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Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit Remastered

Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit Remastered

Stellar Entertainment Limited · released Nov 6, 2020

ActionRacing

Feel the thrill of the chase and the rush of escape behind the wheels of the world’s hottest high-performance cars in Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit Remastered– a heart-pumping, socially competitive racing experience.

76
VGC Score
Stablehigh confidence
73%
At launch
81%
Steam all-time
73%
Press
76%
Player sentiment
88%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)7333
All-time Steam reviews81%751000
Metacritic user ratings0
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)88%81224
Calibration prior (typical game)7250

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 640 total reviews in window · weighted 191.6 up / 27.1 down · computed 4h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (50)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 70
    trust 76Nov 19, 2020

    Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered teleports players back to more innocent times a decade ago, when simply taking on a series of races was considered enough to keep players entertained. Many would argue its simplicity is a strength, however, and the reality is that despite the lack of depth it's still a hugely entertaining time whether you're playing as a racer or a cop. If you struggle to stay afloat with all the faffing around in modern games, this old-school dose of straightforward racing goodness is your life jacket.

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  • 60
    trust 70Sep 8, 2022

    An unfortunately thin experience Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered, is a fun romp while it lasts, but it lacks any draw to return to it after completion. The multiplayer options are limited, but the online mode is solid and functional. For anyone who loved the remaster in the past, this will feel exactly as it did back then, but missing local play. A decent driving game with some weird changes.

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  • 70
    trust 69Nov 23, 2020

    Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered is a very faithful remaster of Criterion’s best Need for Speed, though its graphical upgrades aren’t as noticeable on PC as they are on consoles.

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  • 80
    trust 69Nov 5, 2020

    Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered brings back a fantastic arcade racing game, and is still brilliant fun 10 years down the line. Autolog feels right at home in 2020, and the over-the-top cops vs. racers gameplay is a blast. While the remaster itself is a little underwhelming, and some of the original title's issues remain, this is nonetheless a great game for petrol heads and adrenaline junkies everywhere.

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  • 70
    trust 69Nov 24, 2020

    While it's fun, it doesn't bring much new to this port so It ends up feeling dated and the progression grindy. While nothing can match the chaos of a good cop chase, the rest of the package could use some updates. That being said, those looking for a new arcade racer will surely find a good time here.

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  • 80
    trust 68Nov 13, 2020

    Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered is the perfect game to bring back. It harkens back to a time when racing games were simple and fun. I hope the Criterion team manages to get back to this formula. This was the last NFS game I enjoyed all around and have somewhat forgotten about the series since its release. It seems EA knows this considering this is the title they chose to remaster. For those that thirst for the classic days of the Need for Speed series, this is a solid title to add to your collection.

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  • 80
    trust 68Jan 12, 2021

    If you want an arcade racing game to have lots of fun, Hot Pursuit Remastered, is an ideal choice.

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  • 80
    trust 67Nov 6, 2020

    For most racing fans, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered is a game that's still worth playing. The dual campaign between playing as cops and racers remains intriguing and exciting, since they both play so differently. While the presentation is a touch better than the original, it is the cross-platform play that is the big selling point of the remastered edition. If you're new to this title, it is an excellent racer. If you already own the original game on the PC, the unchanged campaign means that you'd only want this iteration if you're interested in the larger pool of multiplayer companions.

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  • 92
    trust 66Dec 15, 2020

    That is somewhat of a bummer as we head into an aggressive new age of consoles this month, yet Hot Pursuit actually holds up as an extraordinary game in its own right.

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  • 90
    trust 66Nov 8, 2020

    A cracking example of nostalgia done right, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered is as worthy as any current-gen racer out there. It’s not easy to begin with, but once you’re practiced you’ll be flying across the finish line.

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  • 80
    trust 66Nov 11, 2020

    Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered is a true blast from the past, for better or worse. The driving feels sublime, and the updated visuals look fantastic at 30 fps. The added crossplay provides even more opportunities to partner with online racers for high-speed hijinks regardless of platform. However, the lack of any difficulty settings and the rubber banding serve as a stark reminder of how far the racing genre has come in 10 years.

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  • 60
    trust 66Nov 16, 2020

    Another remaster of good old Hot Pursuit, with betther graphics, but nothing else.

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…and 38 more tracked reviews.

Patch history

No patch announcements found on Steam yet.