Need for Speed Unbound

 Xbox Series X
User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 153 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 153
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 153
  3. Negative: 68 out of 153
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  1. Johcker
    Dec 17, 2022
    4
    Infelizmente o jogo se preocupa mais em lacrar do que em ser um bom jogo de corrida, mas isso nem é o pior: os carros parecem flutuar na pista, sem inércia e sem desafio real. Parece que os efeitos coloridos foram colocados ali só pra disfarçar o problema.
  2. Benzant
    Dec 19, 2022
    4
    the worst soundtrack of the entire saga, it shows that they put drug addicts with no taste for music to choose the playlist, you are in moments that nothing fits with the intonation, where is the metal, the rock the music that makes the game feel fast
  3. Obama-Gaming
    Jan 6, 2023
    0
    Protip: EA Blackbox and EA canada (this protip is for EA only) they didn‘t learn from heat
  4. Lobotany
    Dec 5, 2022
    0
    Worst NFS ever created, art style is annoying and intrussive gameplay is boring and not to mention the gen Z humour and characters, disgusting
  5. Bigmakin
    Dec 14, 2022
    0
    No localisation no respect, this is worst game politics ever, not in game for regular players
  6. 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?
  7. papaja2137
    Dec 3, 2022
    1
    Nothing new at all, it’s just Heat 2.0
    -Some mobile games have better graphics (in photo mode, vehicle models are very nice from the outside) -anime effects can't be turned off -driving model is tragic, you can't drift smoothly. vehicle balance is absurd, Nissan Silva is faster than Corvette Stingray or Lambo Huracan
  8. ademyz
    Dec 4, 2022
    1
    the game is disgraceful!. 0. Worst NFS game with no reality driving sensation
  9. Logccmong55
    Dec 3, 2022
    0
    Garbage game not worth buying heat copy gen z characters awful anime effects
  10. jj350
    Dec 3, 2022
    1
    This is the THPS5 of NFS games. The graphics and art style look very similar, and it's the same sort of low point for the series. Ignore the paid promoters, this game is pure disappointment. Do yourself a favor and play the EA Play trial before you buy if you are really interested.
  11. JohnnySins1233
    Dec 4, 2022
    0
    Trash game not worth it especially at that price, maybe at a HUGE sale, game is boring effects cannot be turned off even tho they said it can, it cannot. REpetitive cringe story overall trash
  12. powL
    Dec 6, 2022
    3
    This game is a joke.

    Racing is fun, style is nice…but…story mode itself has the worst game design I have played for years. And the worst AI in a racing game ever I guess… Not sure if it’s because of the starter car, but on normal this game f* you literally all over for maaaaany hours. Bad car to start? You will be last in nearly every game until you got some crumbs together for some    This game is a joke.

    Racing is fun, style is nice…but…story mode itself has the worst game design I have played for years. And the worst AI in a racing game ever I guess… Not sure if it’s because of the starter car, but on normal this game f* you literally all over for maaaaany hours.

    Bad car to start? You will be last in nearly every game until you got some crumbs together for some tuning parts. Than, the AI rubberbands so hard that very tiny error or crash will result in a game with nearly zero credits won.

    Then, after these stupid races with nearly no reward, but hard as f*, police can rob your earned money. So if you had a bad day, you played for hours and gained exactly nothing xD

    This game is an absolute waste of time, a game design that was total **** 30 years ago and all that’s left is the little taste of „burnout“ feeling without any burnout gameplay.

    As said, racing is good, style is nice, but the game is zero fun. Buy something that you can enjoy and that does respect you time instead of wasting it a in a stupid singleplayer grindfest.

    And yeah I know the mechanics of this game. As said, it’s a sad fart of what burnout was with a punishing and unfun singleplayer.    … Expand
  13. Captiosus
    Dec 6, 2022
    3
    Another year, another mediocre Need for Speed game.

    Gameplay wise, the handling is god awful and doesn't care one bit about the cars' designs. Physics seem to be based in the center of the vehicle no matter what car you're playing so there's no difference between playing a front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, all wheel drive, or various engine placements. Physics are floaty, more akin    Another year, another mediocre Need for Speed game.

    Gameplay wise, the handling is god awful and doesn't care one bit about the cars' designs. Physics seem to be based in the center of the vehicle no matter what car you're playing so there's no difference between playing a front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, all wheel drive, or various engine placements. Physics are floaty, more akin to a zero-gravity racer like PACER or Redout than a car-based game. Drifting is absolutely inconsistent. Rubberbanding AI is nothing short of atrocious and cops can regularly spawn right behind (or in front!) of you like you're racing in Night City (Cyberpunk 2077). There is no real sense of speed compared to similar racers like Forza Horizon 5.

    Speaking of Horizon 5, I have seen reviewers try to claim NFS Unbound is graphically equal to Forza Horizon 5. To this I say: Respectfully, get your eyes examined. FH5 at 4K is damn near photo realistic. NFS Unbound is anything but and it leans heavily on the cartoon effects and motion/lens flare effects to cover up obvious and repeat texture issues. It runs smoothly enough, and there are some really nice reflection effects, but it's not even remotely in the same league as Horizon 5.

    The writing... Whooooo boy is it bad. If you thought Forza Horizon had some cringey "bro" moments, NFS Unbound makes Forza Horizon writing and dialog sound like classic literature. I don't know who they're appealing to with this writing, this soundtrack, this pathetic attempt at being "edgy", but it certainly isn't someone over the age of 18.

    Unless you're really pining for a different arcade racer, this is a hard pass or, at least, a wait for deep sale. But if you have Game Pass, you've already got access to myriad better racers. Not just Forza Horizon but several others, including older NFS games.    … Expand
  14. Petatey
    Dec 5, 2022
    0
    Forget everything else. Asap this, asap that, asap everywhere. Like, why? I listened to like 5 of the soundtracks and all of them are forgettable. Yes i can turn them off but remember, the soundtrack is one of the critical part of the game, and certainly it doesnt deliver whatsoever.
  15. Pulancur
    Dec 6, 2022
    0
    Definitely not worth it especially at that high price, its a heat copy with a few minimalistic changes, cops are meh, pursuits not enganging, best was MW 05, Rivals and Hot pursuit. Customization is wacky goofy and cringe story and dialogue with political direction IN A RACING GAME.
  16. Lesnos4r2
    Dec 7, 2022
    1
    Unbalanced opponents difficulty and despite the developers coming out and saying that the graffiti effects could be turned off, that is NOT the case. You can turn SOME of the effects off but only.on your car. Thee opponents cars have all the effects still on. Got a refund on this one. Garbage.
  17. faikschmidt
    Dec 8, 2022
    1
    we arrived in the age of progressivism in games... it doesn't matter if the game is bad, as long as it follows the progressive agenda
  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. Sikkwolf
    Dec 24, 2022
    0
    This game is pure s**t. The AI racers literally drive past you in every race, no matter what their cars are or how tuned up your car is. My 2020 Corvette stingray gets blown out of the water by a 350z and a sedan on every track at A+. It's borderline impossible to win any race that isn't 80% cornering, as that is the only thing the AI can't do very well.

    This is the worst NFS game ever    This game is pure s**t. The AI racers literally drive past you in every race, no matter what their cars are or how tuned up your car is. My 2020 Corvette stingray gets blown out of the water by a 350z and a sedan on every track at A+. It's borderline impossible to win any race that isn't 80% cornering, as that is the only thing the AI can't do very well.

    This is the worst NFS game ever made and I regret paying for it. Further, screw all these reviewers that are praising the game, it's not good at all, it's a dismal experience.    … Expand
  20. LokiPokis
    Dec 20, 2022
    0
    There are 300 million Russian languages in the world, why aren't there at least subtitles
  21. Oncep
    Dec 21, 2022
    0
    Ни слова по русски. Советую добавить субтитры в будущих играх. Jedy 2 need rus sub
  22. Racer253
    Dec 24, 2022
    0
    Параша долбаная. Как можно было так угробить серию?????????????????????
  23. 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.
  24. Translator2
    Dec 6, 2022
    0
    Not worth it. The game itself has some good ideas but Criterion doesn't execute on them
  25. RoverDiscover
    Dec 7, 2022
    2
    Boring story, cringe dialogues, very bad driving.
    It's NFS for the Fortnite players.
  26. Jtbone417
    Apr 26, 2023
    4
    Can we please stop putting wine mom's in charge of everything? Like so many ruined franchises, this story seems to be written for an audience that doesn't exist. An audience of twitter bots. The cringe ruins the atmosphere. Sad
  27. twos
    Jun 11, 2023
    1
    They consistently make games over and over that are worse than underground, underground 2 and most wanted... This game is glitchy and bad. I'm disappointed I spent my money on it.
  28. RoniGetter
    Jun 12, 2023
    1
    This is the biggest peace of **** I have ever played! Extra hard with no prospect
  29. 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!
  30. YarekK2
    Apr 6, 2023
    0
    Need FruStration, at the very beginning of the game the police from whom you can't escape and at the end of the game touching the brake throws you off the track straight onto the wall against all the laws of physics destroying not only the car but also the will to continue playing, I repeated last Friday 20 times each time losing everything broken by wall not because of poor skill butNeed FruStration, at the very beginning of the game the police from whom you can't escape and at the end of the game touching the brake throws you off the track straight onto the wall against all the laws of physics destroying not only the car but also the will to continue playing, I repeated last Friday 20 times each time losing everything broken by wall not because of poor skill but because of errors in the game physics, if someone wants to discourage the whole NFS series, I recommend it, Heat was the first NFS since carbon that I wanted to play, unbound effectively ruined it for the next decade… Expand
  31. 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.
  32. 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.
  33. tbarron76
    Apr 27, 2023
    2
    this is alright, the gen z humor is bad, the story is bad, for you own cost don't buy this, let the series die and let EA die, the updates is not worth it, the game and series has no future, I don't even like this stupid pay in, is is basically pay 2 win mechanics, why buy this online casino, that is what it is a need for speed disguised online casino, play horizon 4 or heat or play anythis is alright, the gen z humor is bad, the story is bad, for you own cost don't buy this, let the series die and let EA die, the updates is not worth it, the game and series has no future, I don't even like this stupid pay in, is is basically pay 2 win mechanics, why buy this online casino, that is what it is a need for speed disguised online casino, play horizon 4 or heat or play any need for speed games up to need for speed (2015) or the run or hot pursuit (2010)… Expand
  34. Eastie_Beastie
    Aug 4, 2023
    0
    I am really hoping that ea will collapse. This is by far the worst racing game in last 10 years. I really dont get how can someone publish underground or most wanted and then destroy the whole brand. They raped and tortured it. What a pile of crap yuk
  35. 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
  36. CC_Andyman
    Jul 3, 2023
    3
    No... no. Just... NO. WTF is this? Need for Speed: Into the Speediverse? The obnoxious animated overlays are just beyond distracting. Stop trying to be "hip" and make a racing game that's actually fun to play, y'know? And don't even get me started on the hard-coded controller mappings. Many of us don't want to be forced to use the triggers, OK? It's 2023 - give us OPTIONS. So glad I didn'tNo... no. Just... NO. WTF is this? Need for Speed: Into the Speediverse? The obnoxious animated overlays are just beyond distracting. Stop trying to be "hip" and make a racing game that's actually fun to play, y'know? And don't even get me started on the hard-coded controller mappings. Many of us don't want to be forced to use the triggers, OK? It's 2023 - give us OPTIONS. So glad I didn't buy this. Uninstalled.… Expand
  37. Aminp1
    Jul 22, 2023
    0
    Bad bad bad so much
    Full of garbage We need a nfsmw 2005 remaster or remake Nothing more
  38. ehtaco
    Jul 20, 2023
    4
    Every release, NFS gets more and more bland. This continues that trend. Some basic, cartoon effects don't distract from that.
  39. 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
  40. Amireza8
    Jul 30, 2023
    3
    the game is a joke, the AI is a caricature, the cops above heat level 4 can and will catch up with you no matter what when your class is below A, so basically before progressing up until a certain point you're always gonna get busted and lose all your money. the AI cheats by rubber banding all the time, so unless you grind your ass off to get a really good car you will almost never come inthe game is a joke, the AI is a caricature, the cops above heat level 4 can and will catch up with you no matter what when your class is below A, so basically before progressing up until a certain point you're always gonna get busted and lose all your money. the AI cheats by rubber banding all the time, so unless you grind your ass off to get a really good car you will almost never come in first. poor graphics, meh music, meh story. it's obvious that the creators wanted people to pay to buy good cars after being frustrated with how unrealisticly difficult this game is by being unfair.… Expand
  41. mirc3a
    Aug 20, 2023
    3
    I cannot play it even is on game pass...is that bad.i preffered to play most wanted 2005 on xbox 360 again...

Awards & Rankings

55
#55 Best Xbox Series X Game of 2022
15
#15 Most Discussed Xbox Series X Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. Cubed3
    Mar 21, 2024
    80
    The best Need for Speed title in a long time, Unbound has such a fun gameplay loop and funky style that it's hard to put down. It has a hard difficulty and slightly odd game feel, but most players of racing games will have a blast here and probably fall in love with the chaotic and frantic police chases. Pick this up!
    Read full review
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 24, 2024
    60
    The aspiration of returning to the series' most successful titles is evident here. Illegal races, over-the-top tuning, a specific but fitting soundtrack, an open world, and police chases. It's not outright bad, but it could be a lot better. I would have liked more variety as well. I'm definitely positive about the elements that gave the game a unique identity. [Issue#325]
  3. XboxEra
    Jan 23, 2023
    84
    Need For Speed Unbound, even at its launch, is certainly rather packed with content. The story sees the player throughout 4 weeks of days and nights throughout many events, some mandatory and most optional, with players always being able to decide how many seen-before events they wanna rush through again for some extra cash. With tons of unlockable and upgradable cars, a robust if uninspired multiplayer and an open world with plenty of things to do, Unbound’s unlikely to last you less than a couple dozen hours, unless you get bored before the end credits of course. But boredom isn’t what I’d associate with the latest installment in this everlasting franchise: Need For Speed has found its identity, and while a few concepts require some finetuning, it’s the best episode in a long while and one of the most stylish and generally finest racers of the generation thus far.
    Read full review
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