Key Takeaways
1. Setting and Gameplay: Need for Speed Heat is set in the fictional city of Palm City, featuring both legal daytime events and illegal nighttime street races, where players can earn cash and “REP” respectively.
2. Customization and Variety: The game allows extensive car customization with 127 unlockable vehicles, enhancing the gameplay experience through upgrades and unique designs.
3. Visuals and Soundtrack: Built on EA’s Frostbite engine, the game showcases impressive visuals, particularly at night, complemented by an exciting soundtrack of electronic and hip-hop music.
4. Mixed Reviews: While receiving a score of 75 from GameStar and positive feedback on Steam, the game faced criticism for its slow start, forgettable story, and occasional AI issues, reflected in lower scores on Metacritic.
5. Pricing and Availability: Currently, Need for Speed Heat is on sale for $3.50 (95% off) for the Deluxe Edition, which includes exclusive vehicles and outfits, with a regular price of around $70.
Need for Speed Heat, created by Ghost Games and published by Electronic Arts in November 2019, serves as the immediate precursor to Need for Speed Unbound, which is the newest addition to the beloved arcade racing franchise. The game takes place in the fictional city of Palm City, featuring a unique racing system that offers both legal circuit events during the day and adrenaline-pumping street races after dark. During daytime, players can earn cash by participating in official competitions, while nighttime brings the chance to gain “REP,” representing respect in the underground racing scene, all while facing high-stakes police pursuits. As players increase their Heat Level, police become more aggressive in their attempts to stop them.
Explore Palm City
The open-world environment of Palm City is brimming with challenges, including hidden jumps, collectibles, and thrilling street races. Staying true to the Need for Speed tradition, players can extensively customize their cars, making upgrades to engines, tuning exhausts, and applying unique paints and decals. There are a total of 127 vehicles that players can unlock. The game also features an online mode, allowing competition against up to 15 other players, and SteamDB reports that the arcade racer maintains over 5,000 concurrent players regularly. Built on EA’s Frostbite engine, Heat shines visually, especially at night when neon lights illuminate the streets. The game’s soundtrack, a blend of electronic and hip-hop music, keeps the excitement alive.
Review Insights
In a review from the German gaming publication GameStar, Need for Speed Heat received praise for its impressive presentation, noting realistic lighting, weather conditions, and smoke effects. The combination of structured races and exhilarating police chases was highlighted as both diverse and engaging. GameStar also appreciated the expansive open world and the online racing options, which provide good long-term engagement. However, the game’s slow beginning faced criticism, with early progression and a limited selection of cars feeling somewhat sluggish. Additionally, the story was considered largely forgettable, with dialogue that at times felt repetitive and cringe-worthy. The behavior of AI opponents was pointed out as occasionally awkward, adding to the critique.
Reception and Pricing
Despite its shortcomings, GameStar awarded Need for Speed Heat a respectable score of 75. The game has been positively received on Steam, accumulating over 100,000 reviews since its release, with 84% of them being favorable. However, on Metacritic, the scores are lower, with a Metascore of 72 and a User Score of 6.3.
On Steam, Need for Speed Heat is available only in the Deluxe Edition, which comes with a special starter car (K.S Edition Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X), three additional unlockable K.S vehicles, four exclusive outfits, and a 5% boost to REP and in-game currency. Regularly priced around $70, the arcade racer is currently on sale for just $3.50 due to a significant 95% discount, a deal that runs until March 27.
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