Story

The story featured in the game takes place in a fictional Palm City. This time it is more serious and grounded, and aims to positively shock both fans of the series and the newcomers who didn’t play any NFS game before. It focuses on street racing and depicts the events that often surround it. On a side note, it is worth mentioning it will be possible to race as one of twelve customizable avatars.

Gameplay

Need for Speed Heat is a racing arcade game that gives you access to a huge open world to explore and race in. The game takes place in a fictional area, Palm City, which was inspired by sunny Miami. NFS Heat focuses on fast and dynamic play, sacrificing a part of the realism in exchange for more fun and exciting gameplay. As such, colliding with other objects even at high speed bears no major consequences, except for losing some speed, though it’s worth mentioning the game features a damage system – if your car takes too much damage, it won’t drive any further.

Two Different Racing Modes – Day and Night

NFS Heat does not feature a day and night cycle, but instead, it allows you to choose if you want to race during the day or night – the gameplay varies greatly depending on your choice. Day racing events, Speedhunters Showdown, are sanctioned and take place on the designated tracks. They will reward you with the in-game currency which can be later spent on purchasing upgrade parts and customization elements for your car and avatar.

Night, however, follows its own rules. Neons, illegal street racing, free ride, high stakes, and adrenalin – Palm City truly shines after dark. Driving at night rewards you with reputation points. Collect enough of these and you will unlock new customization elements to spend your hard-earned money on.

The Heat and Return of The Cops

The police return to the open world of Need For Speed series, and it behaves differently, depending on the time of day. During the day they will chase and fine you, but when night falls, they will become much more fierce and persistent, becoming your greatest threat and challenge you will need to overcome. Instead of fining you, they will straight away try to stop you at all cost, even if it means completely destroying your car.

And this is not something you want, especially considering the new Heat mechanic, which builds up the wanted level as you oppose the law enforcers and makes the police even more aggressive. This is a risk and reward mechanic – though higher Heat levels make it harder to escape the police, they also increase the multiplier of reputation points you gain. It’s up to you if you want to risk being busted and losing all points, or drive straight to your garage to bank them.

Available Cars

The game allows you to drive a variety of cars from 30+ different brands, including the returning Ferrari. You will find there both classics and the latest supercars alike. The available collection includes vehicles such as Volkswagen Golf GTI 1976 Hot Hatch, Pontiac Firebird 1977 Classic, Ford Mustang GT 2015 Muscle, Nissan 370Z Nismo 2018 Coupe.

Car Tuning and Customization

In NFS Heat you can tune your car in the slightest details. This includes both appearance and performance – spend credits earned by racing during the day and buy the parts unlocked with a reputation earned at night. Customize how your car looks, change its stance, mount cool effects, and modify the sound of the exhaust to your liking – make the care truly yours. Additionally, you can also create and change the appearance of your own unique avatar.

Reception

Early reviews praise the new-old tuning mechanics, leaving the concept of tuning cards introduced in NFS Payback in favor of a more classic approach, which is unlocking, purchasing, and installing custom car parts in your ride. No loot boxes and other similar gambling mechanics was a warmly welcomed change. Reviewers also noted the two distinctive play modes, with day and night both offering drastically different gameplay. It results in more varied experiences and acts as a breath of fresh air in the series.