In celebration of the franchise's 25th year, Need for Speed (NFS) Heat was described to be as a spiritual successor to NFS Underground by its developers. The game's supposedly a return to form, spoiling old-time fans with everything that made the series successful.

NFS Heat sets out to reignite the franchise, and it almost does so. However, it is bogged down by some issues that have been plaguing the series for the longest time now. Still, NFS Heat is a decent offering from developer Ghost Games. It's the best NFS game there is since the 2015 reboot, but it doesn't come close to the classics.

Hotline Miami

NFS Heat is set in a semi-open world city called Palm City. The Miami-inspired setting is blinged out with neon lights and wonderful scenery. However, the game world looks lifeless without pedestrians and only a handful of traffic here and there. Granted, there really isn't any use for pedestrians in a game that's all about racing, but their absence nonetheless makes the game world feel empty.

Thankfully, the overall aesthetic of the game world is wonderful that it's easy to forgive its emptiness. The world comes to life at night, which is when you get to play illegal drag races where stakes are higher and the risks even higher. During night races, cops could spot you anytime and chase you down like predators catching prey. Their aggressiveness gives an added thrill to the game, making street races feel exhilarating.

You can easily switch between night and day, unlike in other open-world racing games where time flows naturally. This way, you could choose from the safer, less hectic legal races of the day whenever you want to have a breather from all the cop chases.

Drift Controls

NFS Heat controls like a charm. It doesn't try to become a simulated driving experience, instead opting for a streamlined, more arcadey control scheme. It's not over-the-top, but the drifting controls are easy to execute and flashy to look at.

That being said, players who are more used to the simulation-style control schemes might feel NFS Heat be a bit unwieldy. Don't expect realistic controls, handling, and steering from this game, as this is all about arcade goodness.

Pimp My Ride

Probably the part where the game shines the most is its extensive customization kit. You could go all out in making your dream car here. With millions of possible customization options on dozens of licensed vehicles, NFS Heat gives so much control over how your car looks and feels on the road. You can really express yourself with the amount of control the game gives you here.

There are also no loot boxes in the game, allowing you to buy all of the custom parts you've unlocked so far with the in-game currency. However, microtransactions still exist, but they aren't very intrusive, being there just as an option to skip ahead of all the grinding. Still, its existence shows how much publisher EA love microtransactions, and it doesn't look like they're changing course anytime soon.

Conclusion

Need for Speed Heat is a great leap in terms of quality from the last few games that the series has produced. This shows that the franchise is finally headed in the right direction after a few misguided turns since their earlier reboot. The game taken by itself is a fun, arcade driving experience, but it's still plagued with a forgettable story and repetitive gameplay.

Need for Speed Heat is out now on PC, XBOX One, and PlayStation 4 for $59.99.