GamingPickz
Game vs game · side by side

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered vs Need for Speed: Shift

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered is an action-adventure open-world game from Stellar Entertainment Limited (2020) while Need for Speed: Shift is a racing game from Slightly Mad Studios (2009).

Quick answer: Need for Speed: Shift has the higher Metacritic, 83 to 74.

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered

2020 · Stellar Entertainment Limited

7.1GamingPickz Score

$29.99

Steam: Very Positive

Need for Speed: Shift

2009 · Slightly Mad Studios

83Metacritic

What each one is

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered is filed under Action-Adventure and Open-World. In contrast, Need for Speed: Shift under Racing.

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered

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.

Description from its Steam store page

Need for Speed: Shift

Need for Speed: Shift is a 2009 racing video game developed by Slightly Mad Studios and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360. A separate version of the game was developed by EA Bright Light and simultaneously released for PlayStation Portable. Two mobile adaptations were developed by IronMonkey Studios for Java-compatible devices and iOS and released in 2009, with the latter version subsequently being made available for several other mobile devices. Need for Speed: Shift is the thirteenth installment in the Need for Speed franchise.

Description from Wikipedia

Story, characters and reception

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered
Reception

Pre-release Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit was well received by critics at E3 2010 and was awarded with "Best Racing Game" from Game Critics Awards as well as several other media outlets. Other games in the category included Forza Motorsport 4 , Gran Turismo 5 , Test Drive Unlimited 2 and MotorStorm: Apocalypse . IGN stated that it had "an inspired level of connectivity", while 1UP. (Wikipedia)

Need for Speed: Shift
Reception

Reception The console versions of Need for Speed: Shift received "generally favorable" reviews, while the PlayStation Portable version received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic . IGN awarded it an Editor's Choice award and scored it a 9/10, citing among other things the exceptional quality of its driving experience and sound design. Official Xbox Magazine awarded Shift with a 9/10, praising its driver's view… (Wikipedia)

At a glance

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit RemasteredNeed for Speed: Shift
GamingPickz Score7.1/10—
Steam ratingVery Positive (81%, 14,925)—
Critic aggregate74/10083/100
Price$29.99Unknown
Install size45 GB—
Steam DeckplayableUntested
Released20202009
DeveloperStellar Entertainment LimitedSlightly Mad Studios

Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered vs Need for Speed: Shift, 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.

  1. Genre and premise

    Need for Speed Hot Pursuit RemasteredAction-adventure open-world game
    Need for Speed: ShiftRacing game

    What each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.

  2. How it plays

    Need for Speed Hot Pursuit RemasteredRacing, Driving, Open World
    Need for Speed: ShiftNo descriptive tags

    The tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.

  3. Reception

    Need for Speed Hot Pursuit RemasteredMetacritic 74
    Need for Speed: Shift ✓Metacritic 83

    Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.

  4. Content and scale

    Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered14,925 reviews · 45 GB
    Need for Speed: Shift—

    Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.

  5. Price

    Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered$29.99
    Need for Speed: ShiftUnknown

    Read live from Steam and subject to change.

Need for Speed: Shift takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.

Which to pick, by what you want

  • The better reviewed of the two: Need for Speed: Shift (Metacritic 83)

Where they differ

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered is also

RacingDrivingOpen WorldCombat RacingMultiplayerCompetitive

Need for Speed: Shift is also

Tags players apply to one game and not the other.

Difficulty and who each is for

By the tags players apply, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Need for Speed: Shift is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.

Accessibility features

Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered and 0 for Need for Speed: Shift. A declaration is a floor, not a review.

If you like one, also try

Close to Need for Speed: Shift

Common questions

How different are Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered and Need for Speed: Shift in scope?

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered has drawn 14,925 Steam reviews and installs in 45 GB. Need for Speed: Shift lists little scope data.

Is Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered or Need for Speed: Shift better?

Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.

Which is cheaper, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered or Need for Speed: Shift?

One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.

Should I get Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered or Need for Speed: Shift?

Need for Speed: Shift has the higher Metacritic, 83 to 74. 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.

All 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.

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