Asphalt Legends Unite Review – United We Fall

In a world where Criterion exists and we still haven’t gotten a new Burnout, where the demand for a Need for Speed Underground revival persists, there’s Gameloft’s Asphalt Legends Unite. It’s an “expansion” to Asphalt 9: Legends, the latter the embodiment of what everyone fears EA will one day do to Need for Speed – monetizing every aspect, from the number of times you can drive your vehicles to the barebones customization and upgrading.

Gacha players will recognize many of the systems here, starting with upgrading each “category” of a car’s performance before hitting a wall and then needing to “rank up” their car for further improvement. That’s done by gathering Blueprints, seemingly the new bane of my existence this year; these are doled out in pieces, with higher-tier vehicles requiring more. Collect enough pieces to unlock a car – like an autophile assembling parts of their beloved collection, starting with the least favorite. Then being told, “That’s not good enough – earn their souls as well.”

"Your car could be rated 900 or 1200, with an Overclock for an additional “advantage” (sarcasm heavily implied), and still be matched against vehicles in the 1500s or 2000s."

RNG card packs, exciting bundles, Asphalt Tokens for auto-completing races when you can’t be bothered, nigh-unending “challenges” for scraps of Tokens, a Unite Pass, a “Bank” where you need to spend premium currency for the next tier of receiving more Tokens – if corporate greed could be distilled into a single ongoing work, it would still look upon this title and despair.

I digress, though, as Unite is more focused on uniting the various player bases across multiple platforms, consoles and mobile devices. There are Special Events where you race this car and that, time-limited events, a new track in Singapore, and improved visuals, which offer better dynamic lighting and reflections. However, the revamped multiplayer is perhaps the biggest change, starting with World League and Season Series.

If you’re an avid Asphalt 9: Legends fan, you may have played World League already. Race in various leagues, each limiting the number of playable cars in a rank (Elite League allows for all kinds). Master Season would remove all restrictions, but this new World League starts with a clean slate. You now have multiple ranks – Bronze, Silver, etc – with different tiers. Bronze 4, 3, 2, 1 – you get the drift. Race well and rank up – depending on the rank you end the league on, you earn different rewards. The top players also receive additional rewards.

The problem is that this tiering system further limits the available cars to race with. If you’re jumping in for the first time and only have limited options, good luck. Even those denoted as “free try” are beyond your reach because, unfortunately, you’re Bronze 4, not Bronze 3. Of course, this system is in place to ensure that cars are matched according to their performance rating to ensure balanced races. Surely this is what happens? That’s the neat part, though.

"Team Pursuit is your Cops vs. Robbers – sorry, Security vs. Syndicate mode where one team of players in police cars must hunt down the criminals."

Your car could be rated 900 or 1200, with an Overclock for an additional “advantage” (sarcasm heavily implied), and still be matched against vehicles in the 1500s or 2000s. That means facing against players who are entire tiers and ranks above you. Whether this is a bug or intended or not, it sucks all potential fun out of the experience. What’s the point of upgrading your vehicle, much less trying to pull for better ones? Even if you could access those higher-tier vehicles, what does it matter if matchmaking will find a meaner pack of wolves to throw you into?

Season Series is somewhat similar in structure, as you’re placed in different leagues, except their requirements for rewards are seemingly more stringent. I found the matchmaking here to be slightly better, but only just – plenty of better vehicles were still thrown into the mix, making for an unbalanced affair. On the bright side, you can earn pitiable amounts of score for each race, advancing through various reward milestones. Surely that’s worth the headache for the average player to keep losing through when the deck is stacked against them.

Team Pursuit is your Cops vs. Robbers – sorry, Security vs. Syndicate mode where one team of players in police cars must hunt down the criminals. It’s essentially Need for Speed’s Hot Pursuit mode, right down to the naming, but with none of the depth. Security has a worse Nitro boost than the Syndicate, so instead of chasing down the opposition, the best course of action is to…kind of wait until they come around on the track. Such tension. Each team has lives and you can hit a ramp to end your misery early. After all, why bother putting in effort when you’ll get rewards just for showing up?

"Nevertheless, all the fancy visuals and adrenaline-pumping soundtracks can’t mask some fatal flaws that Asphalt Legends Unite possesses, many left festering for a long time."

So yes, in multiplayer offerings, Asphalt Legends Unite is a letdown at best and voluntary torture at worst. Outside of the problematic matchmaking, it also has its share of disconnects among various players, which you’re helpfully informed via an annoying on-screen notification.

The visual upgrades admittedly look good, if you have the hardware to run it. On PS5, at least, the reflections look sharp and seamless, while the frame rate is steady throughout. The detail in each level is also pretty nice, though much as I love Singapore, that one divider desperately needs a different shade of neon since it can be mistaken for a purple launch ramp.

Make no mistake – this is not even in the same dimension as Gran Turismo 7, Forza Horizon 5 or even Forza Motorsport. For a free-to-play arcade racer, however, it’s sharp and flashy. The soundtrack is also pretty diverse, but it seemingly lacks a coherent theme. Your mileage may also vary on the catchiness of some of these tunes.

Nevertheless, all the fancy visuals and adrenaline-pumping soundtracks can’t mask some fatal flaws that Asphalt Legends Unite possesses, many left festering for a long time. There are several tracks across various locations, but they begin to feel repetitive – seeing the same sights on a longer race in Career Mode as you would in shorter sprints gets tiring. Don’t even get me started on the rubberbanding AI, where other cars will outright cheat to catch up with you. Given that this has been an issue for years, I don’t hold out any hope for improvements.

"Unfortunately, between the excessive monetization, progression systems, baffling ranked experience, annoying matchmaking, pointless Team Pursuit mode and lingering issues, Asphalt Legends Unite is hard to invest in."

There’s a shell of a competent arcade racing game here dumbed down to suit the more “pick up and play” nature of mobile gaming with its interface and pacing. Mastering the different kinds of nitro boosts and when to use them, locating the most optimal routes on a track, and knowing when to knock down (because “takedown” would be too on the nose) opponents are all key to success. If you want to dive in and race, that’s also possible, though doing so without learning the ins and outs will only get you so far.

Unfortunately, between the excessive monetization, progression systems, baffling ranked experience, annoying matchmaking, pointless Team Pursuit mode and lingering issues, Asphalt Legends Unite is hard to invest in. You could make the case that it’s one of the better mobile racing experiences, but on consoles and PC, there are far superior options with much more content and deeper mechanics. Heck, even Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has more to offer. Whether you’re a new or long-time player, Asphalt Legends Unite is an insufferable experience that only gets worse with extended play.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.