Everything You Need to Know About Need for Speed Unbound

Need for Speed, one of the most popular and long-standing video game franchises, returns with Need for Speed Unbound. Criterion Software’s entry brings familiar and new elements to the table. Here’s everything you need to know about the game!

Need for Speed Unbound – Everything You Need to Know

First things first: if someone has no idea what Need for Speed is, it’s a new racing game published by Electronic Arts.

It will launch on December 2nd, 2022, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC (via Steam, Epic Games Store, and Origin). There are pre-order bonuses and the Palace Edition that gives access to bonus packs.

Where am I racing?

Lakeshore is the game’s new open-world city-based location. Darkness and skyscrapers are reminiscent of the gritty Chicago streets of Illinois, USA.

Points of interest include a car factory, a mountain road (Kennedy Drive) and an L-Train. You can also unlock Safehouses.

A new addition to the series is the blend of realistic with anime style. Anime-styled effects come out of the cars (but if you’re not a fan, they can be disabled), characters are cel-shaded, and the visuals, as we can see from the title, are heavily graffiti-inspired.

Is there a story?

Yes, actually! The single-player campaign centres around a robbery at a family auto shop that tears two friends apart.

As the main character, your aim is to complete races and driving challenges on your way to The Grand, the “ultimate street racing challenge” in Lakeshore, to reclaim the priceless car that was stolen.

What’s the gameplay like?

As expected, racing defines what you’ll be doing for most of the game.

At launch, the game will have a whopping total of 143 vehicles, excluding the four cars exclusive to the Palace Edition. Brands include Chevrolet, Dodge, BMW, Ferrari, and Lamborghini.

Events sometimes will reward you with new cars—as long as you win, of course. And it wouldn’t be Need for Speed without car customisation.

Unbound seems to be taking this element to the next level with over 10,000 customisation options. Changeable parts include fender flares, side skirts, splitters, wheels, tyres, bumpers, wings, and headlight tints. You can also apply stylish, graphite-like tags to your car.

For the first time in the series, you’ll also be able to remove car parts such as bumpers and roofs.

Clothing can be customised as well. Another unlockable to your character is win poses. Just to make your adversary a little angrier at their defeat!

Police chases are back to try and stop you from achieving glory. As you progress in the game, you’ll gain heat, a sort of notoriety system that will put the police on your trail. Judging by the trailers, they’re more refined and aggressive this time around.

Unbound counts with online multiplayer for between two and 16 players. It consists of online events, challenges, and meetups.

As you’re racing, you can listen to music. The official NFS Unbound playlist is on Spotify, and it includes artists like A$AP Rocky (also an in-game character with his real-life car model), Diplo, and Charli XCX.

The Trophy List was also revealed. 42 Trophies will be available for PS5 players to unlock: 1 Platinum, 4 Gold, 8 Silver, and 30 Bronze. For Xbox players, there are 41 Achievements worth a total of 1.000 Gamerscore.

That’s all for today! See you all on the road!