YMMV / Need for Speed Heat

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Lieutenant Frank Mercer, the main antagonist of the game, seems somewhat similar to a Fantasy-Forbidding Father between him and the racers, which some people can relate to, which can be seen from the trailers and cutscenes.
  • Some have theorized that Mercer might even be a metaphor to Electronic Arts themselves, since the company is known for extreme corner-cutting, as something of a veiled Take That! from developers Ghost Games. Sweet, a cop for the PCPD, sometimes will say, "I'm here to do the work you can't finish!" over the radio, which has been taken as a reference to Electronic Arts and their development teams.
• Aluminum Christmas Trees: 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.
• Annoying Video Game Helper: Ana. Her constantly pestering you to race, her arrogant attitude, considering her brother a coward due to the fact that he doesn't race, her considering anything not to do with racing "boring" and loudly declaring it constantly, not helped by the fact that whenever her old crew is mentioned, she talks crap about them like they committed some grand betrayal, despite the fact that anyone who played the prologue would know that the truth is that, until Torres stepped in, Mercer and Shaw were about to straight-up murder Joe to send a message: Joe didn't skip out on the crew for losing his nerve, he left to save his own life! Not helping matters is that the game also chose to have her give her two cents for when the player gets busted, which most of the time sounds like she's mocking you for your predicament ("That's the world telling you to call it a night.")
• Broken Base: The complete change to the pursuit mechanics to put higher emphasis on outrunning and evasion (such as how now police cars are basically tanks without cannons) might throw off those who used with the older pursuit mechanics (ram the police cars until they're immobilized or lure them onto a pursuit breaker).
• Complacent Gaming Syndrome: Majority of players spend more time on bright daylight over the nighttime, for myriad of reasons. In particular, Bank money earned during the daytime can be used to buy vehicle parts, while the Rep points earned during nighttime can be used solely as Experience Points; once you hit a Rep level of 50, the only reason to keep racing in the night is to farm Ultimate parts via High Heat Races. On a related point, the daytime races allow you to change cars swiftly before entering them, something nighttime races don't allow.
• Funny Moments:
  • Visit the garage after the mission "Got Your Back" where Ana goes racing with her father's Camaro and it gets smashed up by Shaw and...
    Lucas: You know? Ever since Ana smashed up Papi's car, the radio works perfectly.
  • Some of the notes on the ticker during the news broadcasts are amusing, such as "Phones to replace spouses by 2025".
  • For maximum trolling, you can equip the "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow" horn on your car and honk it repeatedly; be it during an online race, or while you're being chased by the cops. The bonus "If You're Happy and You Know It" horn which you unlock after finding all activities and collectibles in the game is also just as good on account of the bragging rights that come with it.
  • Relating to the above, thanks in part to the engine swap mechanic, you can either have an overpowered 1973 Porsche Carrera RSR 9.8 as per usual - or - you can build the ugliest, rusty-looking Volvo 240 and give it some of the best performance parts in the game and have it outrun the aforementioned RSR!
  • With the Wrap Editor having endless potential in terms of wraps, some have gone out of their way to recreate the most iconic paint jobs either within the Need for Speed series itself (e.g., McLaren F1 NFS Edition, Razor's Ford Mustang GT, Cross' Corvette, Kenji's RX-7, etc.), some from The Fast and the Furious (Brian's Skyline, Han's Veilside RX-7, Brian's Supra, Johnny Tran's S2000 etc.)... and then there's these.
• Game-Breaker: The Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 2.8 '73 once again retains its status as the fastest car period in the series for the third game in a row, since the 2015 reboot. It retains all of the characteristics that made it an OP in the first place but was also buffed in Heat in addition to this. The only cars that can genuinely challenge it are the F40, McLaren F1, 488 Pista, FXX K Evoluzione, Huayra BC, and 2017 Ford GT. However, not only is the RSR cheaper than any of the other cars mentioned, ^note  it doesn't even cost 100,000 bank to obtain although the McLaren F1 is free to buy and is available to pick up at Rank 20 after beating the second story mission it is also unlocked earlier ^note  as early as Rep Level 16 , making it very easily obtained for its power level.
  • For drifting, Drag tires with Speedcross diff and suspension on any rear wheel drive car will rack up points way faster and easier than any build with actual drift parts.
  • There are two Speed Traps in the Downtown area that are in close proximity (specifically the one jumping over the boat and the Speed Trap south of that) that not only are fairly easy to clear, but also good for farming Rep and Heat. They're also fine for farming cash, but they're especially useful for farming Rep, but the especially good part is being able to quickly farm Heat safely with a low chance of being forced into a chase, which also doubles as a good Rep gain multiplier, and a safe way to build up Heat in order to access a High Heat race.
