Ok, so i will focus only on Singleplayer, because the multiplayer is basically unfinished, i played it for a bit and still is doing the "invite to races" thing rather than matchmaking to fully play a speedlist and i mostly play SP NFS anyways so that's what i care the most about. Also, i played it on the "Intense" difficulty.

TLDR; The game is one of my TOP 5 NFS games, its better than Heat in several ways but also beware of cringe voicelines.

Graphics:
Lets get the visuals out of the way first since you can already see them on the trailers and stuff, the game looks better than Heat, it has DLSS/FSR2.0/DRS so you can have a nice looking image while having higher FPS.
The "Graphiti" effects, are nice looking on gameplay imo, but i understand some people don't like those, so in that case you can use the basic effects at the top which only has cartoony smoke, trails and flashes.

Sound:
It sounds really nice, has many sound effects that really make it more intense during races, the songs do sync with the start and end of races which i really liked, since it makes it more fun. You can change the "sound effects" that you car makes but also disable them.
The Soundtrack fits with the game well, just like in Heat. But it has less... "good" songs imo. I mean most of them are quite good. But then it has people making weird noises or talking in a weird way and im not referring to the non-english songs, i just mean one where there's a guy breathing on the mic.

Story:
The game's story (not spoiling it) is good. Is like at the levels of Heat and Payback. Good enough but not revolutionary for a NFS game.
THOUGH I HAVE TO MENTION THAT THE SIDE MISSIONS (Where you pick up people and the like) ARE VERY CRINGE AND NOT FUNNY. Also, the voice lines at the radio stations are super political since there's a vote coming up so one of the candidates is parodying Joe Biden, but as a right-wing version of him. It was funny, but at the same time... i found it strange that they did not make him actually Biden but instead some kind of joke to trash the Right-wing people.

Cars:
Umm they drive better yes, no more weird ass physics from 2015-Heat. Now they control better, but still be careful with the bumps on the road. Customization is obviously improved and its actually a big jump, since now there's bodykits just like in the old games, but they went crazier with those, like removing the bumpers and having things hanging on the back and stuff and yeah there's the typical stuff like underglow and horns...

Woke:
I did mention a bit on the Story part, but the game is woke. There's no doubt about it, there's "Love is love" and "WE ARE UNITED billboards that sadly are not destructible, also there's now LGTV+ flags in the wrap editor. But they forgot to add the lolicon pride flag for some reason.
I can't even type Ahegao or loli in my license plate anymore like in Heat or past games.
And yeah the voicelines during radio and side missions, woke aswell.

Gameplay:
The game is really fun, like just as fun as Heat, but even better. You got 2 types of nitrous, Burst and classic. Is like Asphalt 9, but not exactly like it. I can't explain it well, so i guess someone else should.
Cars handling is better. Sense of speed is great, but they need to add some slight shake on high speed.
ALSO I PLAYED WITH 100% CAMERA SHAKE, ITS AT 30% BY DEFAULT.
You also have 5 car classes, and you should avoid leveling them up too far or else the other races will make it difficult for you to win. Buy more cars instead.
Cops are hard at heat 4-5. so you better use all the tricks possible to lose them. But they are not as dangerous as MW2005 cops.

Overall, i do recommend the game. Criterion did not disappoint or made another Burnout style NFS game.
But rather mixed the good things of all racing games and put it in one cartoony style with questionable voicelines game.

Ok, so i will focus only on Singleplayer, because the multiplayer is basically unfinished, i played it for a bit and still is doing the "invite to races" thing rather than matchmaking to fully play a speedlist and i mostly play SP NFS anyways so that's what i care the most about. Also, i played it on the "Intense" difficulty. TLDR; The game is one of my TOP 5 NFS games, its better than Heat in several ways but also beware of cringe voicelines. Graphics: Lets get the visuals out of the way first since you can already see them on the trailers and stuff, the game looks better than Heat, it has DLSS/FSR2.0/DRS so you can have a nice looking image while having higher FPS. The "Graphiti" effects, are nice looking on gameplay imo, but i understand some people don't like those, so in that case you can use the basic effects at the top which only has cartoony smoke, trails and flashes. Sound: It sounds really nice, has many sound effects that really make it more intense during races, the songs do sync with the start and end of races which i really liked, since it makes it more fun. You can change the "sound effects" that you car makes but also disable them. The Soundtrack fits with the game well, just like in Heat. But it has less... "good" songs imo. I mean most of them are quite good. But then it has people making weird noises or talking in a weird way and im not referring to the non-english songs, i just mean one where there's a guy breathing on the mic. Story: The game's story (not spoiling it) is good. Is like at the levels of Heat and Payback. Good enough but not revolutionary for a NFS game. THOUGH I HAVE TO MENTION THAT THE SIDE MISSIONS (Where you pick up people and the like) ARE VERY CRINGE AND NOT FUNNY. Also, the voice lines at the radio stations are super political since there's a vote coming up so one of the candidates is parodying Joe Biden, but as a right-wing version of him. It was funny, but at the same time... i found it strange that they did not make him actually Biden but instead some kind of joke to trash the Right-wing people. Cars: Umm they drive better yes, no more weird ass physics from 2015-Heat. Now they control better, but still be careful with the bumps on the road. Customization is obviously improved and its actually a big jump, since now there's bodykits just like in the old games, but they went crazier with those, like removing the bumpers and having things hanging on the back and stuff and yeah there's the typical stuff like underglow and horns... Woke: I did mention a bit on the Story part, but the game is woke. There's no doubt about it, there's "Love is love" and "WE ARE UNITED billboards that sadly are not destructible, also there's now LGTV+ flags in the wrap editor. But they forgot to add the lolicon pride flag for some reason. I can't even type Ahegao or loli in my license plate anymore like in Heat or past games. And yeah the voicelines during radio and side missions, woke aswell. Gameplay: The game is really fun, like just as fun as Heat, but even better. You got 2 types of nitrous, Burst and classic. Is like Asphalt 9, but not exactly like it. I can't explain it well, so i guess someone else should. Cars handling is better. Sense of speed is great, but they need to add some slight shake on high speed. ALSO I PLAYED WITH 100% CAMERA SHAKE, ITS AT 30% BY DEFAULT. You also have 5 car classes, and you should avoid leveling them up too far or else the other races will make it difficult for you to win. Buy more cars instead. Cops are hard at heat 4-5. so you better use all the tricks possible to lose them. But they are not as dangerous as MW2005 cops. Overall, i do recommend the game. Criterion did not disappoint or made another Burnout style NFS game. But rather mixed the good things of all racing games and put it in one cartoony style with questionable voicelines game.