Need for Speed 2022, which is yet to be officially announced, will reportedly combine photo-realistic graphics with an anime art style. That’s according to Jeff Grubb who was speaking on his Grubbsnax podcast about the game. Grubb described the art style in the following manner, “It’s going to be photo-realistic, but it’s going to have on top of that, anime elements.”
Grubb compared the art style to when a car commercial has cartoon flames spewing from the car. “You know when you see a car commercial or something like that and the car’s driving around, but then cartoon flames and stuff are flying off it? That’s the kind of the aesthetic that they seem to be going for.”
Grubb also revealed that the next Need for Speed title will be set in Lake Shore City, a fictionalized version of Chicago. He added that Need for Speed developer Criterion wants to make Lake Shore City “feel like a real city.”
The new art style will no doubt sound confusing to longtime fans of the franchise, at least until it is officially revealed. Having “anime elements” in a series that has otherwise attempted to be super-realistic looking up to now sounds like a big departure from what fans are used to. In a previous podcast, Grubb said that this year’s Need for Speed title is set for release in November and will be exclusive to next-gen consoles.
To get a look at the new art style fans will need to wait for the game’s official announcement. If the November release date pans out then the game will likely be announced at some point in the next few months. The last two mainline entries, Heat and Payback, were announced in August and June of their release years respectively. If EA follows the trend, then a summer announcement for Need for Speed 2022 could be likely.