Need For Speed Unbound Review

2022 was a year marked by indie darlings (immortality), blockbusters (God of War Ragnarok) and smaller surprise hits (Marvel Snap). But the biggest release you’ll miss in the blink of an eye might be He Need for Speed ​​Unbound in late November, the latest installment in EA’s long-running street racing series. Unbound, who helms Criterion Games (famous for Burnout), had the potential to become one of the best racing games he’s made this year. But while this $69.99 PC game of his looks beautiful and features cross-platform play with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, it lacks satisfying car handling and a rich in-game world. .

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(Credit: Electronic Arts)

underground royalty

Need for Speed ​​Unbound is as loud and boastful as previous series entries, but its new art style gives the game a unique flourish. Character models feature a cel-shaded, anime-inspired look, and realistic cars are adorned with large drifts and eye-catching effects on air. , I hope the flashy visuals permeate the rest of the game just to make it stand out from the racing pack.

You are free to roam the fictional Lakeshore City of Chicago, drive casually, accept challenges, stop at meeting points and compete for money. Think Burnout Paradise. However, there are far fewer crashes. You operate in a cycle of day and night that changes each time you enter the lair. Although the city itself is somewhat empty. Pedestrians and cars line the streets and sidewalks, but they play little role in adding life to the city.

Need for Speed ​​Unbound has a story mode where you’ll find out why you’re racing. You and your friend Yaz work in an old garage owned by ex-street racer Rydell. After a dispute with Rydell, Yaz double-crosses the mechanic and steals the famous car Rydell was working on. Two years later, you’re back on the Angra His Race scene, competing in The Grand, a race run by a former friend, Yaz. Most of the story happens on the phone while driving, so it won’t be long before you’re racing again.

(Credit: Electronic Arts)

The race isn’t as simple as showing up at a designated location, but that’s how the contest starts. Need for Speed ​​Unbound has free races, but the stakes go up when you race for in-game cash. You can improve without being number one, but if you’re just going to break even, you’ll want to move up a decent rank. Of course, street racing isn’t just about a good police chase.

Police chase has a heat meter rank. The higher the fever, the more aggressive the police will be. Heats can be earned by racing multiple times in one night while avoiding five-o’s (and sometimes by ramming). Every time he deposits cash in one of his lairs, the heat resets. The police chase is thrilling, but the race itself isn’t all that fun.

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(Credit: Electronic Arts)

under the hood

Having spent hours playing arcade racers like Crusin’ Blast and surreal racers like Gran Turismo 7, I’ve dabbled in the deep end of each of the racing genres. But I couldn’t find the right balance with Need for Speed ​​Unbound. The physics of the car felt strange and frustrating right after starting the game. Even after upgrading a while back, I didn’t feel it was really improving my car. Racing is a chore, especially considering the overly aggressive driver AI.

At least the music helps with some of the boredom with a diverse soundtrack featuring indie pop and trap songs from artists like A$AP Rocky, Charli XCX, Diplo and PlayBoy Carti. They work well with the game’s aesthetics and add a touch of nostalgia to EA Sports BIG (Electronic Arts’ arcade-style extreme sports label that ceased operations in 2008).

But while the soundtrack and visuals captivated me in the game’s opening hours, frustration began to subside. EA please. Kids await Burnout’s over-the-top stunts for his crash.

Nicely, Need for Speed ​​Unbound has PC/PlayStation/Xbox crossplay focused on racing and car upgrades. However, it lacks some features. You can only participate in police chases. Also, online progression and local progression are treated separately. This is unconvincing given the cost of the extensive customization options (including rims and wraps he has over 10,000 options). At least use in-game cash instead of real-world money.

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(Credit: Electronic Arts)

Can you run Need for Speed ​​Unbound on your PC?

To get Need for Speed ​​Unbound up and running on your gaming rig, EA recommends at least an AMD Ryzen 5 2600 or Intel Core i5-8660 CPU, AMD Radeon RX570 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU, 8GB RAM, 50GB PC recommended. HDD space, and Windows 10 operating system. Recommended settings are higher as you’ll need at least an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel i7-8700 CPU, an AMD RX5700 or Nvidia GeForce 2070 GPU, and 16GB of RAM.

Containing an Intel Core i7-10700K CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 GPU, and 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, my testbed pushed the game at a smooth 60 frames per second at 1440p resolution both inside and outside the race. The game looks great too. Raindrops drop realistically on the drop-top, popping colorful effects into a realistic background. The game isn’t too diverse in its environmental offerings, but it’s also not monotonous. Unfortunately, the destruction of the car was minimal.

Need for Speed ​​Unbound supports game controllers, steering wheels, Steam Achievements, and Steam Cloud. While there is no official Steam Deck support (probably because the game requires Origin credentials), there is a workaround if you want to play on the go.

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the street is calling

After all, it’s good to see a new Need for Speed.Unbound feels like a time capsule, reminiscent of classic games from the NFS catalog or retro games with similar aesthetics. Still, it misses an exit when it comes to actual driving, and many other competitors that are sims or arcade racing leave it in the dust. Considering the pick, it’s a remarkable title. Hot Wheels Unleashed and Hotshot Racing are good choices for arcade game purists, but if you’re looking for a hybrid of arcade and sim action, Forza Horizon 5 is your top pick.

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