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About
Need for Speed Unbound for PC is a racing game, the twenty-fifth in the impressively long-running Need for Speed franchise, showing that every generation thrives on speed in one form or another.
About the Game
The game is set in a fictional city called Lakeshore City, which was loosely inspired by Chicago. The game is open world and features street racing with added Heat (from NFS Heat, one of the previous incarnations). Heat equates, roughly, to notoriety which is a good thing in this game...
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Installation:
Developer:
Publisher:
Release date:
1 December 2022
Genre:
Recent Steam reviews:
Mixed
(1062)
All Steam reviews:
Mixed
(26066)
Visuals
Description
Need for Speed Unbound for PC is a racing game, the twenty-fifth in the impressively long-running Need for Speed franchise, showing that every generation thrives on speed in one form or another.
The game is set in a fictional city called Lakeshore City, which was loosely inspired by Chicago. The game is open world and features street racing with added Heat (from NFS Heat, one of the previous incarnations). Heat equates, roughly, to notoriety which is a good thing in this game, giving you lots of street cred and reputation – although it does bring down the – uh – figurative heat on you too, giving you a high profile with the joy-killing cops.
Each cop car in this game has its own strengths and weaknesses – look out for these differences and learn how to exploit them to outwit the law-enforcement driver. But don’t be complacent as you won’t beat them in a straight race – not often anyway, but there are other, (much more fun) ways to best them.
A big feature this time out is the licensed A$AP Rocky mode – you can style yourself in his fashions, and even win his own car from the rap star himself – if you’re good enough, that is – and listen out for his music in the backing track, alongside that of rap collaborative/ agency/ record label, the mysterious AWGE.
The game includes cross play so you can play with mates on different consoles. The game keeps on giving to you too – the developers promise that there will be a steady stream of new content coming through to keep players happy and engaged.
This game combines cel-shading (this involves cartoon-like shading on images, removing some aspects of realism by giving objects and people flat colourways, rather that the acutely accurate, minutely graded colours that you see in real life) – think realism with lots of anime elements, such as action lines, swooshes and wings that appear when your car is airborne (if this sounds terrible to you, you can toggle them off).
You can play single player mode, offline or online, by betting on other drivers or yourself, if you have enough cash for the buy-in. There is nothing like having skin in the game to make each race that little bit more personal! Otherwise you can choose multiplayer, which has a chilled sandbox mode allowing you and your friends to just explore and goof around, or you can join a race together – whatever you like.
There is also a story mode that you can tackle: an exciting narrative as you try to restore a friendship torn apart by a robbery at an auto shop. There is awesome car customisation, as you might expect from the franchise, and you can pack your garage with precision-tuned, custom rides to light up the streets with your unique style, exclusive fits, and a vibrant global soundtrack.
You can pull up to a Meetup (a street race) and show off your unique style with hundreds of cosmetic items to choose from, including exclusive gear from some of the world’s most pioneering fashion innovators. And you can extend that look to your ride, transforming your cars with unique wraps and cutaways for the ultimate legendary custom look.
Play out the intensity of a real competition, working your way through all the stages of the race over four intense weeks, as you gear up for the big race by:
Earning enough cash to enter the weekly qualifiers where you
Beat the competition and
Make your mark on the street racing scene with your fabulous style and
Outdriving and outsmarting the cops, before you
Get to enter the big race, The Grand – the main street race with a plum prize for the winner
Need for Speed Unbound for PC is available for purchase on Instant Gaming for a fraction of its retail price. You will receive an official key and be able to play the game in seconds. Play smart. Pay less.
About the Game
The game is set in a fictional city called Lakeshore City, which was loosely inspired by Chicago. The game is open world and features street racing with added Heat (from NFS Heat, one of the previous incarnations). Heat equates, roughly, to notoriety which is a good thing in this game, giving you lots of street cred and reputation – although it does bring down the – uh – figurative heat on you too, giving you a high profile with the joy-killing cops.
Each cop car in this game has its own strengths and weaknesses – look out for these differences and learn how to exploit them to outwit the law-enforcement driver. But don’t be complacent as you won’t beat them in a straight race – not often anyway, but there are other, (much more fun) ways to best them.
A big feature this time out is the licensed A$AP Rocky mode – you can style yourself in his fashions, and even win his own car from the rap star himself – if you’re good enough, that is – and listen out for his music in the backing track, alongside that of rap collaborative/ agency/ record label, the mysterious AWGE.
