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. orchideea
    Sep 11, 2023
    4
    Please, fire guys from UX/UI.

    Game does not show most important things, but it was great idea to show which random player leaves server.

    Flying NCPs, disappearing (not destroyed, disappearing) world elements. That's the worst and most expensive DLC EA ever published.
  2. dams_hyuga
    Sep 11, 2023
    8
    C'est un très bon jeu need for speed si il est si mal noté c'est car les gens veule toujours plus toujours plus vite le jeu est bien les graphisme et le mélange réaliste et animé et parfait certe il a des défauts mais on peu quand même très bien apprécié le jeu
  3. GamingReality
    Jul 24, 2023
    5
    This game is a huge disappointment, cop chase galore. No words to describe how stupid the game mechanics are. This game is hostile towards its players and the game design goes out of its way to make the player suffer rather than enjoy. Huge disappointment, given the last NFS games that came out and this garbage is the latest I'm done with NFS. Played since the first one in 96 up to thisThis game is a huge disappointment, cop chase galore. No words to describe how stupid the game mechanics are. This game is hostile towards its players and the game design goes out of its way to make the player suffer rather than enjoy. Huge disappointment, given the last NFS games that came out and this garbage is the latest I'm done with NFS. Played since the first one in 96 up to this one, it just became a really awkwardly bad game. Next time I'll try a NFS game is only if they give it away on game pass or PS plus but I'm definitely never buying another NFS game. Side note Criterion ruined the series for good and it seems intentional and malicious. RIP NFS 1996-2023… Expand
  4. Xeire
    Sep 3, 2023
    0
    Wheres the BUSTY ANIME Woman!? How can they make a game without Busty Anime woman????
  5. loumex
    Aug 28, 2023
    4
    NFS has reached the point of being the most cringy and completely out of touch with reality racing game. The more years and games come after NFS payback, the more NFS payback seems to be a masterpiece and not the utter failure we thought back then. But seriously, this game is horrible. Just play Forza or even Motorfest. Not this. The people who wrote this game have probably never driven aNFS has reached the point of being the most cringy and completely out of touch with reality racing game. The more years and games come after NFS payback, the more NFS payback seems to be a masterpiece and not the utter failure we thought back then. But seriously, this game is horrible. Just play Forza or even Motorfest. Not this. The people who wrote this game have probably never driven a car (and do not know how much all these cars and this lifestyle costs).… Expand
  6. Ziege_UK
    Aug 28, 2023
    3
    This game is a mess. I'm only writing this review to counter all the fake 5 star Google reviews that sound like a EA chat bot.
    This is finally the end of the road for me and this franchise. I know it's an arcade racer but there's fun arcade racing and then there's this cheesy pile of crap. It's like the dev's thought they had a good idea with the heat system and just went all in on that    This game is a mess. I'm only writing this review to counter all the fake 5 star Google reviews that sound like a EA chat bot.
    This is finally the end of the road for me and this franchise. I know it's an arcade racer but there's fun arcade racing and then there's this cheesy pile of crap. It's like the dev's thought they had a good idea with the heat system and just went all in on that and didn't bother putting any effort in the rest of the racing. The whole tuning/upgrading system is pointless as it makes zero difference against the cops or the other racers. This game had so much potential but misses the mark by a mile for me. The careers just a long boring repetitive slog.
    3/10    … Expand
  7. bolzouki
    Aug 26, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Whose stupid idea was it to implement balance between income and cost for racing in a timed schedule to get to the end? You have to pay to race without any certainty to get max result, because the IA is an absolute cheat (which means that winning is generally not an option), knowing you have to have a certain amount of money by a fixed moment in time and invest in your car so you can compete, you have the risk not to have reach the goal by the end....
    The cops are EVERYWHERE EVERYTIME, it is a chore. They are not too bad too loose, but they are on you all the time, it is tiring and boring

    I have rarely play a game so not fun and not inticing in his beginning. It does not make you want to play more.

    Good graphics and driving mechanics though.    … Expand
  8. Random124
    Aug 22, 2023
    0
    worst need for speed and I played Almosen all of them !!!!!!!¡!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  9. NicoCC
    Aug 18, 2023
    0
    This game truly deserved a 0. Why? Because they hired some low IQ chump to make it one of the most annoying and boring NFS games to be made, ever! Not sure how they could fail this horribly, I ended up deleting the game after 10 hours of game play. The game sells for $20 months after release, that should tell everything you need to know.

