Need for Speed Unbound Reviews
Need for Speed: Unbound is a particular work, capable of forcefully bringing back street culture, the contemporary one of generation Z, but unable to create new spaces of playful expression. Everything that revolves around the characters of the story and our avatar works like god, from the style chosen to describe them to the driving system, from the soundtrack to the special effects in graffiti style, in contrast with a Lakeshore that, despite its vibrant technical realization, remains an ordinary and almost anonymous city, a hub with some collectibles scattered around that acts as a glue to a rather lazy playful structure.
Review in Italian | Read full review
One of the best games I've played all year, and one of the best entries in the Need for Speed series. The driving is sublime, the cars are gorgeous, the art style is striking, and the soundtrack is exceptional. Despite falling short in a couple of facets, Unbound is a must-play racer.
I can live with many of Need For Speed Unbound’s faults. Admittedly, there were fleeting moments when I enjoyed the routine of earning cash, upgrading, outrunning police, and climbing Lakeshore’s underground racing ranks. But, when a Need For Speed game spits in the face of people that use wheel and pedal setups, it’s tough to feel a need for anything other than a need to play a better game. There’s a foundation here to build upon, but EA and Criterion have their work cut out for them if they ever hope to compete with the giants of the racing game scene.
Need for Speed Unbound has the racing and the world down pat, but the game is marred by too many roadblocks and a heaping helping of tedium.
Need for Speed Unbound is the franchise’s best entry in a decade, although the competition for that title wasn't particularly stiff. The game offers polished tech, good (if slightly dated) open-world design, and a varied array of events and challenges, but still lags behind the current open-world racer pack leaders. The fantasy of becoming an underground racing champ is also hampered by a restrictive, ill-considered progression system. Nostalgic fans will find plenty to like here, and more general players might want to consider a test drive once the game is marked down, but “need” may be a strong word to attach to Criterion’s latest.
Despite one or two small complaints, Need for Speed Unbound is a great arcade racer, finally getting the series back on track. The versatile handling feels fantastic, and the single-player offers a highly engaging campaign, pitting you against the cops and other racers in equal measure. The much talked-about cartoon effects succeed in bringing some flair to the experience, and it all runs wonderfully at 4K and 60 frames-per-second. If you can forgive a slightly underwhelming backdrop and a barebones online mode, the minute-to-minute action make this more than worth taking for a spin.
Visually astounding with a weighty handling model and some super clever design, Need for Speed Unbound is easily the best Need for Speed in years. Though the single-player story campaign is a little less inspiring than it needs to be both in terms of its plot and content, Need for Speed Unbound nonetheless sets a resoundingly solid foundation for the Need for Speed franchise to evolve into the future and is essential for fans of both the series and the street racing genre at large.
Need for Speed Unbound is a beautiful street racing game that features a cool soundtrack and welcome cross-platform play, but frustrating car physics and CPU drivers sully the experience.
It may not revolutionise the licence, certainly not, but we have to admit that Criterion has done a nice job with this Need for Speed Unbound. The game is beautiful, generous and fills all the boxes of a good arcade game. The racing is exhilarating and the difficulty is there.
Review in French | Read full review
Those looking for an arcade racer with some attitude should check out Unbound, as it wins far more than it loses, and looks great doing it.
Need for Speed Unbound comes to our consoles to bring us the adrenaline of street racing. Criterion has once again made a really interesting installment for fans of the franchise. NFS is back.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
'Need for Speed Unbound' is a refreshing entry in the franchise, with new visual effects that enhance its sense of style. But for all the good that it does, it commits the cardinal racing game sin by periodically forcing the player to slow down, resulting in a fun, but mixed gameplay experience.
Need for Speed Unbound proves that having a distinct style and cool premise does a lot to elevate a game.
Need for Speed: Unbound represents the return of Criterion as a top tier developer. The result is one of the best arcade racing games of the last few years and also, a great Need for Speed experience.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Put that unfairness together with the annoying tendencies of the cops in Need for Speed Unbound, and the entire experience is full of peaks and valleys that curtail the progress that this game is supposed to be making. Beyond its art style that stands tall on its own, Need for Speed Unbound feels less like an innovation and more like a new body kit installed on an old engine. When the competition is already miles ahead, what this series needed was a nitrous boost of epic proportions, but sadly, it doesn’t seem like it will ever catch up.
In the end, “Need for Speed Unbound” is a street racer simulator that nails what it sets out to do. The style that you can bring to the racetrack goes from you to your car and even the comic-book graphics you summon with your racing skills. At the same time, it doesn’t feel arcade-y; it still feels like a beautiful racing game. It doesn’t sacrifice style for substance, or vice versa. It just brings one of the best racing experiences of the year.
It is ironic how a product called "Unbound" is, on the contrary, still so harnessed by the canons of traditional open world racing games, resulting all too similar to its direct predecessor. Need For Speed Unbound is an overall valid title, provided however that you approach it without too many pretensions.
Review in Italian | Read full review
While I’m not sure how the more hardcore racing fans will receive the game, this is the kind of release that’s perfect for those of us who come to those genre entries that offer something that’ll capture our imaginations (and reignite that occasional need for speed). And, if nothing else, Need for Speed: Unbound is available as a 10-hour full-game trial through both EA Play and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which is more than enough time to see if the game will do for you what it’s done so far for me.
Need for Speed Unbound is a fun racer with a comic look that challenges and motivates, but exaggerates a bit in terms of police and story.
Review in German | Read full review
There's no split-screen competitive mode, there's no just sitting and customizing cars outside of career mode, and there's only the one career mode file. Accessibility options don't include button mapping, though that can be done from the Xbox itself. It's a step in the right direction, narratively and visually more interesting than Need for Speed has often been in the past, and a satisfactory if not mind-blowing driving experience.