The game includes cross play so you can play with mates on different consoles. The game keeps on giving to you too – the developers promise that there will be a steady stream of new content coming through to keep players happy and engaged.
The Nitty Gritty
This game combines cel-shading (this involves cartoon-like shading on images, removing some aspects of realism by giving objects and people flat colourways, rather that the acutely accurate, minutely graded colours that you see in real life) – think realism with lots of anime elements, such as action lines, swooshes and wings that appear when your car is airborne (if this sounds terrible to you, you can toggle them off).
You can play single player mode, offline or online, by betting on other drivers or yourself, if you have enough cash for the buy-in. There is nothing like having skin in the game to make each race that little bit more personal! Otherwise you can choose multiplayer, which has a chilled sandbox mode allowing you and your friends to just explore and goof around, or you can join a race together – whatever you like.
There is also a story mode that you can tackle: an exciting narrative as you try to restore a friendship torn apart by a robbery at an auto shop. There is awesome car customisation, as you might expect from the franchise, and you can pack your garage with precision-tuned, custom rides to light up the streets with your unique style, exclusive fits, and a vibrant global soundtrack.
You can pull up to a Meetup (a street race) and show off your unique style with hundreds of cosmetic items to choose from, including exclusive gear from some of the world’s most pioneering fashion innovators. And you can extend that look to your ride, transforming your cars with unique wraps and cutaways for the ultimate legendary custom look.
How to Get to the Top
Play out the intensity of a real competition, working your way through all the stages of the race over four intense weeks, as you gear up for the big race by:
Need for Speed Unbound for PC is available for purchase on Instant Gaming for a fraction of its retail price. You will receive an official key and be able to play the game in seconds. Play smart. Pay less.
Configurations
Game's latest news
Need for Speed Unbound to get new content until December
Despite a lukewarm reception in December 2022, Need for Speed Unbound is still alive! So much so that Criterion Games plans to roll out additional content throughout the year.
The British studio has unveiled its roadmap for 2024. Events, PvP playlists, challenges and progression improvements are all…
1
Several co-founders of Criterion Games leave to create a new studio
The time has come for departures within the studio responsible for the Need for Speed and Burnout franchises. Indeed, the former head of Criterion Games, Matt Webster, has just founded Fuse Games. He is joined by four co-founders of Criterion, namely former content head Steve Uphill, production chief…
A new Need for Speed may already be in development
Despite a fairly positive critical reception, Need for Speed Unbound release went relatively unnoticed last November. Nevertheless, this doesn't seem to have discouraged Criterion Games, who may have already moved on to the sequel.
In a job advertisement for a "World Artist", the British studio…
2
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-75%
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered
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$8.15
-87%
Need for Speed Heat
Release date: 2019
$9.46
-68%
Need for Speed: Payback
Release date: 2017
$10.27
-63%
Need for Speed
Release date: 2016
$15.78
-50%
Need For Speed: Rivals
Release date: 2013
$10.72
-65%
Need For Speed: Most Wanted 2012
Release date: 2012
$7.49
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Need for Speed: The Run
Release date: 2011
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Reviews
Best reviews
Horrible game.
They stripped everything.
I would pay 15 euros for a game like this.
50 is way to much.
Classes have no sense whatsoever. You always need to do the highest class race that gives us the most amount of money because if not, you just raise your pursuit level for nothing.
When you give NOS, everyone gives NOS to their cars..... EVERYONE. Even cops. This is ridiculous.
They stripped everything.
I would pay 15 euros for a game like this.
50 is way to much.
Classes have no sense whatsoever. You always need to do the highest class race that gives us the most amount of money because if not, you just raise your pursuit level for nothing.
When you give NOS, everyone gives NOS to their cars..... EVERYONE. Even cops. This is ridiculous.
2022-12-10T16:58:11-0500
The game itself is no different than Heat. Sure We can have grip builds now but it doesn't even come close to other racing games. I will start with the main points:
- Story: I have the feeling when they decided to start this story mode, they took a cliche story of betrayal and gave a little to no surprise twist to make it interesting. The characters are really bland, even your "rivals" which doesn't even feel they are actually your rivals but a bunch of friend who decided to race each other. Another downside is the tone of each character. Bland, cringe and sometimes very childish. That does not restrict only to the characters but for the police as well. They way the game deceits how cops behave during the day and night is stupid. During the day they behave like normal cops usually do when giving comms. And then during the night they sound like a bunch of teenagers trying to go after the candy and see who wins. Like, hello? How am I supposed to feel like I am being chased by an actual cop if they behave like teens? Huge let down. The story did not surprise me at all or gave me the feeling like i wanted to replay the game like previous games. The person who betrays you behaves super toxic and gaslights you but apparently just because she is your friend your character decides is totally alright to forgive her because... idk...
- Driving:
This is where I get mixed feelings. One it is particually satisfactory to go back into NFS and run blasting through traffic and go crazy. But when it comes to drifting it is a huge let down. I say that because the way your car loses so much power and momentum while drifting is disgusting. It does not feel like you are drifting but that you swing your car to the side and its dragging a 2ton anchor behind you. It also feels like a Russian roulette, sometimes it works nicely and other doesn't. What about rally races? None. So tell me NFS, why in the hell there is an option for off road tires and suspension if we barely have any races off road?
- World: The map is nice and well done but the problem is that I barely know sometimes where I am driving, it feels like some areas are repetitive, thinking that I am on north of the map but apparently im on the west because world feels very similar. It is an interesting map but i feel that is much smaller than it shows.
- Cars: Many customization (really?) not really, sometimes you feel that some cars have more customization than others and that's totally true. What about the new effects? Well thats really up to you, I personally have no problem with it but Id wish there was an option to turn it off.
- Online: Welcome to Burnout. Where people might race you or kill you. Have fun or not.
- Graphics: Good graphics, the world looks beautiful and the cars too. I have experienced some porting issues, like roads textures not loading properly or even the road 100m away from me constantly loading new textures is very discomforting and unpleasant to the eyes, im not saying that because I have a budget PC. No, I have a 3070Ti and Ryzen 9 5900x. Some other thing is that I personally hate is chromatic aberration and you cannot disable this option in the game, it is very annoying having the feeling you are watching a 3D film in the cinema without the glasses. Cmon EA, stop forcing sh!t on us, if you dont fix it you know the modders will.
- Soundtrack: Turn that off and listen to your own playlist, trust me, its bad.
Overall i evaluate this game a 4/10. it becomes very boring and limiting regarding races. Also very pricey. Many people say this NFS is the best in the last decade but its like comparing horseshit to bullshit.
- Story: I have the feeling when they decided to start this story mode, they took a cliche story of betrayal and gave a little to no surprise twist to make it interesting. The characters are really bland, even your "rivals" which doesn't even feel they are actually your rivals but a bunch of friend who decided to race each other. Another downside is the tone of each character. Bland, cringe and sometimes very childish. That does not restrict only to the characters but for the police as well. They way the game deceits how cops behave during the day and night is stupid. During the day they behave like normal cops usually do when giving comms. And then during the night they sound like a bunch of teenagers trying to go after the candy and see who wins. Like, hello? How am I supposed to feel like I am being chased by an actual cop if they behave like teens? Huge let down. The story did not surprise me at all or gave me the feeling like i wanted to replay the game like previous games. The person who betrays you behaves super toxic and gaslights you but apparently just because she is your friend your character decides is totally alright to forgive her because... idk...
- Driving:
This is where I get mixed feelings. One it is particually satisfactory to go back into NFS and run blasting through traffic and go crazy. But when it comes to drifting it is a huge let down. I say that because the way your car loses so much power and momentum while drifting is disgusting. It does not feel like you are drifting but that you swing your car to the side and its dragging a 2ton anchor behind you. It also feels like a Russian roulette, sometimes it works nicely and other doesn't. What about rally races? None. So tell me NFS, why in the hell there is an option for off road tires and suspension if we barely have any races off road?
- World: The map is nice and well done but the problem is that I barely know sometimes where I am driving, it feels like some areas are repetitive, thinking that I am on north of the map but apparently im on the west because world feels very similar. It is an interesting map but i feel that is much smaller than it shows.
- Cars: Many customization (really?) not really, sometimes you feel that some cars have more customization than others and that's totally true. What about the new effects? Well thats really up to you, I personally have no problem with it but Id wish there was an option to turn it off.
- Online: Welcome to Burnout. Where people might race you or kill you. Have fun or not.
