History VideoGame / NeedForSpeedHeat

* AscendedFanfic: At the end of the game, [[spoiler:the BMW M3 GTR is available for use by the player, with the explanation in-story being that after the player had to wreck the car to take down Mercer, the League the player had just joined in repaired the car as a thanks for bringing down Mercer. Fans who were displeased with how the M3 GTR was written off from the series by getting totaled in ''[[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedCarbon Carbon]]'' have usually used the FixFic that the player's crew from that game repaired the car for the player.]]

* [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins Everything's Better with Flamingos]]: Neon flamingos are everywhere around Palm City. They're collectibles you can drive through, which gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by the player while talking to Lucas about this trope.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The PCPD follows the Q-code system to communicate to their units (e.g. QSL for affirmative or QRX for stand-by), which are a handful used by the local law enforcement in Miami.

* WeaksauceWeakness: An easy way to get rid of the cops is by taking advantage of the ramps scattered throughout the world, as they cannot handle jumps at all.

** Despite the more simplified upgrade mechanics that resembles the ''EA Black Box'' games such as ''Videogame/NeedForSpeedUnderground'', ''Videogame/NeedForSpeedMostWanted'', and ''Videogame/NeedForSpeedCarbon'', the aftermarket parts company names from ''Videogame/NeedForSpeedPayback'' are featured as vinyl selections to decorate your cars.

** Rav's (or "The Alchemist") custom aftermarket parts are still available for use if said car used to have them in Payback.

* GoshDangItToHeck: Surprisingly averted. For the first time in the ''NFS'' series since ''Need for Speed: The Run'', hard profanity is being dropped in game. The police dispatcher at night is a particular potty mouth, dropping words like "shitshow" or "asshole". Some crewmates also say "bullshit" during intense moments. More vulgar words like "fuck" remain unused, though.

JustForFun/TheOneWith sanctioned racing days à la ''VideoGame/ForzaHorizon'' and intense illegal street racing nights.\\\

JustForFun/TheOneWith sanctioned racing days à la ''VideoGame/ForzaHorzion'' and intense illegal street racing nights.\\\

[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nfs_heat_boxart.png]]
[[caption-width-right:340:[[{{Tagline}} Hustle by day, risk it all at night.]]]]

* ATasteOfPower: You play as [[DecoyProtagonist Joe in his Polestar 1]] during the prologue, before shifting to your own player character in the main game.

* CrapsaccharineWorld: Palm City seems to be a nice and colorful NeonCity, with cheery skies and neat traffic to go with. However, things get insane in the night with street racers and the PCPD giving each other a headache.

** The billboard collectibles are the "Always Watching" promotion for the Task Force featuring the mugshot of Mercer rather than for generic BrandX products, implying you're wrecking them to send a message against the Task Force besides as a gameplay mechanic.

** The billboard collectibles are various "we're always watching" messages from police rather than for generic BrandX products, implying you're wrecking them as an anti-authoritarian statement besides a gameplay mechanic.

''Need for Speed Heat'' (stylized as ''NFS Heat'') is the twenty-fourth installment (twenty-ninth counting spin-offs) in the [[VideoGameLongRunners long-running]] ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' series. It was developed by [[Creator/EAGothenburg Ghost Games]] and released on November 8, 2019 on UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, and UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows. The game marks the series' [[MilestoneCelebration twenty-fifth anniversary]].

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/x1080.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Tagline}} Hustle by day, risk it all at night.]]]]

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: The BMW Z4 M40i, which probably made it into the game due to it being co-produced and sharing the same platform as the 2020 Toyota GR Supra, which they currently couldn't get the rights for.

** Some vending machines sell [[VideoGame/DeadSpace Sun Cola]].
*** It can also be considered unintentional ProductPlacement, considering 'Sun Cola' is an actual brand found in certain countries like UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia.

