70
Ticks all the boxes and delivers a decent, playable experience, but it's hugely derivative and feels far too familiar, especially if you've played The Crew. [Jan 2017, p.92]
40
An infuriating slog hurt by its own structure. [Issue#195, p.80]
60
If you stick with it you'll find a decent racer here but getting past the inane narrative, broken progression systems and longing for racers past takes some doing.
1
A big disappointment when I played it. The story is just a generic fast & furious clone. The optimization is really poor, even though I ran it on PS5. The car variety is mediocre at best. The microtransactions is crazy. And the game quite literally locked me out, saying that I "don't have an EA account."
2
Just simulator of gambling and characters are nofing. Driving is very hard, grafic is very bad and history are very baaaaaaaaaaaaaad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don’t buy that dog ****!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2
Los bots son muy malos interfieren mucho en la carreralo cual perjudica si es un lugar estrecho o con caídas lo cuál te hace perder tiempo
Need for Speed Payback
Released On:
Nov 7, 2017
Metascore
Mixed or Average
61
User score
Generally Unfavorable
3.9
My Score
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Metascore
Mixed or Average
24% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
61% Mixed
36 Reviews
36 Reviews
15% Negative
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
Nov 10, 2017
82
Need For Speed Payback isn’t perfect – but it’s a nice step up from prior entries. Outside of Rivals, the series has really struggled over the past five or so years to really find its own way. The FMV-filled reboot wasn’t the right answer, and going for an action movie-styled variant is great for an ad campaign – but doesn’t make for a great campaign itself. Fortunately, the racing action and cop chases that litter the campaign make it worth playing. It looks great in motion, even if the action doesn’t hold up very well. The cop chases are exciting and the point-to-point races bring a level of arcade-style thrill that the series definitely benefits from.
Nov 7, 2017
78
Need for Speed: Payback's story is completely irrelevant and the last-gen graphics almost hurt the eyes, but the gameplay is as good as ever, the police remain enjoyably annoying and customizing the cars is nice and comprehensive. Recommended for a rainy weekend.
User score
Generally Unfavorable
22% Positive
310 Ratings
310 Ratings
23% Mixed
331 Ratings
331 Ratings
55% Negative
798 Ratings
798 Ratings
Aug 19, 2025
10
Me encantó, bueno, es uno de mis favoritos aparte del shift, aunque muchos lo odien, me parece un buen juego, aún hay gente que lo juega y una base de fans, aunque pequeña fiel, aunque el final no es el mejor me encanta, una cantidad de autos buena, un tuning completo, desafíos, y carros con buen sonido, ya veo 15.000 funas
Aug 3, 2025
10
This game was amazing I don't care what anyone says, I finished it 3 times, love this game
Nov 8, 2017
70
Need For Speed Payback refines the formula of the previous game, expanding the scale and rescuing all the good ideas of the franchise, but everything becomes too familiar, repetitive and uninspired. If we add a structure that forces the player to repeat missions in order to continue, the result is a game that looks fun, but is vague and artificial.
Dec 15, 2017
60
If you stick with it you'll find a decent racer here but getting past the inane narrative, broken progression systems and longing for racers past takes some doing.
Nov 7, 2017
60
Need for Speed returns with another flawed entry. There's the core of a great racing game here and when you're just driving around the open world, it's wonderful. The progression system encourages grinding and the basic story is delivered with B-movie seriousness, taking away from the racing pleasure. There's a better game inside of Payback, but you have to go through everything else to get to it.
Nov 9, 2017
50
There’s a perfectly fine racing game somewhere in this mess of half-baked ideas. A fun arcade racer has been drowned in enough ‘one more thing’ additions to fill the entire run of Columbo, and the result is a rather unpleasant muddle of bland story, stop-start driving, and player control being ripped away just as things get juicy.
Nov 9, 2017
30
The worst Need For Speed game of the modern era, that leaves no stone unturned in its attempts to make itself as boring, repetitive, and exploitative as possible.
Oct 29, 2024
7
the game is good. i really enjoy this game but the person who made speedruns in this game i wish this person has never made any game ever. speedruns is the only thing i give up on platinum this game if i would not stop i think i would sell this game even if i buy this on a payoff, story is also good cars and customization is so great i've got nothing to say about this game is just brilliant and i recommend the game also speedcross series pack is really good i haven't got this but i was playing this at my friend's house and honestly i was having so much fun playing this thanks for reading have a nice day.
Dec 26, 2023
7
Was cool to get back into NFS franchise with this game. The story is more of a side thing and mostly not a big part of the game but the gameplay is alright.
May 8, 2023
4
Decent Game-play and Driving. Ugly graphics and campaign. Also, Micro-transaction system from a free-to-play title implemented into a AAA? NFS Payback is just not a good experience
SummarySet in the underworld of Fortune Valley, players drive as three distinct characters reunited by a quest for vengeance against The House, a nefarious cartel that rules the city’s casinos, criminals and cops. They take on a variety of challenges and events as Tyler, the Racer; Mac, the Showman; and Jess, the Wheelman to earn the respect of... Read More
Rated Tfor Teen
Platforms:
- PlayStation 4
- Xbox One
- PC
Initial Release Date:Nov 7, 2017
Developer:
Publisher:
