Rumour: Need for Speed 2022 to Feature Photorealistic Visuals with 'Anime Elements', Set in Fictional Chicago
New rumours have begun to swirl about the next Need for Speed title, currently in development at Criterion, this time detailing much more about the game’s art style and aesthetic, but also where the game will be set and details about multiplayer.
Speaking exclusively on his premium show Grubbsnax, VentureBeat’s Jeff Grubb - who had reported last week that Criterion’s new Need for Speed title will be on next gen consoles only - discussed about the new art style that the new title is adopting different to anything the series has ever seen.
“It’s going to be photo-realistic, but it’s going to have on top of that, anime elements,” Grubb said. “You know when you see a car commercial or something like that and the car’s driving around, but then cartoons flames and stuff are flying off it? That’s the kind of the aesthetic that they seem to be going for.”
Grubb also detailed that the next game will feature the return of Autolog for the multiplayer, the online social network originally created by Criterion in Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, however didn’t mention anything about what multiplayer would be like or in terms of content.
Grubb also stated the game would be set in a fictionalized version of Chicago called Lake Shore City, not Miami like he had previously claimed. “Criterion wants to make it feel like a real city, even though it’s a fictionalized version of a city” he explained. Grubb also believes the title should be revealed pretty soon.
Criterion aiming for photo-realistic visuals harkens back to when the title was first teased at EA Play 2020, with EA General Manager Laura Miele stating at the time that the next Need for Speed title is set to feature “astounding visual leaps” over previous titles.
Back in August 2020, leaked in-development alpha footage of what we believe is the next Need for Speed title began to circulate, which looking back to now seems to show off the “anime element” aesthetic Grubb has alluded to quite clearly.
The video linked above showcases various brake light trail and stylized smoke effects during the moment-to-moment gameplay, originally perceived to be ‘early, in-development’ effects but now show off what could be our first look at these cartoon effects in a photorealistic art style.
In December 2021, a since-deleted Tweet from a Criterion employee also seemed to tease the “anime element” aesthetic, with a development poster features a modified Nissan Silvia S14 Kouki - not available in recent titles - plastered with stylized graphic effects and stickers.
With more and more rumours of the next Need for Speed title coming to fruition as we head towards the middle half of the year, an official reveal from EA and Criterion shouldn’t be too far off in the coming months ahead.
Criterion’s Need for Speed title is slated to launch this year exclusively for new gen consoles and PC, be sure to stay tuned for all the latest Need for Speed related news, rumours and announcements leading up to release.
[Source: VGC via GamesBeat]