Need for Speed Unbound

 PlayStation 5
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 587 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 318 out of 587
  2. Mixed: 58 out of 587
  3. Negative: 211 out of 587
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  1. yeastori
    Apr 15, 2023
    0
    I really thought the story in the beginning was really interesting and the graphics quite good. However that's where all the phrase ends. The rest of my experience was so bad I rage quit and deleted the game mid race. Music was underwhelming and the racing experience was horrible as well as restrictive with the limited restarts and insanely stupid buy in mechanic where you are force toI really thought the story in the beginning was really interesting and the graphics quite good. However that's where all the phrase ends. The rest of my experience was so bad I rage quit and deleted the game mid race. Music was underwhelming and the racing experience was horrible as well as restrictive with the limited restarts and insanely stupid buy in mechanic where you are force to spend money to get into races and you lose everything because you get cheated by OP Ai… Expand
  2. BallzyDan
    Feb 10, 2023
    3
    Seemed very similar to burnout paradise and I looked it up to discover it largely was by the same folks. They took a big step back tho. I had to keep grinding the same races to earn enough money to enter in to the next race. This got old really quick. I also wasnt impressed by the boosting, drifting, and overall handling; it was better in burnout paradise. Also, the map very similar butSeemed very similar to burnout paradise and I looked it up to discover it largely was by the same folks. They took a big step back tho. I had to keep grinding the same races to earn enough money to enter in to the next race. This got old really quick. I also wasnt impressed by the boosting, drifting, and overall handling; it was better in burnout paradise. Also, the map very similar but way less fun.… Expand
  3. TheGamer777
    Mar 13, 2023
    1
    One of the worst NFS ever made with cartoon effects that cannot be disabled, Poor graphics for a current gen title and the soundtrack is pathetic
  4. xdeathcorex
    Dec 8, 2022
    6
    Just another NFS game that fails to stand out from the bunch. Currently playing just through sheer willpower because of how much I paid for it. It's just not a fun game.

    Pros: - Amazing graphics (if you take out the cartoon ones) - Great car customization - Great to be able to create your own character - I actually like the car handling Cons: - Huge disconnect between the    Just another NFS game that fails to stand out from the bunch. Currently playing just through sheer willpower because of how much I paid for it. It's just not a fun game.

    Pros:
    - Amazing graphics (if you take out the cartoon ones)
    - Great car customization
    - Great to be able to create your own character
    - I actually like the car handling