* SuddenlyVoiced: For the first time ever, apart from Jack Rourke, Zephyr and F-8, or [[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedPayback Tyler, Mac and Jess]], your PlayerCharacter can actually talk.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The PCPD follows Q-code system to communicate to their units (e.g. QSL for affirmative or QRX for stand-by), which are a handful used by the local law enforcement in Miami.

* NitroBoost: A staple of the series that returns in a new way. Like in the previous games, the nitrous bar fills up automatically overtime, but it can only be used when at least one tank is full. Once it's turned on, it goes until a full tank is depleted. The player has access to two different types of nitrous: multiple tanks for smaller but more controllable boosts, or a single massive tank for a less controllable but much stronger boost. Passive auxiliary items can help refill the nitrous quicker by doing certain stunts. There is also an active item which rapidly refills the nitrous, once activated.

* DefacementInsult: Ana vandalized Shaw's car with some graffiti as payback for impounding her [=350Z=] for absolutely no reason.

* InvoluntaryGroupSplit: As per order by Frank, Joe is forced to sever his ties with his crewmate Ana after he lost his [[CoolCar Polestar]], at the end of the prologue.
-->'''Ana''': Hey! What happened, Bro? Where the hell's your car? Hey!
-->'''Joe''': This is bullshit, Ana! I'm out! I... I'm going back to Ventura. And I'm taking Richie with me.
-->'''Ana''': But we're a Crew!
-->'''Joe''': Not anymore! It's over!
-->'''Ana''': [[BigWhat What?!]] You just gonna walk to Ventura?
-->'''Joe''': Yep...! You're on your own!

* PimpedOutCar: Returns as usual. And apart from wraps, parts and vanity items, you can even customize the exhaust sound! With the Black Market update, you can even [[UpToEleven change the color of the exhaust's backfire]]!

* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler: Mercer's LaserGuidedKarma remains unknown whether Torres killed him or not at the end.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: No one knows what happened to Joe from the prologue earlier.
** [[spoiler: Averted in the playable epilogue: Ana recounts that she heard from Joe about how she's got a Crew and wants to know if he and Richie can join up with her again. She turns him down flat.]]

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Auxiliary parts are special items that give special buffs such as killswitch jammer, reinflates, bigger/more powerful nitrous tanks and improved car health. Some of them can really save your behind during nighttime. However, you have limited usage per session.

* [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist Getting Arrested Is a Slap on the Wrist]]: Wrecking your car during night time causes the session to end automatically and go back to the hideout without any Rep multiplier. If you get busted by the cops, you also have to pay a fine which can be easily compensated by doing some daytime races. Also, your car will not be impounded by the cops, whether busted or wrecked.
** Justified InUniverse that Lucas managed to [[CrazyPrepared retrieve your almost impounded car and completely restored it back to the way it originally was in case that happened]].
-->'''Lucas''': It's okay, I managed to salvage something from what you brought in.

* MountainsOfIllinois: Heat's Palm City is far hillier than south-central Florida is in real life. This is a JustifiedTrope, as it allows for twisting mountain roads and elevation changes that make for more interesting race courses.

** Story-wise, although not as light as ''[=ProStreet=]'', ''Nitro'', or even the 2015 reboot, the story has a much more lighter tone compared to the dreary, horrible tone of ''Rivals'' or the complicated revenge story with a {{Cliffhanger}} ending of ''Payback'', as the events were rightfully settled at the end despite myriads of dramatic events.

* NeverMyFault: Cops may blame their low-powered cars for being unable to keep up if you evade a pursuit. This is justified if you're in a supercar that can easily breeze past 200 mph, less so if you're in a starter car that barely manages to reach 130 if you hit your nitrous while going downhill.

** Story-wise, although not to the extreme as the ''[=ProStreet=]'' ''Nitro'', or even the 2015 reboot, the story has much more lighter tone compared to the dreary, horrible tone of ''Rivals'' or the complicated {{Cliffhanger}} story of ''Payback'', as the events were rightfully settled at the end despite myriads of dramatic events.