✓ Fits the racing sims cluster, with deep simulation, racing gameplay and single-player focus
≠ Its own twist: open world exploration, exploration and discovery and visual third person, while skipping strong narrative focus
Shift is the thirteenth Need for Speed game. It is considered one of the most hardcore installments of the series. Unlike many of its predecessors, it is oriented towards the actual driving simulation rather than arcade racing.
It predates Project Motor Racing by 16 years, with what that implies technically.