Need for Speed Unbound Reviews
While the game is not without its faults, held back by a lackluster story and characters, it’s hard to call a racing game bad when it does the racing so well. The style of Need For Speed Unbound is enough to keep me hitting the streets over and over, chasing bigger fame and a bigger payday each time I hit that virtual ignition.
NFS Unbound feels fresh thanks to the urban hip-hop blend of graphical style and soundtrack. If you enjoy your driving games then it is one to pick up and have a play with. Customisation options are off the scale which gives you the ability to feel unique as you drive around
Need for Speed Unbound does not reinvent the wheel, but it does tune it. Criterion Games wanted to stand out with its new artistic style and a more than remarkable technical power and has succeeded. This is not the best driving game of the year, but we do see an NFS that wants the saga to return to the highest categories. Funny, fast and furious.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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
Some well-judged bold calls in both mechanics and visual direction elevate a familiar arcade racer above NFS's previous monotony.
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 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.
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
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.
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 a good mix of cartoon characters, graffiti and frantic racing, but nothing more.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Need For Speed Unbound has a unique style and a more practical and enjoyable steering system than its predecessors. Although, it still has many of the same shortcomings. The series needs a more daring release with significant changes to this formula.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Need for Speed Unbound is a fun racer with some new event types and an unusual yet undeniably attractive visual style. However, it doesn't do a ton to set itself apart from other racers that are currently out there and its story mode can be quite limiting.
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
There is no need to say, Need for Speed Unbound is not perfect, but it comes close to the good games of the license. The studio Criterion Games has done a good job in offering an art direction that stands out from the competition. The return of full vehicle customization is also very pleasing as the title has a nice list of cars. Nevertheless, the extremely repetitive nature of the events, the uninteresting multiplayer mode and the inconsistent gameplay do not allow the game to rise very high. Hopefully, this half-hearted success will allow the license to come back in force in the near future.
Review in French | Read full review
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 isn't flawless, but it's close to the standard set by the best games in the series. Criterion Games has differentiated itself from other studios by providing a unique creative approach. Regrettably, Heat's irritating framework, rigorous day-night changes, and the presence of too violent cops make it a bit less fun. Modifying the game's difficulty might just make things better for the newcomers.
With a distinct and interesting artstyle, which mixes a realistic car and city with streetart cartoon drawings for special effects, NFS Unbound definitely sets itself apart from the rest. The game sports a Souls-like mechanism of risk vs reward and a day-night cycle that work, but also hinders progress through the storyline. the races are fun and the many collectibles are well integrated. The near-mandatory police chases quickly become a nuisance and we wouldn't mind if those didn't make a return.
Review in Dutch | 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.
Need for Speed Unbound has a few original ideas, and though some aspects needed tweaking, the core racing gameplay and a focus on car customization help the franchise keep drifting onward.