Summary
- Need for Speed has evolved over two dozen games, from illegal street racing to track driving, with varying success.
- Some standout games include Hot Pursuit 2, Underground, and Most Wanted for their innovation and thrilling gameplay.
- Recent entries like Payback and Heat offer mixed experiences, lacking in narrative and facing issues with gameplay depth.
Need for Speed has evolved like no other game, chopping and changing styles to suit current and popular trends. From extremely illegal street racing to legitimate track driving, Need for Speed has had a rich history spanning decades. The action-packed street racer made its debut in 1994 and elevated the racing genre with thrilling gameplay and a slew of rewarding features.
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PostsIn collaboration with different developers, the Need for Speed series has rolled out over two dozen mainline games, making it among the biggest series in gaming. Some of these titles roar across the finish line, while others tend to burn out — and it's been long debated as to which among the huge, diverse lineup reign supreme. Let's go full-throttle as we rank every Need for Speed game from best to worst.
Updated December 19, 2024 by Tom Hopkins: It has been a few years since the last Need for Speed game was released and 2024 has been a slow year for racing games. Hopefully, it is only a matter of time until EA announces when the next entry is coming.
Where Metacritic scores are unavailable, we have used GameFaqs scores.
27 Need For Speed: ProStreet
- Year of Release: 2007
- Metascore: 72
Stagging across the finish line in last place is Need for Speed: ProStreet. After a long period of time, ProStreet takes you back to the track, ditching the illegal street-racing format that had previously been a huge success for EA. ProStreet also brought in realistic damage to cars, which affected the way you raced, while also allowing them to drive around real-life circuits.
However, following the success of the open-world format, ProStreet, also without any inclusion of police intervention, lacked the fun factor its predecessors brought. Along with this, the game failed to upgrade the realism of the driving and had lower quality of production compared to other titles in the series.
26 Need For Speed: No Limits
- Year Of Release: 2015
- Metascore: 67
It's hard to expect much for a free-to-play title confined to mobile devices, and for most, this effort by Firemonkeys Studios is rather shallow and rough around the edges. Short races and fairly limited, straightforward gameplay tend to bog it down, as does the emphasis on microtransactions.
Still, No Limits is at least sufficient regarding its sleek visuals and solid, subtle use of gyro controls. The game plays smoothly enough — just don't expect an epic, highly-polished experience.
25 Need For Speed V-Rally
- Year Of Release: 1997
- GameFaqs Rating: 3.2
Marking one of a handful of spinoff titles, Infogrames' V-Rally is largely a Need for Speed effort in name only. In fact, this tag was pretty much slapped onto the NA rendition to cater more to the American market. Still, for those who appreciate a fairly deep rally experience, this PlayStation title at least partly delivers.
The blocky visuals haven't aged too well, and there's a decent learning curve thanks to some tricky checkpoints and twitchy controls. Still, overall solid mechanics, diverse locales, and a slew of racing challenges give it some staying power.
24 Need For Speed Payback
Need for Speed Payback
Racing Released November 10, 2017 ESRB T For Teen // Mild Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, Language Developer(s) Ghost Games Publisher(s) Electronic Arts Engine Frostbite Multiplayer Online Multiplayer Platform(s) PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One How Long To Beat 19 Hours OpenCritic Rating Weak Powered by Expand Collapse- Year Of Release: 2017
- Metascore: 61
Need for Speed Paypack is a mixed bag with its lackluster narrative, average visuals, and liberal use of microtransactions. Still, there's plenty to enjoy about this entry from Ghost Games, including the variety of street, drag, and off-road racing — and a dynamic day-night cycle to boot.
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PostsThe game also emphasizes the satisfying acts of running cars off the road, taking on the feel of both Forza Horizon as well as Burnout 3. But aside from some fun drifting mechanics and cop chase scenes, Payback doesn't particularly stand out in any area.
23 Need For Speed: World
- Year Of Release: 2010
- Metascore: 62
Need for Speed: World is a PC exclusive, taking the style of Most Wanted and Carbon and implementing MMO elements. As the title suggests, World has a large map that you can access through an open-world format, as highways are interconnected between Palmont and Rockport from Carbon and Most Wanted.
It also offers over 100 licensed cars, a game mode called Treasure Hunt, and introduced a new system of customization, which is based on skill points obtained through racing. However, World no longer runs, with EA shutting down services for the game saying “that the game no longer lives up to the high standard set by the Need for Speed franchise.” So, if you did a bunch of work in this game, it's gone and that's hugely disappointing.
22 Need For Speed: High Stakes
- Year Of Release: 1999
- GameFaqs Score: 3.9
Building on Hot Pursuit, this direct successor introduced racing for pink slips, as well as offering a tournament mode and bringing back the pursuit style racing in Getaway and Time Trap mode.
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PostsAnd for PlayStation owners, High Stakes mode allowed two players to pit their cars against each other by inserting two memory cards. The loser would have his car deleted immediately after the race, which we’re sure broke up a few friendships along the way. A cool feature, but not enough for the game to be seen as a high point in the series.
21 Need For Speed: Nitro
- Year Of Release: 2009
- Metascore: 69
Published only on Nintendo hardware, Need for Speed: Nitro attempted to make the game purely fun, ditching realism to create a sense of excitement. However, that’s as much as it did, with limited tracks and cars to choose from compared to other titles in the series.
Despite its early excitement factor, Nitro’s quirky zest deteriorates into a tedious strain. Along with this, Nitro didn’t offer any new features of racing and its only new attribute was ‘Own It’, an aesthetic placed upon driver's screens to indicate who was in the lead. It also had a shallow campaign that lets it down.
20 Need For Speed 3: Hot Pursuit
- Year Of Release: 1998
- GameFaqs Score: 3.8
The first installment of the Hot Pursuit series, this racing romp allows you to be both the felon and the police. With each new game in the series brings a new feature and the original Hot Pursuit brought in split-screen, as well as improving on the graphics greatly, which were impressive even for its time.
Unfortunately for Hot Pursuit, its graphics aren't enough to make up for some generic gameplay, and it lacks the open-world style that fans of the game enjoy so much.
19 V-Rally 2: Need For Speed
- Year Of Release: 1999
- GameFaqs Score: 3.8
More a Test Drive game than Need for Speed, this PlayStation and Dreamcast sequel to V-Rally continues its predecessor's formula of fairly standard rally racing. However, it manages to polish up certain areas, resulting in an overall smoother and more appealing experience than the '97 romp.
Four-player support is included, and there's even a track editor if you like to flex your creative muscle.
Additional cars and tracks and a variety of gameplay modes round out this more robust racer. More dynamic gameplay and environments — including different weather conditions — grant a greater sense of immersion this time around, too.
18 Need For Speed: The Run
Need for Speed: The Run
Racing Released November 15, 2011 ESRB T // Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence Developer(s) EA Publisher(s) EA Engine Frostbite 2, Frostbite Multiplayer Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer Platform(s) Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, Wii, Nintendo 3DS How Long To Beat 5 hours Powered by Expand Collapse- Year Of Release: 2011
- Metascore: 68
Many consider Need for Speed: The Run to be something of a dark horse of the series. A mixture of Shift and Hot Pursuit, The Run follows a very rigid storyline. Taking on the role of Jackson “Jack” Rourke, you're tasked with competing in a cross-country street race from San Francisco to New York, while trying to avoid both the mob and the police. There are numerous styled races to compete in as you dash past picturesque settings.
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PostsThe game ditches the racing for 'respect' theme of racing for your life. However, the game lacks replayability and is sadly a short game. Considering you zip across a country, one would have hoped there was more on offer.
