Need for Speed Unbound Reviews
Need for Speed Unbound is an arduous experience, and not one I'd recommend if you're looking for an arcade racer. The only good aspects are the refined handling system and the aesthetic customization of your cars, which is really brought to light via community creations. However, this experience is quickly overshadowed by the boring open-world, a meaningless collect-a-thon, unbalanced AI, and some of the cringiest story and dialogue I've experienced. It's The Room of racing games.
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 anything but. EA's latest is a bog-standard entry in the racing series with a muddled presentation and a limited feature set.
A startling return to form for EA's flagship racing franchise, Need for Speed Unbound offers an enjoyable open-world, with challenging yet gratifying racing, and an infectious sense of gritty urban style.
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.
There's a lot to like in Unbound, but some of the characters and the tedious police chases bring down what is otherwise a thrilling high-speed race through Lakeshore.
Need For Speed Unbound is easily one of the best racers I've played in recent years and a modern highlight of the series. Through great gameplay, a true sense of progression, an engaging visual style, and a well-crafted open world the game manages to cement itself as one of 2022's most unexpectedly shining stars. A few knocks for cliché story beats, a samey soundtrack, and a few minor bugs shouldn't be enough to keep players from driving over to the streets to Lakeshore for some stylish, speedy fun.
Need for Speed Unbound is an impressive street racing title, and a proper return of the once-street racing game king. It's nearly perfect, and despite a few flaws, it excels at giving us a fantastic street racing experience, lots of stuff to customize, and, more importantly, it's a blast to play
Need for Speed Unbound feels like a breath of fresh air. The arcade-style racing has seen quite a significant improvement from its predecessor, and the game's general styles and sensibilities definitely make it one of the most unique-looking racing games out there. All in all, and this is weird for a Need for Speed game, but there's little to complain about. The cars feel great to drive in, and just about everything looks gorgeous.
Need for Speed Unbound is a fun arcade style racing title that is a must play for NFS fans.
'Need for Speed Unbound' is what we all needed. Like a throwback to the older NFS games. Unbound says, 'Hey, I'm really just here to have a damn good time,' and hands you the keys.
Need for Speed Unbound sees Criterion put its spin on the formula laid down by its predecessor and the result is a stylish racer that is mostly fun but sometimes frustrating.
Criterion has delivered another outstanding experience with Need for Speed Unbound, and while it's not shocking that Criterion has made a good game, it is nice to remember that they're still capable of ripping off a banger, and the same goes for NFS now having another entry that's worthy of the lineage. From the unique art style to the fantastic racing, Need for Speed Unbound is a racing game that feels authentic and sticky enough to stay relevant through the winter.
Need for Speed Unbound is a good mix of cartoon characters, graffiti and frantic racing, but nothing more.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Need for Speed: Unbound can be regarded as a very special work by every means. It combines street racing and police chasing together, using comic-style visual effects and exciting music make people addicted to every corner of the city. Although it has obvious problems with difficulty control and currency system, this does not have much influence on the game experience. When I drove all kinds of modified vehicles with cool paint roaring on the streets of Lakeshore, all the troubles in my heart were swept away along with the roadblocks ahead.
Review in Chinese | 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 finely crafted ride that's great when running well.
Criterion has certainly made its mark with this latest entry in the Need for Speed series, injecting a bit more fun and polish into the template created by Ghost Games. The result is an arcade racer that truly stands out from the crowd thanks to its visual flair and thrilling police chases. Providing you take the time to tweak the handling to your preferences, and you don’t mind the hip hop-driven soundtrack, Need for Speed Unbound is likely to be the most entertaining racing game you’ll play this year.