Asphalt Legends Unite

Asphalt Legends Unite is Gameloft’s grand attempt to bring together the mobile and console racing crowd in one turbocharged package. It’s an expansion of Asphalt 9: Legends, but feels more like a remix, bigger, louder, and yes, grindier.

At its best, Legends Unite nails the arcade racing fantasy. You’re piloting Lamborghinis and Porsches across neon-soaked tracks in Singapore, Tokyo, and beyond. The sense of speed is wild. The drift mechanics are responsive. And with 250+ cars, there’s plenty to dream about unlocking.

But that’s the trick, isn’t it? Unlocking.

Progression revolves around collecting Blueprints, randomly distributed card drops that feel more like a gacha game than a racer. You might need 45 pieces just to unlock a car, and that’s assuming you get lucky. Want to upgrade it? More Blueprints. Need to compete in ranked mode? Better bring a maxed-out ride or prepare to be matched against players with twice your rating.

Multiplayer is where the game shines and stumbles the hardest. World League’s tiered ranks sound fair on paper, Bronze 4 through Elite, but matchmaking regularly tosses you into races against far superior vehicles. Add some rubberbanding AI and you’ve got a mode where effort doesn’t always equal reward.

Then there’s Team Pursuit, the much-hyped cops vs. robbers mode. In practice, it’s lopsided, dull, and often broken. The Security team’s nitro boost is a joke, and success mostly involves waiting for Syndicate cars to come to you. It sounds chaotic. It plays… oddly quiet.

Visually, Asphalt Legends Unite delivers. Reflections gleam, especially on PS5, and the performance holds up well. The soundtrack is energetic, if a bit thematically confused. It feels premium, even if the game’s economy is anything but.

The core racing is still fun, especially with TouchDrive off. Learning boost types, mastering alternate routes, and chaining drifts never gets old. But the grind? It wears you down. The Unite Pass, the RNG card packs, the endless chase for Tokens, it’s a treadmill with occasional sparks of brilliance.

If you’re a casual fan, you’ll enjoy the early hours. But if you’re competitive? Prepare to either grind or spend. A lot.

Final verdict? There’s an addictive arcade racer buried here. But you’ll have to drift through a mountain of monetization to find it.