    Cons:
    - Huge disconnect between the cartoon "look" and the more realistic "look"
    - Nothing new in the world, sure there are some new collectibles, but that's it, same old same old
    - The heat system can get incredibly boring and frustrating, I spend more time running from the cops than actually racing
    - On Heat 5, at times cops just teleport right next to you
    - Racing can also get very frustrating, I get that not getting first place everytime is fine, but I want to win, not lose half the time and not have enough retries for it, it's just not fun
    - The soundtrack list will for sure not suit everyone's taste, just as it didn't for me
    - The female voices are hard to distinguish, during the story I had an hard time to know if it was my character speaking or another one
    - I could go all day...    … Expand
  5. sonsofanarchy
    Feb 27, 2023
    0
    I played nfs after a long time, I regret it so much I'm tired of racing with the same characters on the same maps and with the same cars I'm tired of seeing and more more more cops MORE.
  6. pedrimu777
    Feb 1, 2023
    3
    Los gráficos de este juego no me han gustado son malos y pobres. Realmente no vale la pena gastar 60 en este juego, yo me esperaría a que este rebajado a 40 o 30.
  7. Foxby
    May 1, 2023
    0
    Einfach ****
    -Wars das Geld Wert: ne (versteh auch nicht warum EA immernoch denkt deren spiele wären so viel Wert
    -graphics: ganz geil auch wenn das mit dem cartoon style wenig hervorscheint ist das aussehen der map wenigstens gut -gameplay: einfach schmutz, auch wenn ich das steuern des autos ganz cool finde sind diese scheiß cops und npcs so nervig, wie die cops sogar auf einfach    Einfach ****
    -Wars das Geld Wert: ne (versteh auch nicht warum EA immernoch denkt deren spiele wären so viel Wert
    -graphics: ganz geil auch wenn das mit dem cartoon style wenig hervorscheint ist das aussehen der map wenigstens gut
    -gameplay: einfach schmutz, auch wenn ich das steuern des autos ganz cool finde sind diese scheiß cops und npcs so nervig, wie die cops sogar auf einfach einen so sehr verfolgen als hätte man deren mütter beleidigt (auch wenn das bei mir sogar stimmt) und entdecken dich schneller als Yo Oli Minderjährige. Die Npcs hätten auch einfach weniger sein können, wenn man wegen den cops die ganze zeit nach links unten gucken muss und nicht auf die straße achten kann fühlt sich das halt so an als würden die npcs einfach vor dir spawnen.
    ich will garnicht erst auf die langweilige und Zeitverschwendene Story eingehen aber das es wirklich immer nur das selbe ist ist halt scheiße das einzige interessante sind die autos die man sich zusammenstellen kann. Für die Story empfehl ich euch einfach alles so gut wie möglich zu skippen und dann nen moneyglitch bei der quali zu machen falls ihr die spielen wollt. Das einzige was ich noch loben kann sind die Collectables das das wenigstens nicht so schlecht wie in z.B. Spiderman oder Horizon ist.
    Zum Multiplayer kann ich fast garnichts sagen außer das es wenigstens etwas spaß macht wenn man mit freunden spielt.
    Falls EA noch mehr kack spiele rausbringt schmeiß ich hundescheiße an deren firma.    … Expand
  8. BeastOfPleasure
    Mar 26, 2023
    0
    Elastic difficulty!! Police everywhere! Whatever you do.. I see you!!! ohh its like You run the game WoW!! same thing in race, they think putting elastic difficulty make a game exciting! Im so excited I get out the disk of my playstation sell the game and put a big 0 on your #%%##$ game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  9. Rowova9
    Feb 18, 2023
    0
    Here is to the people who thought nfs unbound will be a big hit and will be a good game after nfs heat. What do you know, turns out its just another doodoo game with absolutely awful after game support. So much for initial 70 bucks price, eh? Shame
  10. Lexusstriker
    Mar 3, 2023
    0
    El juego es realmente malo, el doblaje en español castellano no parece enserio, suena con jergas de niños infantiles de cuando os troleabais en el colegio tu y tus amigos.
    Llevo 4 horas jugadas, pero es que no aguanto la música, es horrible todo trap hiphop etc hasta en la sopa, lo de personalizar tu personaje, pues vas a tener que ir sí o sí vestido como un gen z todo el rato o como un    El juego es realmente malo, el doblaje en español castellano no parece enserio, suena con jergas de niños infantiles de cuando os troleabais en el colegio tu y tus amigos.
    Llevo 4 horas jugadas, pero es que no aguanto la música, es horrible todo trap hiphop etc hasta en la sopa, lo de personalizar tu personaje, pues vas a tener que ir sí o sí vestido como un gen z todo el rato o como un cani chulesco.
    Los coches y los gráficos están muy bien pero por ejemplo yo me he elegido el Silvia y sinceramente se controla como si fuera un tractor y estoy seguro que ese sistema de conducción obligándose al derrape va a ser así con todos los coches. Aproveche una oferta de 40€ que había en la store porque el juego me llamaba la atención, esos 40€ los he perdido me siento realmente estafado, no entiendo cómo puede haber gente que le guste este juego realmente... Es que la conducción que es lo que yo creo más IMPORTANTE es horrible, mal diseñada y obligada al estilo derrape al 100% los enemigos siempre hay uno que te va a sacar km de distancia porque te meten ya a competir contra titanes como un lambo o cosas por el estilo, no hay equilibrio es realmente absurdo que te cobren hasta por la ropa del personaje una millonada y realmente absurdo el sistema de misiones y progresión. Luego también lo de la policía que ten suerte que como te persigan 3 coches a 3 flames al principio ni lo intentes que no les vas a burlar.
    Antes de comprarlo mire aquí las malas críticas y las buenas que tiene el juego y no hice caso a las malas y ha sido realmente un error. De verdad me siento totalmente ESTAFADO he dado mi dinero a una compañía de basura que no sabe hacer casi ningún juego bien joder. No volverá a pasar.

