I've somehow managed to play the past 3 Need For Speed titles by complete accident. Not really much of a conscious effort on my part, more just the fact that there's always an arcade racer itch that I like to scratch every once in a while, that just so happens to loosely follow how often these games drop. And because of the current Steam Spring Sale that's going on as I'm writing this, $9 CAD was too good a deal to pass up. I'm conflicted, because while the game didn't exactly blow me away, it did in fact scratch that itch. Criterion have things like the physics of driving and the new implementation of burst nitro which are both really good things. Burst nitro works on both drift to turn (which has been common in the past 2 NFS'), but also actual grip driving which is awesome to see! But then there's also the tiered system of vehicles, where you'll inevitably encounter the moment of "If I upgrade this car more, it will no longer be in B class so I can't upgrade my car anymore." which feels incredibly fucking shitty. The story while seemingly pretty engaging at first, ends up being similar to the past 2 NFS' as well so there's not exactly much to write home about. The visuals which have been a major point of contention while discussing this game are something I really liked. It's quite a bold choice for all these fun cool effects and it was never going to be everyone's cup of tea anyway, so I'm really glad they even took that risk. Overall I feel like for the price that I paid for ($9 CAD) I definitely got my money's worth, but I do also recognize that people who paid $70 USD for this game and are now complaining that there might not be enough content, are valid for that opinion. The best way to really put it is if you like arcade racers or have even played NFS in the past, of course it's serviceable. It won't blow you away and I would definitely recommend getting it while it's on sale, but I did have a pretty good time with it. As for the future of the franchise, I'll probably end up playing the next one by accident too, so I guess I'll see y'all on the grid.