Need for Speed Unbound Reviews
Need for Speed: Unbound feels fresh when compared to its recent predecessors by featuring a progression system that’s more challenging and does not take things for granted when it comes to street racing. Instead of putting longer cutscenes, it tells the bulk of its story through dialogue exchanges between racers on the street. Thanks to the new art style it is filled with wet Neon-lit streets with influences from the East. Its array of lacklustre soundtracks, never-ending police chases, forgettable plots, and messy traffic may dampen the experience during long hours. Thankfully most of these issues can be dealt with if you put on your own music and chill with it. Overall, It is an easy recommendation for series veterans and new-comers alike.
Need For Speed Unbound presents a unique style with a very good technical production, with great vehicle customization and tuning features. Unluckily, though, it doesn't fully convince due to lack of real innovation in gameplay, unevenly balanced difficulty and excessively slow progression tied to too small rewards obtained in every event. The online mode being separated from the story one feels counterintuitive and not on par with modern arcade racers, as well.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Need for Speed Unbound is perhaps one of the franchise's last efforts to stay alive at a time when its glory years are behind it. In the end, it brings together various elements that the fans requested to combine and execute them in a good way, resulting in a fun experience that keeps calling you back.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Need for Speed Unbound is exactly what the iconic racing series needed. The expected customization options and street races that were shaped by Need for Speed Underground are here, but all of it is presented in a fresh manner and has been carefully adapted to fit the modern era.
NFS Unbound looks appealingly good with a gameplay it works effectively. It's a street racing arcade where we can move around an open world. But when things are done right, they look good. And this is how this game of the saga stands out. If you like the NFS saga, give it a chance, it's your game. If you like racing games, customize the cars and live an adventure in the purest The Fast&Furious style, too. But if, on the contrary, yours is more of the Gran Turismo style, it's still not your game. Still, I'm sure you'll get nitro out of the title.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Need For Speed Unbound doesn’t try to do anything too different, but instead, takes some of the gameplay mechanics that made the last few titles stand out and build upon them, slowly taking the series back to its glory days. If you enjoyed the last few titles and grew up with the older games, you’re going to have a fun time with Need For Speed Unbound.
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 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 shows that NFS series is on the right track. that being said, poor AI and lack of variety in content is noticable. If you're looking for exciting street races with nostalgic feeling, NFS Unbound is a must play game for you.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Need for Speed is back, and it's the best series entry in years. Fresh art style, fun police chases and enjoyable progression system make Unbound a great arcade racing game.
Review in Russian | Read full review
The game works nicely and gets a little better as you get further in. The only real issue is that I, like many other old-school NFS fans, had high expectations from it, but in the end, we got a mediocre Need for Speed game and hands-down what I feel is the worst racing game Criterion made so far.
Despite some minor setbacks, Need for Speed Unbound is the best offering the series has delivered in years.
Need for Speed unbound offers some genuinely cathartic, high-speed thrills, but it does little to turn heads besides wearing its flashiest colours.
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
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.
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.
Need for Speed Unbound hasn’t strayed very far from the fundamentals of 2019’s Heat, but its bold new animated style impresses.
Criterion takes the reins once more for an arcade racer that's capable of going toe-to-toe with the all-conquering Forza Horizon.
The latest title in the NFS franchise came back with fresh visuals. While driving on the road without any concerns and making to the top of street racing are always fun, even the lowest 'relaxing' difficulty seems not so relaxing for those who trying to enter the franchise for the first time.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Need for Speed Unbound ended up feeling like a step sidewards for the franchise instead of forward. It’s still trailing behind other arcade racers in the genre despite having a strong, stylish presentation.