Need for Speed Unbound

 PC
User Score
5.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 278 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 112 out of 278
  2. Mixed: 37 out of 278
  3. Negative: 129 out of 278

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  1. pccommander
    Dec 30, 2022
    0
    A game with a cartoon theme that has moved away from seriousness, I think it should be abandoned as soon as possible. We will modify a vehicle with a damage modeling story in the style of a movie. We are waiting for affordable need for speed games with drivers who are beautiful and handsome enough to fall in love with their characters that we can play as the thief cop. it can't be a gameA game with a cartoon theme that has moved away from seriousness, I think it should be abandoned as soon as possible. We will modify a vehicle with a damage modeling story in the style of a movie. We are waiting for affordable need for speed games with drivers who are beautiful and handsome enough to fall in love with their characters that we can play as the thief cop. it can't be a game but it would be a dlc or a game mode.… Expand
  2. Jopeminterp
    Jan 19, 2023
    0
    Arcade racing game is supposed to be fun, not frustrating and so grindy. Add that with bad soundtrack and bad handling, this is definitely not how to make an arcade racing game, considering the price.
  3. Drkoslav
    Jan 27, 2023
    0
    Wow, this game is by far THE worst racing game EVER, not only within the NFS franchise.
    I played ALL NFS games until now, and many others, so I'm no beginner game driver at all. But I must say, this game is broken. If you make a single mistake, you are basically done. Plus it is nearly impossible to escape the police after heat 4, sometimes even 3, and that's with the S+ car.
    It is    Wow, this game is by far THE worst racing game EVER, not only within the NFS franchise.
    I played ALL NFS games until now, and many others, so I'm no beginner game driver at all. But I must say, this game is broken. If you make a single mistake, you are basically done. Plus it is nearly impossible to escape the police after heat 4, sometimes even 3, and that's with the S+ car.

    It is incredibly hard to collect money so you can progress. I'm actually thinking about uninstalling this piece of sh-. I'm so disappointed.

