Need for Speed Unbound Reviews
The return of Criterion to Need For Speed franchise is done in name only, in a bombastic game, that also suffers from an huge imbalance of challenges and lacks the elements that make us think of the legendary studio.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
I don’t know about you but Unbound feels precisely what the doctor ordered for the Need for Speed franchise. Heat has more or less left me hoping for more, and now that Unbound is built based on the success of its predecessor, it all feels like a complete game.
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 brings plenty of style and builds upon the high stakes dynamic established in 2019's Heat to create an engaging and enjoyable open world racing game.
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.
As a result, Need for Speed Unbound feels like it comes to a stop before it ever gets going. The polish in the moment-to-moment gameplay cannot be ignored, but as a whole, Need for Speed Unbound is just another forgettable entry in the long-running franchise.
Need for Speed Unbound is the best arcade racer of 2022, and a real statement from EA and Criterion. Why it's snuck out with so little fanfare will be one of the mysteries of the year.
The best Need For Speed in a decade – but that says far more about the moribund state of the franchise than it does this workmanlike new entry.
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.
Heat, a solid game that built up a dedicated audience, probably didn’t get the fairest shake in public opinion after it launched three years ago. Electronic Arts reorganized its action-racing development in response. Unbound arrives with the same lack of glamour, the same diminished cachet, but it is so much more fun, and so much more worth my time racing and running from the law, that the game feels like racing’s comeback player of the year.
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.
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 delights with a vibrant new art style and some exciting arcade racing, but familiar issues are as frustrating as an inopportune oil slick
Need for Speed Unbound is a pleasant surprise, one of the best releases of the year and also one of the best and boldest games in the series. It's an easy recommendation for any racing games fan and we hope that EA and Criterion continue to improve the formula delivered with this title.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
If you’re looking for a game to kick back and play race after race with a sizable campaign and other options including an online mode, Need for Speed Unbound has plenty to keep you busy and entertained.
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.
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
Although we would have hoped for a lot more on the technical side thanks to current-gen exclusivity, "Need for Speed Unbound" leaves a positive overall impression. Sure, the strange mix of cel-shading and realism is not for everyone, but at least sets the game apart from other series parts and racing games. The constant threat from the police is initially entertaining, but quickly becomes annoying if you want to earn enough money to visually customize several cars. This is exactly where "Need for Speed Unbound" has its strength, which hasn't been in the series for a long time. The tuning and adaptation of the vehicles as well as the progress through the story motivate tremendously and are reminiscent of series highlights such as "Underground 2" or "Most Wanted". Sooner or later, however, the unpleasant smell of burnt rubber always remains in the nose.
Review in German | Read full review
Need for Speed Unbound is a good mix of cartoon characters, graffiti and frantic racing, but nothing more.
Review in Italian | 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.