Fast and Furious: Crossroads flew pretty far under the radar when it was released for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2022. Developed to tie in with the Fast and the Furious film franchise, it was arguably one of the most disappointing releases of 2020. The game was panned by critics and players alike before quietly fading into the background.
Given the game’s terrible reception, it was perhaps inevitable that Bandai Namco Entertainment would abandon the game eventually. That is about to happen sooner than some might expect, as Fast and Furious: Crossroads will be pulled from online storefronts next month.
Bandai Namco announced this with a short statement on the homepage of the game’s website. The publisher plans to officially delist the game at 4 AM Central European Time, or 10 AM Eastern/7:00 PM Pacific on April 29th, 2022. Multiplayer servers will remain online, and players will still be able to download the game if it’s already in their library. Likewise, if the player purchased any DLC for Fast and Furious: Crossroads, that content will still be available after the game is delisted. However, if anyone is still curious enough to check it out, this is their last chance. Granted, if people were clamoring to play Fast and Furious: Crossroads, Bandai Namco probably wouldn’t be pulling it from online stores after less than two years.
The game boasts characters and locations from the Fast and Furious Films but features an original story for its single-player campaign. Said plot follows a trio of new characters who help the established faces to take down a gang of car bandits-turned international terrorists. While primarily a racing game, Fast and Furious: Crossroads also featured vehicle combat with the aid of James Bond-style gadgets.
Unfortunately, while Fast and Furious seems like an excellent fit for a video game franchise, Crossroads did not live up to that potential. IGN’s Luke Reilly criticized the game for its shallow mechanics, dull vehicle combat, and the use of linear arcade-style driving in what many expected to be Need for Speed with Fast and Furious Characters. Other reviews of Fast and Furious Crossroads were similarly negative, complaining of tedious levels, unresponsive driving, dull mission design, and boring races. The new characters didn’t turn many heads either, with some critics feeling they were little more than less interesting versions of returning cast members.
The PC version of Fast and Furious: Crossroads has a miserable 34% on Metacritic, with an abysmal user score of only 1.8 percent. The PS4 version was similarly unpopular, with the Xbox One version managing a better but still terrible 49% Metascore and 3.1 user score. While Metacritic numbers aren’t the only metric of a game’s success, these low numbers demonstrate how poorly received Crossroads was.
Fast and Furious Crossroads is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Bandai Namco