I am more familiar with Forza Horizon, which is my own comparison point, but, yeah. It's like they missed why those were fun.

Also, those button missions. They're slow to set up, they interrupt the flow of driving, they're mostly easy enough you can still beat them while messing up completely and they don't incentivize breaking records.

Compare that to speed traps and danger signs in Horizon. You see them, you speed through them, you do stupid shit. No pause, no slow as hell camera move showing you the obvious thing you're supposed to do. It's all organic.