    No caigas como yo.    … Expand
  11. ExlexEu
    May 18, 2023
    3
    This is as bad as payback. The flashy effects are simply distracting. The boost mechanic is awful and the main reason why I will not finish this game. Drifting never felt that bad.
    The first few hours are horrible and the progression is extremely slow. You are stuck with terrible feeling cars for hours and it's simply not fun, espcially when you get to do the delivery missions allowing    This is as bad as payback. The flashy effects are simply distracting. The boost mechanic is awful and the main reason why I will not finish this game. Drifting never felt that bad.
    The first few hours are horrible and the progression is extremely slow. You are stuck with terrible feeling cars for hours and it's simply not fun, espcially when you get to do the delivery missions allowing you to use the super cars. It's so stupid.
    Your car can drive through 60% of objects such as trees, fences, walls, road barriers, rocks. It can get very confusing due to the inconsistency of this and it get's hard to know what you can drive through and what not.
    The checkpoints are way to small and are only meant for you... If you miss it, you are respawned. If the AI misses it, nothing happens. Giving the AI an advantage, because he can push you out fo the trajectory, while you can't.
    Police are stupid. Way to easy to shake off. The helicopter doesn't serve any purpose.

    The whole UI is confusing. The map seems extremely small and is boring af.

    Props for adding pedestrians, but no one asked for it.

    This is the kind of BS where you ask yourself if the developpers did even test the game.

    DO NOT PAY THE FULL PRICE FOR THIS GAME. I got it discounted and still feel cheated.    … Expand
  12. mad33
    May 21, 2023
    1
    first need for speed i purchased in over a decade, this is horrible i cant even win a race on easy mode.
  13. Ravenschild
    Dec 10, 2022
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is pretty, but it seems the developers are either coasting, don't understand car parts and it's glitchy.

    I am guessing the devs have no idea about used and rebuilt auto parts, since you can't sell them once you have bought them. When you work at a garage.

    The soundtrack is beyond sub par compared to NFS Heat. I have had racers phase through oncoming traffick, while said oncoming traffick hits my car (story mode) and today I had teleporting racers both out of the race entirely and into the water (on drivers side of vehicle) at 5th place only to appear a minute later coming off a cliff and back into the race (from the passengers side) in 3rd place in an endurance run. Where they appeared from was entire off the course.

    It's pretty but the inability to sell parts when storyline insists on multiple cars and the lowballing on selling cars, how
    random drifting and sliding works, the sub par music and the glitches rather kills the game.    … Expand
  14. leftthematrix
    Dec 5, 2022
    6
    I think this game is great in terms of Art, style, handling, and fun. however, how much of the games budget was put into idiotic writing? Why does the radio talk about politics the whole time? We play video games to escape this **** not immerse our selves. The music is awesome, the cars are awesome, the city is well done. I just want to know why and who decided that we were going to makeI think this game is great in terms of Art, style, handling, and fun. however, how much of the games budget was put into idiotic writing? Why does the radio talk about politics the whole time? We play video games to escape this **** not immerse our selves. The music is awesome, the cars are awesome, the city is well done. I just want to know why and who decided that we were going to make half the dialogue in the game be political? And GTA silly stuff, but like virtue signaling and really watered down stuff that added nothing of value.… Expand
  15. undrgrnd23
    Dec 13, 2022
    0
    One of the worst NFS ever - Baddest handling, worst Engine Sounds and an empty Multiplayer where you can do nothing special.
    What a waste of time.
  16. Jardoni
    Dec 14, 2022
    0
    How the makers make profit from this game: 1. Take out NFS Heat 2. Add few touches here and there 3. Slap an expensive price on it 4. ????? 5. PROFIT!
  17. illume
    Dec 15, 2022
    0
    This is just a Mess and not worth 20 Dollar!
    It's a lazy bad Heat Clone, where Drifting is made for Dummies, the Physics are horrible, the Crashes are overdramatized, boring and empty Multiplayer with no Cops, horrible Invitations, bad Graphics, lots of Glitches and a cringe Story and Dialogs from Hell.
    This is a NFS Special Fortnite Burnout Edition and maybe the worst Part in this    This is just a Mess and not worth 20 Dollar!
    It's a lazy bad Heat Clone, where Drifting is made for Dummies, the Physics are horrible, the Crashes are overdramatized, boring and empty Multiplayer with no Cops, horrible Invitations, bad Graphics, lots of Glitches and a cringe Story and Dialogs from Hell.
    This is a NFS Special Fortnite Burnout Edition and maybe the worst Part in this Series for Years...    … Expand
  18. Penskesur
    Dec 15, 2022
    0
    You can tell they dont even try to make a good game. This is just nfs heat 2022, nothing else
  19. ugenu
    Dec 16, 2022
    2
    Critics! - stupid journalists, because to write nonsense after an evening glass of wine !, and then nonsense and stupidity in my head, because we are talking about a new need for speed! some Unbound some! because this is not the game "Need for Speed" that adequate players of the planet need, this is another forza horizon.
    Where you can drive without losing speed and control, on the    Critics! - stupid journalists, because to write nonsense after an evening glass of wine !, and then nonsense and stupidity in my head, because we are talking about a new need for speed! some Unbound some! because this is not the game "Need for Speed" that adequate players of the planet need, this is another forza horizon.
    Where you can drive without losing speed and control, on the ground, off-road, demolish barriers, curbs and at the same time be the first, we are waiting for a patch where you can drive through walls and buildings    … Expand
  20. mrfobs
    Dec 1, 2022
    6
    I loved the game until I played online