- Graphics: Good graphics, the world looks beautiful and the cars too. I have experienced some porting issues, like roads textures not loading properly or even the road 100m away from me constantly loading new textures is very discomforting and unpleasant to the eyes, im not saying that because I have a budget PC. No, I have a 3070Ti and Ryzen 9 5900x. Some other thing is that I personally hate is chromatic aberration and you cannot disable this option in the game, it is very annoying having the feeling you are watching a 3D film in the cinema without the glasses. Cmon EA, stop forcing sh!t on us, if you dont fix it you know the modders will.
- Soundtrack: Turn that off and listen to your own playlist, trust me, its bad.
Overall i evaluate this game a 4/10. it becomes very boring and limiting regarding races. Also very pricey. Many people say this NFS is the best in the last decade but its like comparing horseshit to bullshit.
- Fresh design
- Customizations
- Fun (sometimes)
- Short
- Lazy written story
- Too repetitive
2024-05-16T07:05:05-0400
This game can be voted the most failed game of the year. I haven't seen anything positive in this game, EA Games should think twice before a release like this and before they destroy a legend like this. They could at least make an option for disabled animations, most of us don't agree to play games with cartoons and we were expecting something more realistic, but EA Games has become such a disappointment to most of us.
- Full Animation
- Same story like previous game from the series
- Fake sounds
2022-12-16T05:51:04-0500
I dont know the Cop system is just so bad, no fun at all. the cops are everywhere cant escape. i'm in a chase for like 2 hours now and can't continue with the story. it's so boring. what a sh*t game. Heat is way better
2023-01-27T12:57:55-0500
Good graphic,music and gamplay it need internet in the sngleplayer but just for the cloud it's a good racing game with a lot of fun,achivements and secrets.
Caracthers as comics aspect is really cool and the voicelines sometimes are so funny.
Caracthers as comics aspect is really cool and the voicelines sometimes are so funny.
- Good car mecanic
- Good coop gameplay with friends
- Nice and funny interaction while your'e chased down
- Need to balance it yourself
- You need friends
- Can be hard in high levels of police alert
2023-01-21T08:33:52-0500
I dont know the Cop system is just so bad, no fun at all. the cops are everywhere cant escape. i'm in a chase for like 2 hours now and can't continue with the story. it's so boring. what a sh*t game. Heat is way better
- fhhgfhjkuyytrmnjjj
2023-03-15T00:55:06-0400
A high-octane racing game that is sure to get your adrenaline pumping. The graphics and sound are top notch, creating an immersive and exciting experience. The game has a variety of game modes and tracks to keep you entertained for hours. The game also features a wide selection of cars, from classic muscle cars to modern hyper cars. The controls are responsive and intuitive, making it easy to get into and enjoy. The online multiplayer is also fun and challenging, allowing you to race against friends or strangers from around the world. Overall, Need For Speed Unbound is an excellent game that is sure to provide hours of fun and exciting racing action. Highly recommended!
2023-01-12T00:11:18-0500
Recent reviews
Being honest i cant talk about the game couse i cant play it.... 15€ in a game that once i double click to play it takes 10 min to initiate and then it crash or if you are lucky you can play 5 min like me and then crash again.
And the best part is i bought it for steam and if you dont have an EA account you cant play ( and even if you do have it, it crash anyway ).
DONT BUY EA GAMES THEY DONT WORK AND EA DOESNT CARE.
And the best part is i bought it for steam and if you dont have an EA account you cant play ( and even if you do have it, it crash anyway ).
DONT BUY EA GAMES THEY DONT WORK AND EA DOESNT CARE.
- None
- None
- None
- Crash if 5 min
- Takes 10 min to initiate
- After crashing 10 times i contact EA and they didnt care
2024-05-13T12:07:24-0400
The game is quite impressive, though slightly inferior to Heat primarily because of its weird and quirky crash cameras and overall game feel. However, its distinct style aligns perfectly with the game's essence. I'd suggest giving it a try if you're willing to risk it for the biscuit.
- Great Handling for Grip
- Great Graphics
- Pretty fun pvp mode
- Terrible Handling for Drift
- Purposefully tries to flip your car if you hit something like side of a wall at high speed.
