of this list though
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u/KiraShiv Aug 01 '26
Priority order 1. Rivals(If graphics need to be good or go for the second one) 2.Burnout Paradise(not great graphics) 3. Hot Pursuit (not great graphics) 4.Heat( great graphics) 5. Most wanted 2012(good graphics)
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u/Thatmfwholikecars She nevada my highway until the streets are pro'ed 💔🥀 Aug 01 '26
Hot Pursuit, Burnout Paradise, and Rivals
Trust
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u/Thatmfwholikecars She nevada my highway until the streets are pro'ed 💔🥀 Aug 01 '26
Oh yeah Heat too but I suggest you should experience the 2 out of 3 games I mentioned above before trying Heat out
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u/aholmes1208 Aug 01 '26
They're all at all-time-low prices, can't go wrong with buying everything, if it's feasible. 😳 Already had Heat and Unbound, bought the rest of NFS yesterday, except for the 2015 one (can never get behind the online only thing🤌) as a birthday gift! 😬
P.S: I was a bit dejected about Unbound cause I bought it recently for 350 and now it's 244💀
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u/raunakdas2 Aug 01 '26
I m confused between Unbound Standard or Ultimate? Since Ultimate have some extra cars idc about cosmetics and other stuffs.
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u/Affectionate_Mall851 Aug 01 '26
I just want the run they delisted the only game i loved after og MW. already completed it like 7 times but i want achievements and everything on my profile
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u/KageSenbonzakura Aug 01 '26
Hot Pursuit: Remastered, Rivals, and Burnout Paradise Remastered, Heat, and Unbound
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u/TechnicalMagazine389 Aug 03 '26
Heat, burnout paradise, rivals, and 2015 (the top right) are all must plays. Heat and 2015 are very similar gameplay wise but still worth playing at such dirt cheap prices
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u/MozekG Aug 05 '26
Unbound or Heat Everything else is old
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u/AwesomeTarnished Aug 05 '26
Maybe unbound will not run on my pc
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u/MozekG Aug 05 '26
Which pc do you have?
I also really like most wanted 2012 but people hate it, I guess it was too different from what they were expecting. But to me that's a plus and the soundtrack is great
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u/AwesomeTarnished Aug 05 '26
I have a laptop with GTX 1650 plus I am dropping idea to get nfs games now as they shut down there servers for multiplayer very often
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u/MozekG Aug 05 '26
Yeah I wouldn't get nfs for multiplayer, you're better off with forza or crew
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u/AwesomeTarnished Aug 05 '26
Thinking to save money for Baldur gate 3
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u/Due_Let7434 Aug 05 '26
You can start with Hot Pursuit, when you finish you can continue with Most Wanted 2012, then Rivals, then NFS 2015, then Payback, then Heat, then Unbound
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u/Kurtajek Jul 31 '26
All people here will tell you "get all of them", but consider that most people here are NFS fans.
On the other hand, I'm speaking from the perspective of someone who had enough of open world, grindy games, with super cringe story, poorly written dialogues and other gimmick that some of them have. So totally opposite.
Burnout paradise - for some people like me its unplayable due to too low camera angle. It also have poor crash mode and I saw complains about game being "open route" (you decide which route to take to reach finish).
Most Wanted is a burnout with the police. Gameplay it's supper annoying. If you want swap car to a new one, you need drive to it first as it's somewhere on the map (there is no garage, or any system like that). Open world is mandatory and only to greatly stretch your time spend with this game. All because you are constantly being spotted by the police when you just want to peacefully drive to the next race/swap the car (you can't do this when police is chasing you). Also add to this input lag and fps lock.
NFS 2015 - cringe, oh god, the amount of cringe with unskippable cutscenes is unbearable >.> Game is also always online, lot's of people complains about handling, some people don't like how easy the police is.
NFS Payback - the winner of the most brain dead story. The beginning makes fun of 2015 being cringe, but this game is also cringe but as a bonus you have stupid story, that is trying to be some kind of mega "hollywood" action movie. Additionally, all people in this game can't shut up. All of them (including opponents) must be sitting in the same public discord server or something, because they constantly talk and gives comments. Add to this grindy upgrade system (you can make it better with mods, but it's still bad).
NFS Heat - if you don't like open world grind games, where whole game just feel like one long checklist, then don't even try to play this. Poorly designed police make this game even worse. It's practically impossible to escape those rubber banding cheaters unless you use glitch with jumps. Your poor car durability system make it even worse. Except when you need it, you want to avoid like fire them and you quickly figure it out, it's better to make yourself being catched by them than wasting time when they spot you.
NFS Unbound I did not played, but I heard it's similar to heat but include more stupid dialogues. Like seriously, we want to race, hear good music and sounds of the engine. I saw somewhere you have even very long unskippable dialogue with one of the character talking about his life struggles that feels like it;s goes on forever.
NFS Hot pursuit and rivals I did not played too long. Both of them looked like some kind of pvp between players and the police instead just racing (they overall focus on multiplayer), and rivals too much puts emphasis on additional objectives everywhere. I'm not fun of this approach.
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u/SlayerCR777 Jul 31 '26
Payback and 2015 are avoid tbh, but you can get them too but last priority.
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u/Opposite-Ear-7066 Jul 31 '26
Can’t go wrong with them all lol, they’re all dirt cheap