    The BAD: 1. Limited restarts, what? 2. Cars    This game truly deserved a 0. Why? Because they hired some low IQ chump to make it one of the most annoying and boring NFS games to be made, ever! Not sure how they could fail this horribly, I ended up deleting the game after 10 hours of game play. The game sells for $20 months after release, that should tell everything you need to know.

    The BAD:
    1. Limited restarts, what?
    2. Cars handling is total trash.
    3. Perfect Ai opponents, they avoid traffic and obstacles to perfection.
    4. The tracks are terrible, repetitive, boring, and they are not fun to drive around.

    The WORST:
    a. You make one mistake during the race and you're done. You have to be perfect otherwise you have to restart, but WAIT, you have limited restarts! Haaaa.

    b. Races are categorized by car rank. But if you have one car, you can't visit the garage to adjust the parts so you can cover all the the different ranked races in one session. This means you lose out of races, especially early game.

    c. You made the wrong choices on your car parts to the point that you can't win races? Too bad. Again, you can't edit your car without giving up the races for the day or night time.

    FIRE THE FK-ING TEAM!! This is such a terrible game. They are clearly diversity hires and don't know a wank about making video games!!!    … Expand
  10. Swagforever
    Aug 9, 2023
    7
    Pros:
    - Enjoyable open world racing game.
    - Graphics are okay. - Fair number of cars and customisation options. Cons: - Nothing new from NFS heat really. - Races are very repetitive. - Cops are too easy. - Rubberband AI. - Online is limited. - Collectables have no challenge to them (unlike previous games). - Frame rate drops if multiple online players on screen. - Car handling is not    Pros:
    - Enjoyable open world racing game.
    - Graphics are okay.
    - Fair number of cars and customisation options.

    Cons:
    - Nothing new from NFS heat really.
    - Races are very repetitive.
    - Cops are too easy.
    - Rubberband AI.
    - Online is limited.
    - Collectables have no challenge to them (unlike previous games).
    - Frame rate drops if multiple online players on screen.
    - Car handling is not great.
    - Car rating system is broken.    … Expand
  11. Lundstrom
    Aug 7, 2023
    0
    Over the past few years, the NFS series of games has turned into a piece of **** This game is absolutely impossible to play.
    The heat system is completely unfair to lose all the money you earned because the game forces you to engage in a race with the police, which is almost impossible to escape from when the heat level is high, which is probably what the fans of the series deserve. One    Over the past few years, the NFS series of games has turned into a piece of **** This game is absolutely impossible to play.
    The heat system is completely unfair to lose all the money you earned because the game forces you to engage in a race with the police, which is almost impossible to escape from when the heat level is high, which is probably what the fans of the series deserve. One of the reasons is that after a while, if you don't manage to escape, a bunch of police cars will magically appear around you, including big trucks that are also impossible to get rid of. I hope that the game designer has a special cauldron in hell for such a "great solution". I also wanted to note that the developers have absolutely killed the drift system, or you need to collect only drift cars of each tier, but you won't have the money for it, because you either get little money but bring it to the garage for safekeeping, or lose it because of the chases with the police.
    I don't recommend the game at all.    … Expand
  12. Athe_O
    Aug 5, 2023
    0
    EA… Why?… I thought you couldn’t create a game that is worst than the Heat, but here we are. Is it that hard to turn off cartoon visuals?!
  13. Larrynautik
    Aug 2, 2023
    1
    This game is horrible to play, honestly. Difficulty level on Normal is wayyyy too hard, you always finish 6th or 7th if you're lucky enough ! Consequently you can't buy cool new cars and keep driving old things from the 80's.

    The week system also ruins everything and make you grind money over and over, plus they added fees to participate in a race, and as you almost always finish 7th,    This game is horrible to play, honestly. Difficulty level on Normal is wayyyy too hard, you always finish 6th or 7th if you're lucky enough ! Consequently you can't buy cool new cars and keep driving old things from the 80's.

    The week system also ruins everything and make you grind money over and over, plus they added fees to participate in a race, and as you almost always finish 7th, you lose this money.

    Cops are everywhere, too, that's ridiculous fortunately I used to be a very good Burnout Takedown driver so I smash their cars easily.

    I though the game was about making free races, winning based on your skill and little by little expanding your collection of vehicles and customizing them. Unfortunately, this is not such a game. The AI speed is cheating outrageously to compensate its poor level. As the cops who catch you make you lose all your money, you have to do even more and more races repeatidly.

