Video game insider and GamesBeat Jeff Grubb has once again dropped some juicy details on the next entry in the Need for Speed series. The game, which is supposedly coming out this holiday, will be developed by Criterion of Burnout fame, and it seems that some of the team’s arcade inspirations may be coming through in this new project, albeit in an unexpected manner.
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On his show Grubbsnax (transcribed by VGC), an under the weather Grubb revealed that the game would have a striking new art style that’s unlike anything Need for Speed has seen before. “It’s going to be photorealistic, but it’s going to have on top of that, anime elements.”
He goes on to explain that the “anime” elements would be similar to a car commercial where vehicles have cartoon flames and speed lines drawn around them. Bringing this style to an arcade racer would certainly make Need for Speed stand out from other racers, especially at a time where most car games lean heavily into simulation rather than over-the-top aesthetics.
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Grubb also confirmed that the game would bring back Autolog from past installments and let players customize every aspect of their vehicle. The game itself takes place in a fictionalized Chicago called Lake Shore City, something that might be exciting to fans of Burnout Paradise and its fictionalized metropolis. Here’s hoping for some flimsy billboards and well-placed ramps dotted along every shortcut.