I have a like-dislike relationship with this. There isn't much here that strongly elates or repulses me, it maybe sums up how the lethargy the series was going through was preventing it from truly evolving.

The handling model is certainly not perfect, at times a chore to manoeuvre the cars regardless of model or how much I upgraded the control stat.
That said, driving a car through traffic at 200+ and obliterating other racers & cops at the same time on this game was actually quite fun on occasion, enough to keep going to the end (not that the game is exactly long or hard to beat in fairness). But crucially I didn't get that feeling enough on my playthrough and I got the annoying side of the handling system too often. I think deep in my heart I respect what Ghost Games were going for here, it just wasn't a great execution of that.

Also have to bring up issues with the map layout, as a whole it lacked coherence for me and driving through certain sections felt so unsatisfying to drive. the layout lacked imagination in most sections and the best I can say about it is that certain sections feel reminiscent of previous games (the forest area gave me Hot Pursuit II vibes, albeit a much less enjoyable version)

And with the core concept implemented here, that might be the peak of my like-dislike conflict. As a 8th-Gen launch title it's pretty neat that we saw Need for Speed offer an online multiplayer world that surrounds your story mode journey. In ways the implementation looks half-baked but I also think it wasn't a bad route to go. You can interact with other real people racing, including your friends, but it doesn't have too much baring on the story. Where this does become a pain though is that the story itself is for the most part one of NFS' most uninteresting yet, and if you are the doing the racer story and there are human cops that come across you in the middle of your mission, prepare to get spammed by level 4 ESF's & Shock Rams. But hey if you don't like that, you can just change it to friends only or single player. The game may feel more hollow in single player mode though.
Will say I really appreciate that the server is still available, the excruciating pains of host migration aside (which I wouldn't even hate if there wasn't points where I was mid-race and seemingly the AI were allowed to keep driving while I was stuck waiting)

Certainly not a bad game in the NFS series but certainly lacks overall depth and lacks consistently enjoyable racing

**3/4

Sure, this isn't prime NBA Jam. And sure, NFL Blitz was overshadowing Midway's basketball output by this point.
Crucially though, this is still a great arcade sports title.
Ofc this player model style is indeed more remembered on NFL Blitz, but I love how it looks here too, including at home on the Dreamcast.
While the player models on NBA Jam will always be more fondly remembered, I'm still so glad we got a NBA title from Midway that looks like this too.
A must-have for any fan of sports video games who own a Dreamcast

Grew on me as it went along. Fascinating exploration with an easy to love protagonist with lovable allies along the way, all part of an engaging story that had a very emotive ending for me.
When I first heard of Stray and it was promoted as a game where you play as a cat I wasn't at all prepared for the intensity of the narrative, it can be a coin flip whether such a game goes the Goat Simulator or Tokyo Jungle route, and for the sake categorising I would say this game is extremely far into the category of the latter

***3/4

To get my only negative thought out of the way, it is frustrating that the general quality control of the industry has nosedived, some of the glitches that were present in my playthrough, 18 months after launch, was ridiculous. I suppose I shouldn't even penalise the game that much if that's seemingly the industry standard now, but regardless the industry is taking the piss.

That aside, great game. A game that actually makes the PS5 feel must own to experience the next evolution of console gaming, really making the most of the DualSense technology while not making it feel forced. And man was this game a visual delight

Sure this game has it's fair share of bugs (pardon the pun) but (and maybe it's just modern game development's lack of quality control pre-launch numbing me) the glitches don't stop it from being pretty great, more so stopping it from being truly special.

The story was one of my fave in a video game ever, a narrating that really connected with me from start to finish.
But as most people on follow me on here will know, story is secondary to the active gameplay experience for me, and again that's what gives the ceiling it has for me.
That said, the gameplay is still pretty good and fun I had a swell time with it even if it wasn't a perfect gameplay experience.

****1/4

Decent, but could have been so much more. A really fun experience that lost that fun factor in the latter stages.
Sure, it's better than 99% of all other 3D platformer made just to shill an IP and developed by a non-'prestige' developer, but that isn't enough alone for me to ignore just how sharply the enjoyment I had with this game decreased from Kelp Forest onwards.
The development team clearly could create a fun interactive world where you get to be Spongebob in Bikini Bottom, but when tasked to crank up some real difficulty in the level design it would either be too easy or only difficult because the relevant mechanics are janky and the hit detection is inconsistent.
But hey, if you like Spongebob Squarepants and you don't mind sixth-generation console platformers, this is worth a try

***1/4

Arcade: * 3/4
Sega MD/Gen: 1/2
NES: 1/2
Sega GG: 1/4
SNES:
Game Boy: *

Data East is often remembered and mourned as this special studio that made constant bangers and because of that we forget their mis-steps (not named Dashin' Desperados). This game and it's various platform releases are a key example of DE missing the mark. It's okay tho we all have howlers

Still a better Marvel media release than Ant Man and the Wasp tho

The peak of Formula One video games in the eighth generation. Aside from the gameplay being quite smooth, the new My Team mode is a gamechanger. Quite different to NBA's MyTeam tho (and for the better). No microtransaction nonsense, just a career mode where you get to make your own F1 team and leave your mark on the motorsport. Of course the singular driver career mode remains for if you would like to get the chance to earn a place in one of the illustrious F1 teams that already exist.

All-in-all, a great racer that gives you a lot to sink your teeth into. Likely won't get another F1 game at this level for the foreseeable future now that EA has it's grubby mitts on it