Need for Speed Payback vs Re-Volt
Need for Speed Payback is an open-world racing game from EA Gothenburg (2017) while Re-Volt is a racing game from Acclaim Studios London (1999).
What each one is
Steam files Need for Speed Payback under Open-World and Racing. In contrast, it files Re-Volt under Racing.
Set in the underworld of Fortune Valley, you and your crew were divided by betrayal and reunited by revenge to take down The House, a nefarious cartel that rules the city’s casinos, criminals and cops. In this corrupt gambler’s paradise, the stakes are high and The House always wins.
Re-Volt lets you guide one of 28 remote control cars through insane race tracks set in unusual environments. Curbs become huge walls, toys are obstacles, and everything is fair game to drive on, through, or over.
At a glance
| Need for Speed Payback | Re-Volt | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.1/10 | 7.1/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (85%, 32,277) | Very Positive (90%, 1,512) |
| Critic aggregate | 62/100 | No aggregate |
| Price | $29.99 | $5.99 |
| Install size | 30 GB | 0.31 GB |
| Steam Deck | unsupported | playable |
| Released | 2017 | 1999 |
| Developer | EA Gothenburg | Acclaim Studios London |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Need for Speed Payback vs Re-Volt, 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 PaybackOpen-world racing gameRe-VoltRacing gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Need for Speed PaybackRacing, Open World, Combat RacingRe-VoltRacing, Combat Racing, ArcadeThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Need for Speed PaybackScore 7.1 · 85% on Steam · 62 criticRe-VoltScore 7.1 · 90% on SteamThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Need for Speed Payback32,277 reviews · 4 add-ons · 30 GBRe-Volt1,512 reviews · 0.31 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Need for Speed Payback$29.99Re-Volt ✓$5.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Need for Speed PaybackUnsupportedRe-Volt ✓PlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Re-Volt 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 Payback and Re-Volt 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
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 cheaper right now: Re-Volt ($5.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Re-Volt (playable)
- Lighter on storage: Re-Volt (0.31 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Need for Speed Payback (32,277 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
RacingMultiplayerCombat RacingControllerPvPArcadeThird PersonSingleplayer
Where they differ
Open WorldSportsSandboxFirst-PersonStrategyOffroad
3DRetroClassic
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Need for Speed Payback is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Re-Volt is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Need for Speed Payback and 1 for Re-Volt. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Need for Speed Payback and Re-Volt in scope?
Need for Speed Payback has drawn 32,277 Steam reviews, ships 4 add-ons and installs in 30 GB. Re-Volt has drawn 1,512 Steam reviews and installs in 0.31 GB.
Is Need for Speed Payback or Re-Volt better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Need for Speed Payback rates higher (7.1 to 7.1). 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 Payback or Re-Volt?
Re-Volt is cheaper right now at $5.99, against $29.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
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.