    I was really vibing with this game and have enjoyed the free trial. I finished as much as a I was allowed to campaign wise and I hopped on the online mode and holy smokes is it a HUGE step backwards from Heat. I have many things to complain about, but I will keep them brief. Do not lock all cars behind challenges. That is stupid. If I have    I loved the game until I played online

    I was really vibing with this game and have enjoyed the free trial. I finished as much as a I was allowed to campaign wise and I hopped on the online mode and holy smokes is it a HUGE step backwards from Heat. I have many things to complain about, but I will keep them brief.

    Do not lock all cars behind challenges. That is stupid. If I have earned the money to get the car I should get it unless its a special challenge car or something.

    No Night and Day Cycle and No cops?

    No racing by yourself against bots, only against other players? I can't find anyone who wants to race anything other than S tier.

    Finally, separating online and single player progress, while I understand why it was done I think it the worst part. That was my favorite part about Heat. once I was done with my friends I could just continue what I was doing in my campaign.

    I will not be buying this game until it is a finished product, because right now it certainly isn't.    … Expand
  21. kam945
    Dec 2, 2022
    0
    Big NOPE. This game is insanely bad. Even its ARCADE RACING, the handling is sooo unpredictable. Now, with the BURST nitro you cannot take 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% whileBig NOPE. This game is insanely bad. Even its ARCADE RACING, the handling is sooo unpredictable. Now, with the BURST nitro you cannot take 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! The drift is also unpredictable bcs sometimes it gives the standard angle, but sometimes extremely wide and then your car makes a spin. Even at the 5th gear and only 5000rpm. Great job EA & Criterion. You guys did this game even worse than the rookie developers. Table Top Racing World Tour has better handling than this. Even Crash Team Racing..… Expand
  22. RanGom007
    Dec 10, 2022
    0
    it's so disgusting to treat Russian-speaking players.. In principle, I'm not surprised by EA's policy, but if star wars survival doesn't get Russian localization either, I'll be furious. how did the players who buy your games deserve such an attitude ?
  23. DanielOsterne
    Dec 9, 2022
    2
    Mais um fruto do modelo de negocio da Microsoft. Jogo ruim pra fazer número em serviço de assinatura.
  24. CAMSTOCK
    Dec 9, 2022
    2
    But can a game on an easy difficulty level be easy? I just want to beat the game and not sweat over the race for which I pay a ridiculous amount ? if I wanted difficulty I would choose another mode or another game , one race and then bark and so on in a circle thanks bravo vernier money
  25. PhillusMaximus
    Dec 13, 2022
    0
    The game is **** dog **** like literally the worst they have put out in years! Besides the visuals of the cars, this games sucks ass in every aspect:
    - driving
    - world aesthetics and richness - dialogues (omfg please just shut the **** up for one second)
    - character optics
    - enemy ai
    - cop ai
    - "funky" visual extra that u are UNABLE TO TURN OFF

