Need for Speed Unbound

Need for Speed finally finds its way back on track and is especially worthwhile for solo racers who enjoy a well thought-out campaign.

Need for Speed Unbound handily straddles the line between realism and fun, making it one of the best racing experiences of the year.

Need for Speed: Unbound can be regarded as a very special work by every means. It combines street racing and police chasing together, using comic-style visual effects and exciting music make people addicted to every corner of the city. Although it has obvious problems with difficulty control and currency system, this does not have much influence on the game experience. When I drove all kinds of modified vehicles with cool paint roaring on the streets of Lakeshore, all the troubles in my heart were swept away along with the roadblocks ahead.

Need for Speed Unbound is a solid comeback for the series, provided you can deal with some potential annoyances. The risk/reward system functions well in creating tension during all parts of a race, but the grind is an annoyance until you get better cars or parts for your initial ride. The presence of elements borrowed from other racing titles is done well enough, but the story can be a chore to sit through if you aren't already using this slang every day. Overall, Unbound is a solid racing title that should hopefully start bringing the series back to prominence.

As someone who played a ton of Need for Speed II SE back in the day and loved Need for Speed Underground, I’m glad to finally have experienced a modern game in the series that has been a joy to play. Even as the first current-generation only entry in the series, Need for Speed Unbound is a joy to play on Steam Deck. It might’ve released too close to the holidays for most, but if you enjoyed older Need for Speed games, you need to grab this one.

A pure Need for Speed experience for the Z generation, blessed with a fresh style and a great soundtrack. The races are fun, the sense of speed is great, and the progression is real. The only pity is that Lakeshore City is a very lacklustre open world.

Another successful entry in the storied franchise, which probably won't be much of a surprise. Criterion Games didn't try to reinvent the wheel and completely change the face of Need For Speed, taking instead the best parts of previous installments and supplementing them with a few original ideas.

Some well-judged bold calls in both mechanics and visual direction elevate a familiar arcade racer above NFS's previous monotony.

Need For Speed Unbound has a personalized style to it with some improvements over the previous installments. However, it is still restricted by some concepts that we got fed up with from its predecessors.

Unbound succeeds where NFS Heat had failed, namely to give a little life and flavor to the discovery of the open world called Lakeshore City.

Need for Speed Unbound surprises with its graphic style inspired by street art. But the characters look really cheap. The cops are a bit too sticky, so the title offers an appreciable challenge with an efficient risk-reward concept, and a great soundtrack. We would have appreciated less limited winnings on the races to quickly buy real cars, as well as being able to play with a cockpit view, but that didn't stop us from enjoying driving, with the desire to go back each time.

Unbound is ultimately and encouraging statement of intent, demonstrating that Criterion is not afraid to tinker with established formula. [Issue#380, p.114]

Need for Speed Unbound has some issues (e.g. in-game economy needs immediate balancing), but is still quite satisfying and I consider it one of this year’s best arcade racing games (not that there’s a huge competition…). You may also like its unusual art style, but I personally think the developers took it a bit too far and should’ve worked harder on technical aspects of Unbound’s visual side.

Despite its flaws, I found myself always craving one more race; I could drive faster, customize my car better, and drift in even cooler ways than before. While not perfect, Need for Speed Unbound is the best the franchise has been and years — and hopefully a sign of even better things to come.

Unbound is unlikely to emerge from the shadows of the genre's most popular games.

The new Need for Speed Unbound is an entertaining racing game with a stylish look, great tuning options and successful arcade racer gameplay, but no significant improvement compared to its predecessor.

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 is a beautiful street racing game that features a cool soundtrack and welcome cross-platform play, but frustrating car physics and CPU drivers sully the experience.

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.