Need for Speed Unbound is the first NFS title to arrive after the current-gen console launch in late 2020, with the teams at EA and Criterion deciding to drop last-gen systems with this release. While the development studio initially wanted to go with a cross-gen release for Unbound, it believed the decision to drop Xbox One and PS4 was ultimately justified when players went hands-on with the game.
In an interview with Traxion, Criterion creative director Kieran Crimmins touched on the subject, saying the team wanted to "double down" on the new consoles to let the game shine.
“As we were going through it the stuff we could do on current-gen consoles [is] just so much better than what you can do on previous gen. We wanted to double down on it, we wanted to deliver the best possible experience to players that could play it."
"Playing it all [in] 4K, 60 frames a second, HDR is an absolutely transformative racing game experience. With the new physics system, the new handling, the new effects and new graphics – I feel like anyone that plays it will totally understand."
We can definitely see where Crimmins is coming from - racing games just feel right at 60FPS+, and Need for Speed Unbound is no exception. After a whole generation at mostly 30 frames per-second, it's nice to go hands on with NFS at a higher frame rate on console!
It seems plenty of other players are enjoying the new title as well, with the game impressing folks during its early access period last week.
Have you tried Need for Speed Unbound yet? Impressed? Let us know!
[source traxion.gg]
Comments 19
I really wanted to like this game and while I do love the aesthetic and most of the soundtrack, the visuals are not very impressive on a Series X. If you played Forza Horizon 4 on a One X or latest game on the Series console, I think the first thing you will notice in NFS is the muddiness of the environments/textures compared to Forza. Seems a little odd to say "I feel like anyone that plays it will totally understand" because while the overall visuals, including the visual effects, do not feel uniquely next-gen.
I've played it and totally don't understand.
Having recently played Forza Horizon 2 and 3, both those titles are far better than this one and run on an Xbox one.
I'm not convinced by the car physics which don't feel right to me, and the city feels a bit 'generic', with no interesting areas that evoke a new theme.
At a sale price I might pick this up one day, but anyone looking for a drive who hasn't played all the Forza titles should definitely stick with those titles, which offer far more variety of gameplay and far better driving model imo.
Shame, but you gotta tell it how you find it...
I'm not saying they were wrong to leave last gen behind, far from it, but judging by the comments from the Digital Foundry analysis it seems that the title is not especially 'next gen' (current! 😋) in its features. I dare say a 30fps version of this game would totally be capable. That said I am in favour of leaving the last gen behind now, it's been long enough (I know there are gamers out there with financial issues, but it's time).
Really tried to like it because it is my fave genre in games. I don’t mind the style, glad they tried something different. I like the overall presentation but man, I really don’t like the car handling (again + story oc) & I played so many different race games since COVID (+20 on different platforms). Oh, and race games need to be 60 FPS 😉
Agree with all the comments here. If you strip back all the fancy visuals and art style, it really does just feel like a generic, open world racer. I personally don't think it offers anything new.
Well i played a few hours of the trial and i dont get it at all. Nothing next gen at all about it. Its ok for a quick spin, but gorza is just so much better anx feels more next gen than this. The dialouge just made me cringe, hate it when they try and be cool, maybe its me just being old but man i was really cringing listening to it. Controls felt a bit stiff. Think there is a decent game there, but wont be buying it, if it comes to gamepass or plus then will probably give it another go after trial finishes.
Looks the same as heat but with cartoon effects & gambling to me 😂
Why can't developers drop the one but keep the one x as it's similar power wise to the series s
I'm really enjoying the trial so far and I think the visual effects and the turbo system are implemented well, especially when it comes to bridging the gap between real cars and arcade physics, but I also don't think there's much of anything here that warrants a £70 price tag. It's a steep asking price for any game, but especially one from a franchise that has had a pretty poor critical and commercial track record since the 2000s.
I really like Unbound; it is rewarding and offers a good challenge. Physics are very much depended on what car and upgrades you have, how you tweak the handling and how you choose to handle the car. There is a real feeling of progressing in Unbound that is lacking in Forza 5, where start out with high end cars and after som hours you basically have a ton of super cars without even winning any single race.
Unbound and the heat system makes for an exciting and thrilling experience combined with betting, entry fees and very competitive a.i drivers. Forza is more like an interactive car magazine. I like Forza, but I get tired of it so fast.
Graphics in Unbound is nice and the city is custom made to be fun to race in, it´s really sharp with excellent lightning and fun story. Loads of story elements and chatter helps a lot.
You have to commit to Unbound and play at least the first week after the Prologue to get to know the games physics and what is possible. Of course, everyone's opinion differs, but this is how I feel.
@Baler because Microsoft made a promise when it released the one X that it wouldn't release games exclusively for it (leaving behind the Xbox one) same with the PS4 pro & more recently the Xbox series X/S
@Baler to my understanding, the licensing for Xbox One games is made so that you cannot make a game exclusive to the One X, only that you can release an enhanced version of the game. It's a shame because it would have likely allowed for cross-gen gaming to be a reality for a little longer, but I guess if Xbox One owners have gotta buy a new box to play the newest games, Microsoft would rather have them buy an actual new-new system.
@tudsworth That have changed now, with Unbound!
https://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-series-x/need-for-speed-unbound
@Sveakungen oh, I know! It's impressive how much fun this game is and it deserves the decent reviews it has been getting more or less across the board, but I definitely would have passed it up if I didn't have access to the trial and I am definitely getting that feeling from a lot of online discussion about the game.
I played the trial, and have to admit I thought it was…meh 🤷🏻♂️ Comes across more like NFS Heat 2. Nothing special. Won’t be buying full game.
@Nightcrawler71 Just out of curiosity, how long did you play the trial?
@Sveakungen probably just a few hours. The game just didn’t grab me.
@tudsworth @Would_you_kindly shame that.
Funny, I thought this was a distinctly bad looking game for this generation, and yes I did play it.
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