Need for Speed Heat vs Universe Sandbox
Need for Speed Heat is an open-world racing game from EA Gothenburg (2019) while Universe Sandbox is an open-world sandbox game from Giant Army (2015).
Quick answer: Universe Sandbox rates higher, 8.2 to 7.4 on the GamingPickz Score, and Universe Sandbox is the cheaper at $20.09.
What each one is
Need for Speed Heat is filed under Open-World and Racing. In contrast, Universe Sandbox under Open-World and Sandbox.
Hustle by day and risk it all at night in Need for Speed™ Heat Deluxe Edition, a white-knuckle street racer, where the lines of the law fade as the sun starts to set.
Create & destroy on an unimaginable scale with a realistic physics-based space simulator. Explore the beauty of our universe and the fragility of our planet. Use science to bend the laws of gravity, collide planets, boil away oceans, fire epic space lasers, and customize your universe.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
The player (male player voiced by Andrew Lawrence , female player voiced by Jamie Gray Hyder ) arrives in Palm City for the SpeedHunters Showdown, a citywide exhibition that draws in racers who compete in sanctioned races throughout the day, and illegal street races at night. Lt. Frank Mercer (Josh Coxx), leader of the police's High-Speed Task Force, announces his intent to arrest all street racers in the city. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Need for Speed Heat received generally positive reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic . Critics welcomed the overhauled progression system (compared to the predecessor Payback where one of the methods to gain upgrades for a car was to purchase loot boxes ) and the option to choose between day and night for increased race variety, but criticized the short story and lack of innovation compared to previous titles. Luke Reily… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Both games have received near-universal acclaim. Duncan Geere of PC Gamer gave it an 84/100 and spoke positively of the game, " Universe Sandbox is not going to change your life. It is not going to make you cry, and it won't sit in the top of your most-played list in Steam for weeks. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Need for Speed Heat | Universe Sandbox | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.4/10 | 8.2/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (84%, 153,208) | Overwhelmingly Positive (96%, 32,082) |
| Critic aggregate | 72/100 | 83/100 |
| Price | $69.99 | $20.09 |
| Install size | 50 GB | 4 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 2019 | 2015 |
| Developer | EA Gothenburg | Giant Army |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Need for Speed Heat vs Universe Sandbox, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Need for Speed HeatOpen-world racing gameUniverse SandboxOpen-world sandbox gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Need for Speed HeatRacing, Open World, DrivingUniverse SandboxSandbox, Space, SimulationThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Need for Speed HeatScore 7.4 · 84% on Steam · 72 criticUniverse Sandbox ✓Score 8.2 · 96% on Steam · 83 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Need for Speed Heat153,208 reviews · 2 add-ons · 50 GBUniverse Sandbox32,082 reviews · 4 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Need for Speed Heat$69.99Universe Sandbox ✓$20.09Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Need for Speed HeatPlayableUniverse SandboxPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Universe Sandbox takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueNeed for Speed Heat and Universe Sandbox on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Universe Sandbox (GamingPickz Score 8.2)
- The cheaper right now: Universe Sandbox ($20.09)
- Lighter on storage: Universe Sandbox (4 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Need for Speed Heat (153,208 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
Open WorldSingleplayerAtmosphericDestruction
Where they differ
RacingMultiplayerDrivingActionCo-opAdventure
SandboxSpaceSimulationPhysicsScienceRealistic
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Need for Speed Heat is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Universe Sandbox is relaxed, easy to pick up.
System requirements, side by side
| Need for Speed Heat | Universe Sandbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | AMD: Radeon 7970/Radeon R9 280x | — |
| Minimum CPU | FX-6350 | — |
| Minimum RAM | 8 GB | — |
| Install size | 50 GB | 4 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Need for Speed Heat · Universe Sandbox.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Need for Speed Heat and 6 for Universe Sandbox. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Need for Speed Heat and Universe Sandbox in scope?
Need for Speed Heat has drawn 153,208 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 50 GB. Universe Sandbox has drawn 32,082 Steam reviews and installs in 4 GB.
Is Need for Speed Heat or Universe Sandbox better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Universe Sandbox rates higher (8.2 to 7.4). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Need for Speed Heat or Universe Sandbox?
Universe Sandbox is cheaper right now at $20.09, against $69.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Need for Speed Heat or Universe Sandbox?
Universe Sandbox rates higher, 8.2 to 7.4 on the GamingPickz Score, and Universe Sandbox is the cheaper at $20.09. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.