Need for Speed Heat review: Channel your inner Fast and the Furious

The latest addition to the Need for Speed franchise introduces some new gameplay mechanics, but how does it stack up with other racing games?

Get ready to start your engines and channel your inner Fast and the Furious, because Need for Speed Heat is here with some unique game mechanics to refresh the racing genre.

Developed and published by Ghost Games and EA, Heat sees you driving through an open-world environment in the Miami-inspired Palm City.

Playing as one of 12 preset characters in the single player, you will take part in street races (both legal and illegal) to improve your car, make cash and build your reputation to take part in bigger races.

The first entry in the NFS franchise since Need for Speed Payback in 2017, Heat introduces a new day/night game mechanic that really makes it stand out among other racing titles. When you exit the garage you’ll be asked whether you want it to be day or night and you are able to switch while playing.

You can choose one of 12 preset characters. Picture: Supplied

While this might not sound like anything special, it does actually have a huge impact on the way it’s played. Players are able to compete in legal races for cash during the day, or take part in illegal street races at night to build up your reputation.

Both are necessary, as you’ll need money to upgrade your car and you’ll need a bigger reputation to unlock new upgrades.

But be warned, also out at night are the police, with a special task force out targeting illegal street racing, so be on alert as getting caught will lose you some money and all the rep you’ve built up that night. Or you could throw caution to the wind and earn more rep points by really building more ‘Heat’ pushing the boundaries of the law!

Avoiding police is essential to beating this game. Picture: Supplied

Your car does take damage, which is more or less representative of your ‘health’ and players can ‘heal’ by visiting petrol stations up to three times a night. Which you’ll need, especially if you’re a bad driver or you get chased and rammed by cop cars.

Racing day/night sessions will end when you visit one of many safe houses spread throughout the city, all of which you are able to travel to during the day, which really makes getting around the city much easier.

Your car will take a lot of damage, no matter how good you are. Picture: Supplied

While the solo campaign may be the main attraction for some, there is also online multiplayer modes to play in online servers of up to 16 players. You can also join or create a ‘crew’ of up to 32 players, with your own unique name and tags to build an online racing community. Levelling up your crew also unlocks extra bonuses for earning money, rep and heat which only increase in value as your progress, which really encourages being part of a good crew.

Palm City is beautifully designed and the graphics are amazing, with stunning detail on the cars and the cityscape, as well as near perfect lighting, especially at night when the neon city lights really come to life.

Probably the only exception to the amazing graphics is during character cutscenes, where the animation is a little janky. But it’s a racing game, so if you’re playing for the facial animation you’re probably not in the right genre.

There are more than 120 different cars available for purchase throughout the game across 33 different manufactures, including Ferraris. But don’t worry, there are no loot boxes or extra-in game purchases outside of paid downloadable content or ‘time savers’ which will reveal collectable locations on the map.

More than 120 cars are available for purchase in the game. Picture: Supplied

Overall, Need for Speed Heat is a fun addition to the NFS franchise, and while it doesn’t quite compare to the likes of Need for Speed Underground 2 (an unfair comparison admittedly) it is still one of the better racing games in recent years. It introduces some new gameplay features which makes this unique and adds a whole other dimension.

VERDICT: 3/5

Wilson Smith is a games writer for news.com.au. Continue the conversation with him on Twitter at @wilson_smithdt