    Edit: Switching my rate from 1/10 to 0/10 because after every update I can't start the damn game until I make a repair through Origin. And it takes FOREVER. Absolute disaster.    … Expand
  4. ONEEX
    Mar 17, 2023
    1
    Возмущает бездумное следование трендам и глухота к аудитории. Ещё сильнее портит серию жажда наживы взамен качеству и проработки.
    Последнее Дополнение лишний раз доказывает, что игру делал без энтузиазма и желания выпустить качественный продукт!    Возмущает бездумное следование трендам и глухота к аудитории. Ещё сильнее портит серию жажда наживы взамен качеству и проработки.
    Последнее Дополнение лишний раз доказывает, что игру делал без энтузиазма и желания выпустить качественный продукт!
  5. BigDavid
    Dec 29, 2022
    5
    A step down from Heat. The boost is the only improvement. Betting is also nice but you should be allowed to bet more than 1 driver. Driving mechanics got worse with the addition of grip tuning. The race turn markers are inconsistent with depth of field making turns look like it should be further down. Traffic is more annoying. Cop chases starting after a race is a big step down andA step down from Heat. The boost is the only improvement. Betting is also nice but you should be allowed to bet more than 1 driver. Driving mechanics got worse with the addition of grip tuning. The race turn markers are inconsistent with depth of field making turns look like it should be further down. Traffic is more annoying. Cop chases starting after a race is a big step down and frankly annoying how they reset your speed and start with the cop right behind you. The city is unremarkable compared to Heat as well. City takeover events are unfun. Keep pumping out NFS games though, don't let this franchise die no matter how many misteps.… Expand
  6. kam945
    Mar 28, 2023
    0
    Big NOPE. This game is insanely bad. Even its ARCADE RACING, the handling is sooo unpredictable. Now, with the BURST nitro you cannot the corners fast without the BURST in the bar. Why? Bcs without it ur car is waaay slower. Also the BURST nitro works so randomly. Sometimes the BURST nitro refills in 100% just for doing nothing, sometimes it doesnt want to refill by even 1% while doingBig NOPE. This game is insanely bad. Even its ARCADE RACING, the handling is sooo unpredictable. Now, with the BURST nitro you cannot the corners fast without the BURST in the bar. Why? Bcs without it ur car is waaay slower. Also the BURST nitro works so randomly. Sometimes the BURST nitro refills in 100% just for doing nothing, sometimes it doesnt want to refill by even 1% while doing ‚grip’ or ‚drift’. Also.. The BURST nitro works extremely randomly. Sometimes it gives BIG ZERO ACCELERATION. Sometimes it makes ur car super wide drifting, sometimes it gives u super big grip. Second thing: handling physic is broken. If you touch the rival/traffic/wall the steering wheel locks for some sec, and your wheels are locked in the ‚neutral’ position, and you cannot make a big angle - so you cannot manipulate the steering wheel, cannot turn. Same thing happens after every ‚drift’. The roads are filled with random bumps, and the bumps also locks ur steergin wheel. The game should be fun, but the only fun thing is the car customization. Thats all. Fckn **** Worst NFS EVER! NFS RIVALS was filled with bugs, but at least it was mooore fun!… Expand
  7. Lewiw99039
    Jan 20, 2023
    0
    No. Just, no. Spend your money on some other games. Dont listen to those "critic reviews". This game is not worth it.
  8. Fooshikins
    May 10, 2023
    2
    Tragically bad soundtrack, worst story mode in terms of gameplay as it's stupidly restrictive and getting anything but the 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX at the start is pointless. Plus you literally cannot finish both the A and B-tier races in the start, as it's physically impossible have enough cash to have two cars in both tiers from just the first in-game days of playing.
    Add the most    Tragically bad soundtrack, worst story mode in terms of gameplay as it's stupidly restrictive and getting anything but the 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX at the start is pointless. Plus you literally cannot finish both the A and B-tier races in the start, as it's physically impossible have enough cash to have two cars in both tiers from just the first in-game days of playing.
    Add the most cringe characters written to man (somehow makes NFS 2015 less cringe) and the most pathetic excuse for graphical settings ever, I just had to bail after 6 hours.
    If your only graphics option is an overall quality setting and motion blur, it doesn't belong on PC.    … Expand
  9. Palpamemes
    Feb 21, 2023
    6
    After 35 hours of playing this game, I felt that it was quite mediocre. The story overall was ok, but quite predictable as you were going through it. This feels like a lazy copy and paste of Heat, with a few changes. I will give bonus points for the art style, I thought it was quite cool and unique. I also enjoyed the car customisation too, I thought it was quite in depth and gave youAfter 35 hours of playing this game, I felt that it was quite mediocre. The story overall was ok, but quite predictable as you were going through it. This feels like a lazy copy and paste of Heat, with a few changes. I will give bonus points for the art style, I thought it was quite cool and unique. I also enjoyed the car customisation too, I thought it was quite in depth and gave you plenty of creativity with your car to make it really feel like it was yours. However that is where the positives end, the game is very buggy from my experience playing it, lots of missing textures from invisible vehicles or texture glitches on your HUD. There was also a bug that I kept experiencing where the car would just steer in one direction and get stuck and it would throw me to last place because it had caused me to crash, this happened a few times, in races and police chases too and it got very annoying. There were also times where the car would just lose control spontaneously and also cause me to lose a race. The cars handling as well needs some improvement, there were times I wanted to throw my car into a drift only for it to not do that and crash into a wall, the system in Heat was so much better. Overall I had fun with the game, but at an expense of many many frustrations with it. Do I recommend it? Yes BUT only if its on sale, I wouldn't recommend this at full price.… Expand
  10. Apiwat043TH
    Jan 7, 2023
    7
    Fun, entertainment, excitement, score 7.0
    Was it worth the wait? score 3.0
    Value for money score 4.0
    Does the game style match? score 7.0
    online mode score 4.5
    car accessories score 6.5
    novelty score 4.0
    worth playing score 5.0
  11. xcale
    Mar 6, 2023
    2
    For god's sake please stop publishing new Need For Speed. Let this franchise live in our memories please. Even Criterion gave us a **** third quality action. Need For Underground with new graphics and animated cutscene can eat this game alive.
  12. Nalosi7769
    Jan 23, 2023
    0
    After playing unbound, safe to say that my gaming experience is better with heat. I feel like unbound is a cheap copy of heat.
  13. VeuxVIP
    Jan 25, 2023
    0
    The game is only a half-baked, low-effort dlc of nfs 2015 and criterion is to blame for not being able to do better by their standards. They could have done better than just a cringe zoomer story full of cringe effects that no one asked for and used the time to add new mechanics.
  14. YngXrst
    Jan 27, 2023
    0
    Pense que despues del heat harian un buen juego pero al parecer esta peor, la musica nada que destacar mas que Asap Rocky, jugabilidad mala, y unos bugs visuales tremendos
  15. redman75
    Feb 13, 2023
    0
    EA you ruined this franchise with imbecile difficulty ,take a look on metacritic the real score is 5, when you will release a patch for difficulty there will be no users who play it.Users like so much this game that no one is playing online.
  16. marchett22
    Feb 12, 2023
    3
    A la ya horrible conduccion de siempre ahora se le agrega una mecanica abrumadora que te obliga a repetir eventos hasta el artazgo para farmear una determiinada cantiad de dinero y estirar artificialmente la duracion del juego. Pero eso no es lo mas molesto, lo mas molesto es que mientan en la campaña publicitaria diciendo que los efectos se van a poder desactivar cuando no es así y que teA la ya horrible conduccion de siempre ahora se le agrega una mecanica abrumadora que te obliga a repetir eventos hasta el artazgo para farmear una determiinada cantiad de dinero y estirar artificialmente la duracion del juego. Pero eso no es lo mas molesto, lo mas molesto es que mientan en la campaña publicitaria diciendo que los efectos se van a poder desactivar cuando no es así y que te implementen un modo "grip" para quitar el horrible brake to drift, pero que este esté roto y te haga perder todas las carreras. Es como "que molestos son, ahí tienen su modo grip, pero con penalizacion por pesados, si no driftean no hay carga de nitro" Lo que se siente al jugar NFS unbound es ganas de cerrarlo e ir a relajarse un rato en el Forza Horizon sin presiones y con una conduccion que da placer.
    le doy un tres porque al menos los autos no se upgradean con cajas de botin como en el Payback (el tocar fondo de la saga)    … Expand
  17. DoomCriticGm
    Jun 26, 2023
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. To begin with, I will write the pluses of the game (there are few of them):
    1) Good graphics, obviously better than heat
    2) Interesting trails
    3) You can decorate the car without having the skills of an artist . Just paint the car with ready - made graffiti and it will be gorgeous .
    The pros are over .

