With the release of Need for Speed Unbound, many are anticipating that the Need for Speed series is finally picking up speed with this game. Considering that Criterion Games last Need for Speed game was Need for Speed: Most Wanted, many are anticipating the same kind of magic the studio made with the franchise at that time.
With Criterion Games taking back the development of the franchise, critics are looking to see if they have what it takes to revitalize the franchise. There’s no question that the Need for Speed franchise is beloved by a lot of fans with its unique take on racing games. However, over the years, the franchise has failed to innovate and has fallen off due to this. Now, critics are looking to see if Need for Speed Unbound is what will save the franchise and breathe new life into it. With that, let’s dive in and see what the reviews have to say about the game.
Looking at the review scores that were given to the game, a lot of reviews are divided on where the game stands. There are reviews that were disappointed by how average the game was. There were complaints that the same formula was just being recycled. On the other hand, the other reviews were praising it for giving a fresh look to the series. Despite this divide, there is unanimous praise with the game’s art style. Many stated that the new graphics really gave a fresh look to the game. Aside from these, there are also many other aspects which critics praised or pointed out.
In Metacritic, while there is still no Metascore, the game received a User Score review of 8.0/10. A lot of users praised the game for giving the Need for Speed franchise a fresh new face. There were also multiple praises when it came to the map design in the game. Many users noted that Need for Speed Unbound has a vastly improved map compared to the previous entry. The map design made it very interesting to explore and race around. Aside from this, many were very much impressed with the vast car customization options. There was nothing but praises for the added customization aspects in the game. Reviews pointed out that the car customization in the game was so vast that it let them express their car in their own unique style. There were also praises towards how the cops functioned in the game. According to the reviews, in the game, the cops felt very much threatening and challenging. Outrunning the cops became an actual serious challenge that players loved. However, despite these positive things, there was much criticism when it came to the game’s car handling and story. Players felt that the car handling could use some tweaks as drifting did not feel very impactful. The story left more wanting as reviews pointed out that the story felt shallow and the boss races never felt like bosses races. Despite these grievances, overall, the reviews felt that Need for Speed Unbound has successfully returned to the good Need for Speed series roots.
Here at Clutchpoint, we were given a chance to review the game as well. In our review, we found Need for Speed Unbound to be extremely fun and engaging. The multiple graphic effects added to the enjoyment. The vast car and character customization also let us feel that we could thoroughly express ourselves through the different options available. We also found the story to be thematically similar to a racing movie. In addition, the gameplay and story felt really resonated with each other really well with each other. The build up to the Grand was filled with much anticipation. Despite these, we noticed that there was a lack of innovation. It felt as if this game could have been released during the prime of Need for Speed games and it wouldn't have made a difference. We ended up giving it a verdict that Need for Speed Unbound is quite the formulaic Need for Speed game with nothing new aside from the stylistic graphics.
When it came to reviews from the critics, they also expressed the same view as the players. The Beta Network gave Need for Speed Unbound a 6/10 and rated it as Average. In the review, they stated that despite following the known Need for Speed formula, it was still not enough since there was a lack of innovation in the gameplay. Furthermore, they made mention of how the turning in the game lacked impact. However, they gave a lot of praise towards the game’s customization options and the NOS system. Other than that, they concluded it was not a bad game, but it was nothing exceptional either.
Evening Standard gave Need for Speed Unbound 4 out of 5 stars. In the review, they mentioned how despite being a great game, it falls short of the greatness of past Need for Speed games. They added that the most excruciating part of the game is the first two hours as it feels like it is trying too hard to be cool. However, once the player has progressed enough, the Need for Speed Unbound becomes a much smoother experience. Despite its shortcomings, Need for Speed Unbound is a very entertaining experience.
Gamereactor UK gave the game a 5 out of 10. In this review, they mostly criticized the game for recycling its systems from previous games. They felt that there was barely any innovation from the previous entry although it was coming from a different developer. In addition, they felt that the story in the game was very lazily written and had terrible voice acting. Other than those, they were also not a fan of the stylistic approach that was used throughout the game. Their other gripes were the loads of grinding needed to progress as well as the sub-par multiplayer mode. However, they gave praise to the graphics and how smooth it ran on their platform. All in all, they felt it fell really short of the expectations and were disappointed with how the game turned out.
With this collection of reviews, it can be seen that there are vastly different opinions about the game. There are some that feel that this lives up to the glory days of the Need for Speed series and that this game is just what the franchise needed. On the other hand, there are those that feel that it fell short and that the Need for Speed franchise is way past its prime. Despite these differing opinions however, the majority of those that played and reviewed the game can agree that what makes this game special is the stylistic choices made as well as the car customization. Praises were also mostly given to the police chase systems and how they made gameplay a lot more engaging. From these perspectives, it can be surmised that although Need for Speed Unbound at its core, is a good-looking game, it needs to level up its innovation with gameplay to be able to keep up with more modern titles such as Forza Horizon 5 and Gran Turismo 7.
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