• It's Short, So It Sucks!: Subverted. While the campaign is very short (requiring as little as 3-4 hours to complete) and the Driving Stories don't really add much to the story part of the game, this is only a minor mark against Heat, which is widely seen as a massive improvement over Payback and the 2015 reboot. At least the Black Market update adds two side stories that adds more game time.
• Good Bad Bugs: There was a glitch that allows you to have infinite Nitrous Recharges or Portable Repairs during a free drive session, which could be easily performed by leaving the garage with the Killswitch Jammer equipped, going to the Parts Shop and replacing the Jammer with either the Recharges or the Portable Repairs. Equipping the latter was extremely useful during night time, as it makes Gas Stations all but useless while you could just repair your car whenever you need. Unfortunately, Ghost Games fixed the glitch in the December 2019 update, making sure that the parts' limited uses in each session stay limited when you switch to them from the Killswitch Jammer.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: This stream highlight from KuruHS, a NFS streamer and speedrunner, predicts the premise and everything else for Heat two years in advance. This moment would double as Heartwarming in Hindsight, as Kuru would later attend the game's launch event, having been given an invite to it.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • I SAID RIGHT NOW! ^note  In the trailer reveal, officer Danny Shaw demands that a racer hands over their keys. The delivery of this particular line, however, has quickly spawned comments on YouTube in a similar way of saying TAKE MY MONEY!, not to mention mocking the sudden shift in tone, as said by the community.
  • pfft nerds^note The NFS Twitter account's reply to a poorly worded tweet by Toyota UK in August 2019 which explained the brand's absence from Heat. Toyota's tweet has since been deleted from the backlash that ensued, particularly because when one looked up the list of active media properties that have Toyota/Lexus vehicles in them, a number of them (Initial D Arcade Stage and Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune at the immediate time of the tweet; Forza Horizon 4 in a December 2019 update and F9 when accounting for Production Lead Time) involve illegal street racing, which ran counter to what was asserted in the tweet, that Toyota "does not want to be associated with street racing". Prior to December 2019, Toyota only allowed Japanese game publishers to feature their cars (emphasis on "publishers", as the British Project CARS series got Toyota licenses through Bandai Namco Entertainment), much as how Porsche did when Electronic Arts started their exclusive license from 2000 to 2016.
  • "Toyota Supra" ^note Toyota have refused to have their brand and vehicles in non-Japanese-published racing games from early 2017 to late 2019. With Heat's announcement of its car lineup, many have claimed the BMW Z4 M40i as a substitute to the 2020 Toyota GR Supra, since both of the cars share the same engine and chassis platform. In conclusion, the Z4 in game is dubbed the "Toyota Supra" by various YouTubers, as popularized by racing game fans such as BlackPanthaa.
  • RSR Killer ^note  Said by some people regarding cars able to beat the notoriously broken Carrera RSR 2.8, which has been established as being a level above the rest of everything else in Heat, in addition to being much cheaper and easier to acquire than its closest competitors.
• Sequel Difficulty Spike:
  • To the EA Black Box games, is that the cop cars are now armored and can take multitudes of punishment. Also your car can be damaged from being rammed as well.
  • To the Criterion games, is that the cop cars can withstand more punishments, and you have fewer options to fight back.
  • To the previous Ghost Games titles, is also that the cops can withstand more punishments, and more easily encountered at night instead of limited from events.
• Moment of Awesome:
  • High Heat night races has the starting line adorned with flaming pillars, as if to say that "sh*t's going to get real".
  • The iconic BMW M3 GTR that appeared in many Need for Speed games, surprisingly becomes part of the main plot since Carbon, serving as the de facto Final Boss of the game, being driven by Frank Mercer himself! For added points, you can also customize an Audi R8 with Darius' livery or use any of the other unlockable Hero cars that you obtain from the other Driver Stories, such as Eddie's Skyline or Rachel's 350Z.
  • Lucas' Big Damn Heroes moment midway through the story, when he rams his father's '69 Camaro SS into Frank's police cruiser, saving Ana and the player from being arrested. He then punches Frank Mercer in the face as payback for beating him up. While he's still nursing wounds from said beating.
  • Speaking of Black Market DLCs, the return of the McLaren F1, while can be unlocked via real-money purchase, is an awesome moment for some fans. Not to mention it's also one of the Game-Breaker cars in the series.
• Narm Charm: The currency is called Bank, so when you race during the day, you literally make Bank. It's cheesy, but it fits in with the rest of the game's aesthetic.
• Scrappy Mechanic:
  • The inability to gain monetary rewards at night except for the challenges and High Heat races.
  • The fact that High Heat races are locked in high heat and the player need to rack up heat and then evade the cops, Metal Gear Solid style but with a car, in order to enter the race itself.
• Spoiled by the Format: The game had been announced with a customizable player character, and yet, the prologue has you play as Joe with his Polestar 1. In addition to the player's BMW M3 GTR from Most Wanted (2005), you also get the aforementioned Polestar after beating the main story and all of the other Driving Stories, so it's not like you can't drive the hero car at all.