    Now the minuses
    1) The difficulty of the game. I choose the relax difficulty and still have to sweat on the tracks to win . probably if I choose the lowest difficulty , then I want to complete the game without difficulties ? Right? AI beats you , whether it 's cops or racers , there are scum from city cars everywhere . Once you crash and they can already catch up with you . At the end of the track crashed - restart . there are only 10 restarts . If the car is initially slow , then just get ready to arrive at the finish line 3rd last .
    2) Cartoon animations , cartoon characters - is it designed for children ? It would be better if they didn 't exist .
    3) Gameplay where there is no special freedom. I 'll explain with an example . the game is divided into several weeks . every day you are given certain routes , you pass them and get to the next day . At the end of the week , the championship , for which you need to save enough money for a bet or investment for the main race . Now my example . I bought a car that turned out to be slow , and it 's been half a week . that is , I will not have time to save enough money to improve the new one so that it is competitive . It is IMPOSSIBLE to start the week anew , but if you do not have money for the championship bet , you are thrown on the previous day , that is , on Friday . It always happens . And on Friday , the tracks do not change , there are 2 or 3 pieces that fit your car . Imagine how much you need to drive on Friday on the same tracks . It 's easier to delete the saves and start over .
    4) Catastrophically few body kits for some iconic cars. For example, I won the lancer evo IX, so it has only 4 front bumpers and 1 rear))) Yes , this happens not only with bumpers . But a whole bunch of uninteresting wheels ... A disgrace . Is it developer laziness ?
    5) Soundtrack. Just garbage . Youth rap and hip hop , pop , electronic music is almost all terrible . 0 tracks of the rock , metal genre . NFS pro street was the last game where this genre of music occupied some place .
    6) I am absolutely not interested in the fact that some racer has such a nationality , skin color , and some racer has another . They also pointed out the religion of some of the characters . This is useless information in a racing game ! It would be better if they didn 't exist at all . Just let the plot remain .
    7) Presentation of the plot. constantly this **** and my character talk and distract from the race . It 's very annoying . Yes , that 's how the plot happens in this game . I advise you to disable voice acting , subtitles .
    8) ...
    9)...    … Expand
  18. MARCUSRacing99
    Sep 3, 2023
    0
    please don't buy this trash waste your money .
    dont waste your money
    i wish someone had told me that before buying
  19. arislaf
    Jan 14, 2023
    3
    Freaking cartoonish fx and bad music was the first things i hated. Story is lame, like a 12 years old teen wrote it. Physics are really bad. Handles like sh t. Avoid it even on sale.
  20. NFSHUNTER
    Dec 6, 2022
    0
    I just sent the game back.