    What a **** disappointment of a game..
  26. Pjo
    Dec 14, 2022
    1
    Bad physics, cringe voice lines, trash story, ai is near impossible to beat in some races even with difficulty set to lowest settings, same cars as previous game. They just took what would have been the ps5 version of heat and called it unbound.
  27. Koxared
    Dec 13, 2022
    0
    some random copium user said "this game is the best nfs since nfs most wanted and nfs carbon". lmao this game is nowhere near the games that came after that. prostreet for example is a much better game.
  28. erikzadoyan1
    Dec 12, 2022
    0
    This game is better than heat. The physics is better than all the frostbite
  29. Icewave
    Dec 1, 2022
    6
    After playing the EA Play trial (10h), I can say Unbound is a step in the right direction, but the game is held back by the Frostbite Engine.

    + The visual direction with tags, effects and cell shading is definitely interesting and fresh (but this is subjective) + The cars look great and sound good; customization is also better than in previous games + Racing is competitive and cop    After playing the EA Play trial (10h), I can say Unbound is a step in the right direction, but the game is held back by the Frostbite Engine.

    + The visual direction with tags, effects and cell shading is definitely interesting and fresh (but this is subjective)
    + The cars look great and sound good; customization is also better than in previous games
    + Racing is competitive and cop chases can be quite intense (again, better than what Heat delivered)
    + I like the new gameplay features (meetups, rivals, weekly events, high risk - high reward mechanics)
    + The story and characters are better than what we got with Heat (still annoying at times, but it's Need for Speed after all)
    + Creative artists involved in creating graffiti, tags, particles, car body parts, etc.
    + It's fun to play, not going to lie

    - The graphics: this is a pretty game overall, but definitely not "next-gen". The roads look blurry and shiny; the environment (rocks, foliage, buildings, etc) looks flat, lacks depth and high quality textures. Reflections are overdone and everything looks like a mirror. Generally speaking, everything lacks contrast, with the HDR feature being completely broken on release. To be honest, Driveclub had better details although it was released in 2014 on older hardware.

    - The physics: everything in this game lacks the proper weight. Destructible elements (fences, traffic signs, small trees, etc.) seem to be made out of paper. Crashing into other cars or buildings is completely unpredictable (and unrealistic most of the times): you don't know if your car is simply going to stop or start flying and spinning in the air, completely defying the law of gravity. At times I couldn't tell the difference between driving a car in NFS or a light-armored vehicle in Battlefield 2042 (which probably uses a slightly different version of the same engine).

    - Character customization: how is this supporting self-expression if I can only wear streetwear outfits? It's impossible to create a non-edgy character in this game.

    - The price: In no way, shape or form this game is worth $85 (local price in my country, for the PS5 standard edition, digital format). I'll wait for a deep discount before purchasing the full game.

    Verdict: if you care about the details, don't buy this game until it's discounted. If you liked Heat and you just want to have fun, get the game and start playing :)    … Expand
  30. TheMacaca
    Dec 13, 2022
    0
    it was priced 70 dollars. now its discounted here and there. tells you all you need to know about this games worth.
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Awards & Rankings

50
#50 Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2022
13
#13 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 53 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 53
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 53
  3. Negative: 0 out of 53
  1. PLAY
    Feb 11, 2023
    80
    Terrifically fast, well-balanced street racing that really makes the most of PS5. Not quite as cool as the new art stylings would suggest, but still a fine game. [Issue#23, p.68]
  2. Games.cz
    Jan 19, 2023
    90
    Need for Speed was seriously starting to look dead and buried – and here comes the rescue party! The combination of beautiful, realistic-looking graphics and effects borrowed straight from an anime works surprisingly well, the story doesn’t get in your way and the driving model hits exactly the right spot. Even the open world is fun! This is how you make an arcade racing game.
    Read full review
  3. PLAY! Zine
    Jan 6, 2023
    80
    Need for Speed Unbound is the best modern NFS to date. It is still riddled with issues like rubberbanding and weird drifting physics, but it still provides its players with the best handling system in years, with grip racing finally back. With the best visual design NFS has ever had and some interesting campaign decisions, it gives hope that the series is back on track to becoming something great.
    Read full review
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