• Surprisingly Improved Sequel: Heat has been received a lot more positively by both critics and the fanbase than the previous two lukewarmly received Ghost Games developed games, with a high positive rating of 77 from Metacritic, as opposed to a 68 and 62 for 2015 and Payback respectively. While not reaching the series' high points, it's a large step in the right direction and has generally made the fanbase a lot more positive about the series' future than before.
• That One Achievement:
  • "Cashing In" requires you to bank 1,000,000 rep in a single night session. Reaching that threshold and trying not to be busted or wrecked could be a chore. The best way to get that achievement is to do all the Discovery events. It maybe a Marathon Level, but each race gives you around 50,000 rep and easily help you reach into high heat levels. With all 4 events, you get around 200,000 rep and when you manage to reach heat level 5 and returning back to the safehouse, you'll be getting this achievement in no time.
    • If you're looking for an almost risk-free route to getting this achievement and are willing to put up with a lot of tedium, then just lap around Palm City Raceway and drive through the Speed Demon speed trap there every lap you make. You'll have to hide in the track's entrance tunnels if the cops decide to look for you, though, which will be often.
  • "The Most Wanted" requires you to win a High Heat Event level 5 and returning back to the garage safely. Which means, win the race, escape the cops, return safely. Unscathed. Because of the increasingly heavier police response, it's recommended to use a supercar, fit a damage reduction auxiliary and take advantage of using the ramps.
• That One Sidequest:
  • High Heat Events are races that require you to be at a certain heat level (Heat 3 or Heat 5) before being permitted to enter. Reaching it can be difficult since you have to deal with escaping and limited repairs, plus the increasingly heavier police response. They cannot be restarted and has a recommended performance rating as your current car, making these unique events a challenge. Don't think you can set the difficulty settings to Easy; all High Heat Events are atrociously hard even on that difficulty level. High Heat races are actually not mandatory for the completion of main story and driving stories, but the rewards can be tremendously helpful.
    • In return, as long as you return to the safehouse, completing them will unlock you Ultimate and Ultimate+ parts in random order, which will be purchasable for all cars ^note  Ultimate and Ultimate+ parts are only available when you're at REP level 50. Also you must finish in the top three to obtain these items.
  • Time trials in general can be notoriously difficult. But the most atrocious of all is the "Trail Rail" event, which put you on top of a narrow railway. One mistake of falling down and you will respawn, losing precious time.
  • Some of the Black Market Challenges can be at times difficult:
    • For the McLaren F1, the are some that require you to place in the top 3 or win without hitting vehicles.
    • Both cars require you to pick up BM crated hidden and scattered all over the specified area.
    • The DB11 has 5 crates at the Containers area at Port Murphy. Like hunting for activities and collectibles that are hidden throughout the map, this is more of the same, however there are no indicators other than the icons in the map to detect if a crate is nearby.
    • The F1 on the other hand is far worse. You now have to collect 20 crates. One is from the "Abandoned Mall" in Edgewood Valley, and another from the "Launch Pad" area in Cape Castille. But fortunately, both areas have 15 crates each so there is not much tedium to at least hunt all of the crates per area.
    • Another for the DB11 requires you to smash at least 3 billboards during a race and win in order to progress. At its worst, you need to be accurate with the ramp and the speed in order to to smash each of the billboard. There are 5 throughout the race and because it's dark, it's hard to see any ramps and the only indications of nearby billboards is with the aid of an icon on top of each of them, which are not on the map during the race.
    • One challenge for both cars require you to win with the car rating lower than the recommended rating.
    • For the F1, there is one where you have to finish a Palm City Raceway event without touching any barriers or breakables.
    • Two of the F1 night challenges require you to evade 2 rhinos at a certain speed threshold while the other requires you to survive a spike strip and end the night session. For the latter's case, hitting a spike strip takes away half of the car's health and it takes 15-20 seconds to reinflate. Should you be at critical damage and you would hit a spike strip afterwards, then getting wrecked or busted, your chance of completing that challenge will go up in flames.
    • Any challenge that requires you to win High Heat events as mentioned above.
    • Another for the F1 requires you to get a 2 star in a specified Drift Zone without hitting any objects or vehicle. The F1 isn't drift-capable, even if you use Showcase or Speedcross setup and hitting anything mentioned would automatically fail the challenge forcing you to restart it.
    • You can try clearing all the breakable barriers and signboards when you are there, before you start the drift zone. However, traffic vehicles can still crash your progress though.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: Cars leave the garage pristine, but as you drive them around, the paint dynamically collects little scratches and chips from the environment.
• Win Back the Crowd: Not only are the Author's Saving Throw aspects above implemented properly, but the game, along with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, lacks pervasive microtransactions that EA is notorious for using. Unfortunately, these have not been enough to save Ghost Games from being reduced back to a supporting studio.