    The driving experience is a lot worse than with NFS Heat. Cars are very, very difficult to drive. and you could have brought in effects like water splashing when driving over puddles. That's just how it looks prettied up (more apparent than real) Positive point: The textures from the street are done really cool, You can NOT turn off the comic    I just sent the game back.

    The driving experience is a lot worse than with NFS Heat.

    Cars are very, very difficult to drive.

    and you could have brought in effects like water splashing when driving over puddles.

    That's just how it looks prettied up (more apparent than real)

    Positive point: The textures from the street are done really cool,

    You can NOT turn off the comic effects as promised..

    - The sayings of the actors are underground.

    - The soundtracks are worse than all parts before...

    It's a shame I still had a glimmer of hope.

    I would be for a Need for Speed ​​Underground 3 Back to the roots..
    unnecessary nonsense with police etc.

    just (illegal street racing scene), tuning options such as system, screens, Nos bottles, interior lighting, etc. built into the vehicle.

    like Need for Speed ​​Underground 2

    That would bring many people closer to the game, because you can identify with it.    … Expand
  21. dEFLASH
    Dec 15, 2022
    0
    Worst nfs since 2015 reload.
    Graphics looks like kids tried to make "the Run" from GameCube bit better but something went wrong.
    Not recommended, even you get it for free to check how's bad modern games.
  22. Csicsohungary
    Dec 15, 2022
    0
    People are begging for a normal NFSU2 remaster, but EA ignores and just gives out more and more **** effected forgettable trashes :)
    These games were made for a children, who are into with this anime trash, not for us who started with Unleashed or Underground, so my personal rating is 0
  23. yuja
    Dec 5, 2022
    0
    Heat was better, Criterion f'd this one up. Sloppy gameplay, slow progression, wonky and goofy art style. Recycled cars. Terrible online.
  24. Doctorotto
    Dec 8, 2022
    3
    Minus:
    -physics of drift;
    -cheating cops after 3 level of chase; -cartoon effects during race or chase by cops which close your view ahead and crash into traffic or objects; -one type music; - very high price for this game; - the most worst graphic between:NFS 2015, payback , heat.( In the 2015 the best for my mind) Plus: -try to make atmospheres in game according to the trends of night    Minus:
    -physics of drift;
    -cheating cops after 3 level of chase;
    -cartoon effects during race or chase by cops which close your view ahead and crash into traffic or objects;
    -one type music;
    - very high price for this game;
    - the most worst graphic between:NFS 2015, payback , heat.( In the 2015 the best for my mind)
    Plus:
    -try to make atmospheres in game according to the trends of night life; - some cartoon effects which dont close your viewing ahead;
    -cool tuning.
    After all have only one question - what did they (EA) do last 3 years?    … Expand
  25. Mover
    Dec 19, 2022
    2
    lousy, boring, game..! Heat 2.0 ..No development for NFS serial...I hope the next game will be NFS MW sequel
  26. AleksThePotato
    Jan 10, 2023
    0
    Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. This is the same game selling to us 3rd time. I'd be fine if it was DLC. NFS Payback was good, Heat is bad and this one is bad.
  27. AngryShark92
    Jan 8, 2023
    1
    This could honestly be the worst iteration of Need for Speed yet. Driving style is the same arcade-ish feel of past titles (especially heat), the soundtrack is an abysmal mess with the worst music I have ever heard, the characters are all dimwitted zoomers who look and talk like they would have to google how to call someone to help assist with a flat-tire and would starve out and die in aThis could honestly be the worst iteration of Need for Speed yet. Driving style is the same arcade-ish feel of past titles (especially heat), the soundtrack is an abysmal mess with the worst music I have ever heard, the characters are all dimwitted zoomers who look and talk like they would have to google how to call someone to help assist with a flat-tire and would starve out and die in a car with a manual transmission after engaging child locks by accident in the process. You would never be able to convince me that these people would know anything about cars, or car culture, truly immersive.

