Beware of multiplayer. Servers crash, which hurts your multiplayer rank & can be extremely frustrating. I get that they do this to discourage rage-quits in the middle of the race. But it still strips you of points when the server crashes at the start/finish line, which happens surprisingly frequently. For me, around 1/10 races. Otherwise fun game. $5/month gold pass helps, but is not necessary. You can have a good experience with free play or even an occasional purchase of the gold pass.