    I really regret paying this game such a price as the devs haven't found the recipe to keep a game cool and entertaining. The game is frustrating at best, especially the cheating AI. There is no challenge, just grinding over and over.    … Expand
  14. CaptainAngeo
    Jul 29, 2023
    0
    Too much rubber banding and police phase through objects. Game feels very offbrand from heat or 2015.
  15. DavidUFA19
    Jul 29, 2023
    0
    The stupidest game mechanics are the cops, there are more of them than normal citizens in the city, such nonsense, at the same time they are the dumbest cops I've seen in games, it's not hard to get away from them, but because they often notice you it's stupid.
  16. Aminp1
    Jul 22, 2023
    0
    It's not nfs It's totally GARBAGE !!!!!
    Hey criterion Don't making any nfs You just ruined good memories
  17. solarcoke
    Jul 10, 2023
    2
    Immensely dull. Worst racing game I've played on PS5. Repetitive, gimmicky, and un-enjoyable.
  18. zolondz
    Jul 8, 2023
    0
    the graphics are a joke. The plot is horribly weak. the game is probably aimed at kids aged 8-10 raised on tik tok
  19. spncosti
    Jun 28, 2023
    2
    Rubberbanding, there is NOT an ounce of RACING in this game, if you buy it you will regret it! It doesnt matter how you spec your car, the ai rubberbands, the police rubberbands, even if you can only race cars in your vehicle class they will go past you with unlimited speed. The controls...the car is either on rails going top speed left or right, or is like a magnet for incoming traffic orRubberbanding, there is NOT an ounce of RACING in this game, if you buy it you will regret it! It doesnt matter how you spec your car, the ai rubberbands, the police rubberbands, even if you can only race cars in your vehicle class they will go past you with unlimited speed. The controls...the car is either on rails going top speed left or right, or is like a magnet for incoming traffic or a single concrete indestructible pole! It just finds these obstacles altough the road is so wide you will hit that tiny indestructible obstacle! The controls..it doesnt respond to your steering, the nose of the car moves but your car stays on the same line..
    Braking...it isnt progressive you just hit brake and its full stop...all loss of speed... Cops....you cant drive race to race because after every race the cops pursue you, and believe me they are the worst cops in any driving game...they are spawning where the game wants them to..if u dont believe me google all these things i ve told you.. If you want to waste your money..buy this game, if you dont there are lots of better driving games out there, i m just sorry forza isnt on playstation. This game is a throwback to ps2 nfs games with the worst rubberbanding possible. The ai will just go past you at 400 mph just because it can cheat even if you are going top speed and you can only race cars in your class...    … Expand
  20. karetski
    Jun 26, 2023
    2
    I thought it’s impossible to make a racing game worse than nfs heat. Criterion managed to do that.
  21. IvanTS
    Jun 26, 2023
    0
    Malísimo, está muy mal hecho, la IA te adelanta sin sentido aunque tengan coches mucho peores que el tuyo. Cuando vas primero te spawnean coches de policía que se estrellan contra ti y te hacen perder la carrera. El peor juego de carreras que he jugado en toda mi vida. Repetitivo hasta la saciedad. Tienes que huir de la policía después de cada carrera, es horrible. La historia no tieneMalísimo, está muy mal hecho, la IA te adelanta sin sentido aunque tengan coches mucho peores que el tuyo. Cuando vas primero te spawnean coches de policía que se estrellan contra ti y te hacen perder la carrera. El peor juego de carreras que he jugado en toda mi vida. Repetitivo hasta la saciedad. Tienes que huir de la policía después de cada carrera, es horrible. La historia no tiene interes ninguno y el progreso en la campaña es tedioso, estresante y aburrido. Ahorraros el dinero e invertirlo en otro juego que merezca la pena, esto es basura.… Expand
  22. AGCR
    Jun 25, 2023
    2
    Bastante mediocre para lo que significa la saga Need for Speed, ni siquiera es mejor que el Heat, si cumple con su objetivo de entretener pero es el primer NFS en años que te lo pasas y se convierte en un pisapapeles, 2/10
  23. llllllllllllllk
    Jun 24, 2023
    10
    Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood
  24. GhXc7oPS
    Jun 22, 2023
    1
    This is the worst Need For Speed I have ever played. Maybe the last NFS I will buy. But I said that about Heat too. Criterion basically just ripped off Ghost games' NFS Heat map and changed a couple things to make better looking version of same unbalanced cop, unfair Ai, boring game. I never made it past two new playthroughs week ONE! Before I gave up, Because the amount of moneyThis is the worst Need For Speed I have ever played. Maybe the last NFS I will buy. But I said that about Heat too. Criterion basically just ripped off Ghost games' NFS Heat map and changed a couple things to make better looking version of same unbalanced cop, unfair Ai, boring game. I never made it past two new playthroughs week ONE! Before I gave up, Because the amount of money earned for difficult races makes it zero fun. UPDATE: I came back to play Volume 3 and Criterion has still managed to achieve the WORST NFS game in franchise history.… Expand
  25. Luis2345
    Jun 20, 2023
    2
    Um dos piores jogos de carros que ja joguei, corrida estilo mario kart, dificuldade forçada pela IA para o jogo durar mais tempo, renderização péssima, carros aparecem 2 metros para te atrasar, não vale a pena, comprei em promoção e ainda achei caro para o jogo que é. Mais um jogo generico da EA, ponto positivo e unico sistema de aposta.n
  26. HonestReviews66
    Jun 19, 2023
    0
    Just terrible in every way. I've played every NFS game in the last 20 years, but this will be my last. I would rather watch raindrops race to the bottom of my window-pane as I stare out into the abyss on a rainy night, seeing the flickering of a broken street lamp through the reflection of my own tired, disappointed eyes.
  27. Andb
    Jun 14, 2023
    10
    NFS unbound é muito bom, traz tudo do universo e ainda mais. Com relação ao anterior Heat tem apenas uma leva aparência gráfica porém o Unbaund é muito superior e a jogabilidade melhorou muito. 10/10.
  28. Serega_1415
    Jun 12, 2023
    8
    Игра хорошая! Нормальная физика вождения, тюнинг и стайлинг на высшем уровне. Стиль персонажей интересный , но сделан не очень. История интересует в начале потом провисает. Считаю ее лучшей NFS за последние 8 лет .
  29. Shahriarairia
    Jun 8, 2023
    0
    Old mechanic old AI force you too lose game EA put **** on the game everything is boooring waste of money and time
  30. NickMG
    May 28, 2023
    8
    The game is like "NFS Heat" but just better in every aspect!