- Story, I guess (I enjoyed it, but most won't)
2024-03-19T12:13:05-0400
the game is awful , its probably the worst need for speed that i have every in my entire life played. i don't know where to start first with complaining. avoid buying this even if its for 2 euros. save yourselves money
- nothing
- nothing again
- and nothing
- a shit ton of stuff
- you go trough a steel lamp at 200 kmh but a car not
2024-01-11T15:25:36-0500
We are back on the streets in this new Need for Speed™ title. In Need for Speed™ Unbound, you can race against friends, avoid cops, and more! If you are new to this game or are wondering what this installment has to offer, check out the features below to get comfortable with how everything works. Please note that the features and settings mentioned in this guide are for all consoles and PC, unless stated otherwise, and that some are for US, English version only. Best game EVER!!!
- Best game ever!!!!
2023-12-22T15:21:07-0500
completely useless game, no different from previous NFS. the best version of Most Wanted (first) and then it was a tragedy. The combination of cartoonish graphics and realism can only be thought of by an idiot
- gameplay
- story
- graphical efects
2023-06-16T16:43:39-0400
The game is good, Putting aside the little flashy effects, it's got a unique look and feel, give it a go grab it on special and create your own opinion the game is what it is, stop judging just enjoy the game tahts why we play them :)
- Unique
- Decent Graphics
- New Race Styles
- Bit Pricy
- Need Beefy PC
- Special effects
2022-12-29T14:39:55-0500
i like this new car racing game very much,i bought it for christmas,on christmas sale,this need for speed unbound will be good,except the smoke on cars,i even donˇt like it on trailer,soo,will see....
- new cars
- smoke graphic
2022-12-25T00:43:24-0500
Dont buy it. It will cause you headace. i just lost my save prograss for the secound time now. 26 Hours of Gameplay, out of the window. If u do not like that keep a 100 yard distance to this. Its not worth the price, and you will regret it. I really just want my money back tbh
- Beautyfull Graphics... Thats it
- Not working
- Loss of Game progress
- I do not like a game, i have to Start over in 20 times.
2022-12-21T12:53:17-0500
if you care about your sanity don't buy this game, it's frustrating to play.
2022-12-13T18:59:13-0500
one hundred+ cars and graphics awesome Best nfs in the modern nfs .Don't compare with the before 2013 need for speeds.One NFS period is down when released the Movie(2014) And dont forget the criterion games only 1 year to make this game because BF 2042 . 9/10
- 20 hour long story,With funny referencers
- awesome customization
- Challenging
- Soundtrack
2022-12-11T10:43:40-0500
Absolutely no effort in level design, everywhere is flat and apparently the same surface, everything you hit is made of styrofoam. The cartoons is like SHTTT topping on a bland pizza. They don't need to make the game look better, just make it play better.
2022-12-10T15:07:59-0500
This game is going in the right direction - they listened and added grip handling which was much needed. The progression is also very well laid out. It looks like they focused more on gameplay than story. The story is kinda wonky but enjoyable in the end.
- Grip handling
- Night time is sometimes way too dark
2022-12-08T10:23:07-0500
worst game to date. they have in no way captured the nfs game. the graphics are lousy and impossible to look at, the story is boring, the cars have become space cars and there is really nothing good to say about the game.
- nothing
- nothing
- and nothing
- worst grafic
- the history sucks
- there a nothing nfs over it
2022-12-05T23:33:28-0500
At the beginning you feel like there isnt much choice for cars in the game but the further you get the more becomes available. Its different from the previous nfs franchise. With ofcourse some stuff from Ghosts developer. Its a game that starts pushing me the wrong way. But now im getting into it more and wanting to learn to drift. Drifting is a tad different then before. Also the story the way it plays. You get several days the time for the big event on the wekend. Wich is an interisting thing for me. Its definitely a game for people who are curious and want to learn new stuff. After a while it gets more easy to handle the cartoon characters. But i dont mind it that much. Its just weird in this realistic world. Atleast the voice acting feels food. Although the cars.... the shape of them in the garage when viewing bodykits gives me super indy arcade racer feel.... but its super fun the game.
- Interesting
- Challenging
- Handling
- Cartoon
- Difficulty level makes almost no difference
2022-12-05T13:58:45-0500
how the f**k can EA be happy with this sh*t, its just copy/past from NFS Heat with another map on it, the only thing that has bin workt on is the anime and even that looks f**k-up, dont buy it, you wil be done in the frist 5 min of the game, the cars dont llok real and the handeling is sh*t.
2022-12-02T13:49:25-0500
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