Been driving all night, my hand’s wet on the wheel
If you’ve ever playedForza Horizon, thenNeed for Speed Paybackwill seem very familiar. They’re both open-world driving games set in the desert, they both feature a stunt chain system that doles out experience based on how well you do for how long, and both games have derelict old cars hidden around the world that you’re able to fix up. None of those aspects are exclusive toHorizon, but they work in concert to makePaybacka recognizable experience.
But the glue that holdsPaybacktogether is the game’s sense of flair – somethingHorizonhad in spades. WhereasHorizonwas set in and around a neon-tinted Coachella-esque music festival,Paybackfollows three car-based criminals as they take down a group of worse criminals, who also do a lot of car stuff.
So ifForza Horizonis the video game equivalent ofthis Pepsi commercial,Paybackis a full-lengthFast and Furiousgame.
Although everyone and their mothers (andtheirmothers) has made theFast and Furiouscomparison,Paybackis actually inspired by films likeBullittorThe French Connection, according to producer Jeremy Chubb. “It’s not just a game about racing circuits,” Chubb said. “We’re doing aNeed for Speedfiltered through the lens of a Hollywood blockbuster.”
Part of that inspiration can be seen in the game’s story, which seems boring and not very interesting. Even though that’s partially intentional – Chubb told me it was just “an excuse for the action” – a bad story is still bad. But you may also see the Hollywood influence in the game’sBurnout-style crash system. The enemy cars you have to take out during campaign missions can wipe out in spectacular fashion as the game slows down and depicts the crash in slow-motion. It’s kind of like the execution systems you’d see in games likeShadow of Mordor,right down to the enemy health bars dictating when it’s time for you to send these fools to clowntown.
I was concerned about the frequency of the cinematic crashes, but the game apparently has a system behind the scenes that determines whether a crash goes into slow-motion.Paybackwill ostensibly take multiple factors – the speed of the cars, the time since the last slow-mo crash, and how the car will interact with the game’s physics – all into account before taking control of the camera for the player. The crashes I saw looked great, but there were way too many of them; hopefully the crash determination system works in the final game.
The cars handle as well as can be expected –Paybackis more of an arcade racer than a full-onGran Turismostyle simulation, so there’s really only so much you may mess up – so the only real x-factor is the open world.Forza Horizonhad a wide variety of sandbox activities, with plenty of collectibles, races, and challenges for players. The exhibition races where players raced against hot air balloons or trains were exciting as hell! IfPaybackcan bring the Hollywood bombast it seeks to emulate to an open world, that could be rad. Or the open world could have a handful of collectibles and some races, all completely bereft of flavor like an appetizer platter at Applebee’s.
For what it’s worthvis a visflavor, both Chubb andPaybackdesigner Andy Manches seemed excited for Edgar Wright’s upcoming filmBaby Driver, which is practically dripping with flavor like an appetizer plate at the Outback Steakhouse. Although Chubb and Manches couldn’t talk about the game’s licensed music lineup (another thingForza Horizondoes so well), eventually we started talking about theBaby Driversoundtrack. Chubb got really excited about theBaby DriverSpotify playlist and Manches wrote down one ofmy song recommendations– it’s good to know that some of the dev team has good taste.
I will say this aboutPayback– I tried the preview race again because I was really enjoying myself, so there’s absolutely something here. Open world racing can go real bad if the world doesn’t support balanced racing, but I had a blast with my street race, thanks to long stretches of road and properly telegraphed turns. The Nos feels immediate and responsive, the AI drivers were just challenging enough to keep my interest, and everything looked gorgeous. SoNeed for Speed Paybackcan obviously handle moment-to-moment gameplay, but it’s unclear whether the game will have any legs. I hope it does; I wouldn’t mind playing it for long stretches at a time.
Now put “Radar Love” in there and we’re golden.
