Need for Speed™ Payback ▶ Trailer
Need for Speed™ Payback screenshot 1Need for Speed™ Payback screenshot 2
ActionAdventureRacingSportsStrategyOpen WorldMultiplayerControllerCombat RacingPvP

106 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 336

Peak in the last 7 days: 358

Need for Speed™ Payback Steam store

Game description

Set in the underworld of Fortune Valley, you and your crew were divided by betrayal and reunited by revenge to take down The House, a nefarious cartel that rules the city’s casinos, criminals and cops. In this corrupt gambler’s paradise, the stakes are high and The House always wins.

Basic info

DeveloperGhost Games
PublisherElectronic Arts
PlatformsWindows
Steam DeckUnsupported
Release dateJun 18, 2020
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OS64-bit Windows 7 or later
ProcessorIntel i3 6300 @ 3.8GHz or AMD FX 8150 @ 3.6GHz with 4 hardware threads
Memory6 GB
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce® GTX 750 Ti or AMD Radeon™ HD 7850 or equivalent DX11 compatible GPU with…
Storage30 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 432 reviews from the past 1 year

74.1/ 100
Bottom 40%

Steam rating: Very Positive (85%)

Metacritic: 62 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 25, 2026)

Over the top street racing with a heist movie plot earns this one a score of 74.1, but its card based upgrade system divides players.

👍 Strengths

100 reviews say they enjoy it, the most upvoted calling it exaggerated and melodramatic fun that delivers exactly what it promises. 79 say the graphics and art design still look pleasant today, and Visuals & Sound ranks 811th of 1249. 53 find the story decent, with some praising the voice acting and character development. Content Volume ranks 546th of 1351, and Story & World ranks 918th of 1096.

👎 Where it falls short

66 reviews object to the monetization model, saying car upgrades sit behind random card packs and paid booster currency, which some call predatory. 48 find progress frustrating because random card drops make it hard to build the car they want, and some describe a tedious grind of repeated races. 37 criticize the handling and controls, with some describing stiff physics, steering delay and cars that oversteer or understeer unpredictably. Pricing & Fairness ranks 1220th of 1399, and Gameplay ranks 1023rd of 1396.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“exaggerated, melodramatic, delivers exactly what it promises” · 100 reviews
“graphics and art design still look pleasant in 2026” · 79 reviews
“decent story with top-tier voice acting and strong character development” · 53 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 68% of reviews · Bottom 30% of the games we've analyzed

Progression -1.35 · Leveling, unlocks and gear — is growth rewarding or a grind?
Negative “difficult to assemble desired build through card system” · 48 reviews
Positive “car tuning and visual customization highly satisfying to engage with” · 11 reviews

Difficulty 12% · Onboarding 6% · Freedom 14% · Strategy 9% · Controls & feel 39%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 58% of reviews · Bottom 20% of the games we've analyzed

Story +1.17 · Plot, quests, writing, and the ending
Positive “decent story with top-tier voice acting and strong character development” · 53 reviews
Negative “incredibly fast pacing and weak story with underdeveloped characters” · 26 reviews

Characters 14% · World 18%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 35% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Volume +1.58 · How much there is to play, including endgame, for the price
Positive “many roaming racers, street challenges, multiple car classes” · 4 reviews
Negative “story is quite short with limited content for casual players” · 4 reviews

Variety 26% · Replayability 2%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 42% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals +2.98 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Positive “graphics and art design still look pleasant in 2026” · 79 reviews
Negative “outdated physics and graphics compared to Heat” · 2 reviews

Audio 18%

Playing with others, the community and servers

Not enough data — only 8% of reviews mention this.

Playing together +0.96 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals

Community 2% · Servers & Connection 1%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 38% of reviews · Bottom 20% of the games we've analyzed

Pricing -0.62 · Whether the price, DLC and microtransactions are reasonable, and how much paying gives you an edge
Negative “car upgrades locked behind randomized card packs and paid booster currency” · 66 reviews
Positive “five dollar price point offers reasonable value” · 7 reviews

Anti-cheat 1% · Balance 12% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 15% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

Performance +0.10 · Frame rate, optimization, and loading times
Positive “runs smoothly on mid-range laptop” · 2 reviews
Negative “optimization runs worse than NFS 2015 or Forza Horizon 4 with better visuals” · 8 reviews

Stability 5% · Developer support 3%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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