    Also, congrats to EA on your improved ESG scores, I don't think I have ever seen a more anti-white, racist game in your catalogue. Nobody in the trailer or prologue was white, this makes me deeply concerned for my representation and playability as I will have nobody to relate to in the game, this is not diverse enough for me. I tried to put "WLM", "MAGA", & TRUMP" on my license plate, but they are censored for profanity, thankfully "BLM" is not. Whew.

    I gave you a point for improving the graphical fidelity over NFS Heat, short lived praise though as you morons managed to implement Denuvo and some of the worst optimization since Cyberpunk, and tank the FPS. Well done.

    + Improved graphical fidelity

    - Stale gameplay
    - Silly progression/unlocking system
    - Nauseating characters
    - Horrifically bad soundtrack
    - Piss poor optimization
    - Blatant anti-white racism and lack of diversity
    - Childish anime effects
    - AI that ranges from Elon Musk to Joe Biden
    - Boring city scape, Heat was better
    - No interior camera
    - Fixed button mapping on controller

    NFS is an arcade racer, not a clothing collection simulator with dancing emotes for Fortnite children, but seeing as Forza Horizon is heading the same way, lets just state the obvious... these games stopped being made for car enthusiasts almost a decade ago, they are now just casual racing sims meant to advertise EA's marketing partners, push monetization, and evidently delve into identity politics. RIP Need for Speed (1994-2010).    … Expand
  28. WayTooBad
    Dec 20, 2022
    0
    Better than heat but that doesn't say much, the graphics are OK, the visual style is different but gets old in 3 minutes, the music is horrible most of the time with a few nice tunes too far apart. Character creation is a joke just giving us a clown and no options would have been better. Controls are fine mostly, but I unfortunately started and got stuck with Civic for so long it was awful.
  29. yuriy_mosiychuk
    Dec 18, 2022
    0
    F*ck DENUVO!
    F*ck DENUVO!
    F*ck DENUVO!
    F*ck DENUVO!
    F*ck DENUVO!
    F*ck DENUVO!
  30. illume
    Dec 15, 2022
    0
    This is a NFS Special Fortnite Burnout Edition - worst Part ever with worst Music and Physics with overdramatizing Crashes ever in a Race Game.
    Cringe Dialogs are Standard here and some Cars have a steering angle worse than every truck.
    Also the score Points and Tiers make absolutely no sense, when you can bring a 1000hp Pista to a B Tier. Drifting is for Dummies in this Game - you can    This is a NFS Special Fortnite Burnout Edition - worst Part ever with worst Music and Physics with overdramatizing Crashes ever in a Race Game.
    Cringe Dialogs are Standard here and some Cars have a steering angle worse than every truck.
    Also the score Points and Tiers make absolutely no sense, when you can bring a 1000hp Pista to a B Tier. Drifting is for Dummies in this Game - you can crash anywhere and the Multiplikator stays high.
    Why are there SUVs in this Game if there are no Offroad Tracks or something else?
    And why are there 9 (in numbers: NINE) Porsche 911?
    Multiplayer is kinda boring, it always has the same Race Tracks switching in each Playlist for the Tier you selected.
    Also in Multiplayer you don't have to finish the Race to get Reputation and Money.
    If this what NFS is going to be in Future i will switch to Forza.
    The Graphics and the Effects are horrible and you can not deactivate them.
    Did i already mentioned the Music? Other Parts of these Series always had good songs in it but in Unbound there is not one Song that don't makes me aggressive when i hear it...    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Most Discussed PC Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 21
  3. Negative: 1 out of 21
  1. PCMag
    Jan 11, 2023
    60
    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.
    Read full review
  2. Worth Playing
    Jan 3, 2023
    80
    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.
    Read full review
  3. Edge Magazine
    Dec 29, 2022
    70
    Unbound is ultimately and encouraging statement of intent, demonstrating that Criterion is not afraid to tinker with established formula. [Issue#380, p.114]
See all critic reviews »