Apparently, the "Need for Speed" franchise has failed its own comeback, as its newest title, "Need for Speed: Payback" did not pay off and is now being considered as one of the worst racing games of 2017.
Website Ars Technica has stated in its review for the game that "Payback" is even worse than the relatively weak "Gran Turismo" and "Forza" titles, disappointing not only this year but also in the history of the "Need for Speed" franchise. This was despite the title's promising premise, similar to the personal-revenge-and-respect-driven stories seen in the "Fast and Furious" movies, where a humble street racer must find a way to pay off his debts while taking down a street racing and crime mogul.
The story, which was supposed to be one of the only redeeming qualities of the game, has been panned and was reportedly poorly executed. On top of that, the racing game's microtransactions have seemingly made it worse, as the game's premise revolves around racing the way out of poverty, but ironically, players are urged to simply purchase in-game advancements with real-world money to avoid hard work.
These microtransactions take the form of loot-boxes which can be either bought with real money or obtained through playing. These loot-boxes may contain specific car parts (nitrous, wheels, engine, etc.) necessary for tuning the performance of the car. The game, however, makes it so that players will get random parts every time they open a loot box, making car tuning a frustrating experience. This means getting a new car may as well be starting from scratch again.
Polygon also shares a similar sentiment towards the game. According to them the loot crates and multiple currencies, alongside a rather dull gameplay, make the racing title unfriendly to users since the loot-boxes and multiple currencies compel players to spend real money in order to avoid the monotonous labor the developers have implemented to the game, perhaps hoping that players would spend more money to avoid it.
Regardless, "Need for Speed: Payback" has been released and is available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows.