    •Let's start with the graphics: They are just amazing and the whole graffiti effects aren't bad at all, I really enjoy them and I find them to be quite the charm. Love how Criterion wants to experiment and not be the same game with same graphics but just different map that is even inferior to the last one. *Cough cough* Forza    The game is like "NFS Heat" but just better in every aspect!

    •Let's start with the graphics: They are just amazing and the whole graffiti effects aren't bad at all, I really enjoy them and I find them to be quite the charm. Love how Criterion wants to experiment and not be the same game with same graphics but just different map that is even inferior to the last one. *Cough cough* Forza Horizon 5 *cough cough*
    •Map: the map which is based on Chicago is very lively. It really feels like the RL city.
    •Races: While they aren't the best in the series I gotta say, they are very fun and not *that* repetitive.
    •Car selection: Maybe not the best and recycled from "NFS HEAT", it's let to be desired.
    •Car Customisation and Upgrading: The car customisation is probably one of the best in the franchise and maybe in racing games in general, it's really full with variety of car parts that can make the car you want to build. The upgrading is really grindy, but honestly I really don't mind it, I was quite sick of racing games where I can have Porsche 911 Turbo S in just 1 day of good playing. I wanted that raw and slow and "realistic" tune sistem that shows you just how far you went with your whip.
    •Cops: *phew* here we go, are the cops in NFS Unbound good are they just plain Need for Speed 2015 horrible, well they are in between. Because they are better than 2015 and Need for Speed Payback, they aren't quite fun as NFS HEAT's cop difficulty or just Need for Speed: Most wanted. They tend to be sometimes annoying, when you get to heat 5, because they are easy to get away, they are everywhere. And can't just drive around normally without 5 cops being behind you just because they SPAWNED NEXT TO YOU.
    •Last but not least story: The story while not as good as NFS Heat's it's better than 2015 and Payback's whatever those were trying to be. Atleast Unbound KNOWS what story it should have and doesn't copy other franchises and be confused. The voice acting and characters are OK, they are cringe but hey! When didn't NFS have cringe dialogues and character, atleast now it is selve awared about it and I love it!
    •So NFS Unbound is a big Hit or Miss for some people but if we look at the positives and not negatives we might see a nice crafted game with some respect and maybe care.    … Expand
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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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