Even though many hate on the EA launcher app, I personally didn't have any issues with it. The game launched just fine.

The real issue is the 30fps lock that's there by default. There is a mod to raise the cap without messing up the gameplay and the physics, but for me it caused the game to crash at random intervals.

I played Rivals on the PS4 at a friends house way back when it came out and it's a pretty good NFS game, but in 2025, I cannot recommend the PC version unless you're fine with the 30fps lock.

Where to even begin?
No way to play offline, long loading screens every 5 minutes and I'm getting disconnected at least once every 30 minutes. When you go the wrong way in a mission there's no indication on the screen telling you so, and I just got a freeze because I apparently when off the map. No roadblock, no "careful, you're going off map turn around", no, the car just froze in place and I had to quit. Oh, and my controller kept vibrating even after I quit the game, I had to unplug it.
I love Criterion, and this game is pretty much the same as Hot Pursuit which I loved, but a 12 year old game can not be left in this state, this is unacceptable.

giga NIGA