Need for Speed: Unbound Reviews
Check out Need for Speed: Unbound Review Scores from trusted Critics below. With 27 reviews on CriticDB, Need for Speed: Unbound has a score of:
Need For Speed Unbound, even at its launch, is certainly rather packed with content. The story sees the player throughout 4 weeks of days and nights throughout many events, some mandatory and most optional, with players always being able to decide how many seen-before events they wanna rush through again for some extra cash. With tons of unlockable and upgradable cars, a robust if uninspired multiplayer and an open world with plenty of things to do, Unbound’s unlikely to last you less than a couple dozen hours, unless you get bored before the end credits of course. But boredom isn’t...
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Need for Speed Unbound puts a new spin on the racing series with a graffiti-inspired aesthetic that helps enhance both story and gameplay in refreshing ways. It’s amazing what a new coat of paint can achieve, especially when it’s combined with 60 FPS support on consoles, the return of police chases, an interesting approach to difficulty options, and a well-curated soundtrack. However, there are some pain points that drag the experience down.
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Need for Speed Unbound is a finely crafted ride that's great when running well.
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Besides the game's overabundance of dialogue, the gameplay flourishes with an open-world format that allows players to drive their vehicles around Unbound's extensive map from one money-making event to the next. While the driving mechanics make Need For Speed's impressive gameplay feel fast and intense while weaving between pedestrian cars, fellow racers, and cop cars, the world ultimately feels unresponsive to the player's actions. Police chase players with increased intensity depending on which events are completed before retiring to a designated safe house, but they hardly offer a challenge compared to the difficulty of earning the number one spot in...
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Much of this comes from Unbound’s place in a franchise that has often had to reinvent and rethink itself. But more than just the latest reinvention, this feels like a course correction for the franchise, thanks to the thoughtful refinements made by Criterion Games. What makes Unbound stand out is its style, something it has in spades and feels unique in the racing game crowd.
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The Need for Speed series has been spinning its wheels for a while now – and not in the cool, tyre-shredding way. We’ve had multiple overhauls and at least one major reboot, but none have moved the needle like open-world rival Forza’s Horizon games have. Need for Speed Unbound comes close to upsetting that balance for the first time in years.
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Since its inception nearly three decades ago, Need for Speed’s best entries have combined style and substance to produce thrilling homages to the street racing scene. Need for Speed Unbound feels like the ultimate realization of that philosophy, creating one of the franchise’s best in years.
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It has been a red-hot minute since a Need For Speed game captured the attention of racing fans. Not since the glory days of Underground, Underground 2, and Most Wanted has one of EA’s racers really excelled. Most recently, Need For Speed Heat found itself on my PS5, courtesy of PlayStation Plus, and it certainly didn’t knock anyone’s socks off. Now comes along Need For Speed Unbound, a hyper-stylised, narrative-focused entry in the long-running series, and once again, my faith in the se...
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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.
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Criterion takes the reins once more for an arcade racer that’s capable of going toe-to-toe with the all-conquering Forza Horizon.
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I would love to understand why is EA so reluctant to properly promote the more recent Need for Speed games. Especially considering that, for all intents and purposes, they ended up being pretty good racing titles aimed at a specific niche of arcade-loving racing fans. Lack of proper promotion and announcements happening mere months before these games’ releases make us all think these are flops in the making, only for them to be the complete opposite. It happened to Heat, and it’s happenin...
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Despite the two latest racing game releases published by EA – Need For Speed Heat and Need for Speed Unbound – being developed by different teams, it’s astonishing how similar the latter feels to the former. Undoubtedly, race heads feeling at home in Heat will have a leg up on this year’s competition. I lost track of the number of times I remarked that if it weren’t for Unbound’s new art style, I’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between them. For better and for worse, Need For Speed Unbound has finally crossed its proverbial finish line. And I’m not...
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“Need for Speed Unbound proves that having a distinct style and cool premise does a lot to elevate a game.”
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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.
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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
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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.
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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. That said, it’s also one of those games that’ll likely feel more enjoyable and worthwhile when purchased on sale rather than its arguably steep $70 (USD) purchase price. I can’t in good conscience recommend it at $70 but closer to $40-50? Absolutely, especially given the performance, campaign length, and fun assortment of races on offer.
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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.
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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. The large emphasis on story falls flat once again particularly during the slow opening hours, and the online mode lacks some of the best aspects of the single player mode, including police and Takeover events. Fortunately, the excellent performance and smart overhaul to the turbo system ensures the moment-to-moment gameplay always feels great, and the huge amount of unlockable vehicles, customization options and optional activities and collectibles means there’s always plenty...
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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.
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Need for Speed Unbound also features an online mode, where the difficulty is upped as players race against real people. There are full race playlists where players can compete against others, and the server size is just right to ensure there are constant races going. Here of all places, the intense gameplay manages to shine even brighter. The problem is that it's presented exactly like the story mode, meaning everything wrong with Lakeshore and NFS Unbound's general design is evident here too. It's impossible to predict the future, but unless it is heavily supported with a plethora of renewed content...
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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.
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Dive into the lives of underground street racers and pimp your ride in Need for Speed Unbound; the latest entry of an iconic racing series.
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Need for Speed Unbound is a great showcase for a new generation of hardware. Criterion has delivered a high quality, breathtakingly fast open-world street racer that is both technically superb and strangely familiar.
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Bringing a fresh new art style to the franchise that we hope sticks around for years to come, this ain't your daddy's Need for Speed. And maybe, that's a good thing. With Heat pushing the franchise in a bold new direction, Need For Speed Unbound borrows almost everything that made that title special and improves upon it.
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