@@FallenJustice His opinion sure, but he isn't mindlessly hating on things that people were at launch, the art style, story etc. He was fair on the game.
I liked playing this game. Writing was super cringe. Cool art style. Racing and customization was pretty fun. Seemed repetitive though or maybe I just didn’t unlock more tracks.
No, the game is really repetetive when you play a bit of the game but for me I enjoyed it. I didn't enjoy the cop spam in free world tho. Yeah and repetetive races are not good but OG Underground 1 is the same repetetive tracks for 111 times in the career but we call it the goat so why judge Unbound for that too.
@@opshredderytp I think a perfect NFS soundtrack should go something a little like: 20% rap, 30% nu-metal/rock, 40% electronic music (DnB, trance Rom di Prisco style), 10% chill
I got 300 hours in this game so far and it's pretty much the only thing I've been playing for the past year or so, I genuinely love it, It's just a shame they didn't get to fully flesh everything out, specially the single-player campaign. This seems to always happen when it comes to entries in the franchise, but the post-launch content is trying to make up for it and it's been lots of fun. I wholeheartedly agree about the cops, Heat did it way better, though it does scratch my mind how there was a lot of fuss on social media about people struggling with the cops in here and getting busted all the time.
I wish the story had a similiar concept to NFS Carbon where you challenged crews and took their territory and can recruit drivers like Asap Rocky to be a drafter or somethin.
@@SamaraxMorgan26 fr, it added some replayability to it. Cuz what if some nfs fans only want a good single player experience they can keep coming back to
Great review. I knew Unbound was one of those titles that didn't fall on the best nor worst category. Not the perfect, nor the worst NFS title, I hardly believe most NFS 'fans' are actual fans when they forget Undercover and Nitro exists. Doesn't help when nostalgic doomers plague the NFS community.
Yo man! Great video! I just want to point out something you said about the Speed Pass, and the involvement of the Audi R8 and Audi S5 Sportback being behind DLC. Those cars were originally part of the free Speed Pass as part of the Volume. 6 update. You didn't even need to grind that much to get them for free. The real reason they're locked behind DLC is to prevent FOMO because if it weren't for these catch-up packs, then those Audi models wouldn't exist as a whole in NFS Unbound. Sure, the way they're priced isn't necessarily good. But everyone seems to overlook the positive behind these catch-up packs. And it's to prevent FOMO, which is a thing that a lot of other video games that has implemented a battle pass system or an item shop like Fortnite for example. Usually once something is gone, it's either gone for a long time with little chance of return, or it's gone permanently. That is FOMO. Another thing about the premium Speed Pass and these catch-up packs are because of another key reason. Criterion needs the budget to keep NFS Unbound releasing its content updates and changes. They're actually listening to us and the NFS community for once. There is a "Player Council" where a large group of people that has compassion for the NFS franchise went to Criterion Games in Guildford, UK to provide them feedback on what they can improve on for NFS Unbound, and the next NFS game as a whole. And they've made a couple of Q&A livestream sessions to answer people's questions that Criterion had asked for when they asked for feedback. Honestly, their communication is has been insanely great recently and I'm so glad they're finally listening to us. Hopefully this added more knowledge about NFS Unbound that you not have mentioned haha. P.S. Keep up the great content! I'm loving it! ❤
Hey man, thank you so much, and sorry for taking so long to reply to your comment! I do, however, have to respectfully disagree with your stance on the online. Those Audis should never have been locked behind a grind - they were present in the previous game, so why should I have to spend extra time to obtain them now? They should have been quietly dropped into the dealership, not locked behind a DLC if you weren't there to play the events. I don't think that this game should follow a battle pass system at all. Every game has one of those now, and Unbound fails in competing for our time or money with how little content is being offered. It is still FOMO that you have to pay for content that was available for free a while ago. I do like how Criterion is listening to the community, but I don't think that we, the consumers, should have to spend more to "maintain the budget". EA is a multi-billion dollar company, I'm sure they can spend a little more to add more content. The content being offered is simply too little. Two new cars might be enough for some people, but for me, it isn't enough for me to keep checking the Online. I have nothing but respect for the developers at Criterion. They are doing their best with the resources that they are being given, it's EA that is mismanaging things. Thank you for commenting, though, and I am glad you enjoyed the video!
I bought all the Audis that I missed, and I paid like $3 or $4 for all of them and I didn't mind, not expensive at all. This is one of those games I don't mind paying for the DLC because it's good content and cheap, unlike CoD.. almost $30 for a skin and some guns.
@@DrPowerslide_ You're welcome! I just wanna point out where you said it's "still FOMO if you have to pay for content that was available for free a while ago", it might be monetising FOMO. But FOMO means fear of missing out, which NFS Unbound simply avoids because it's monetised things that were free from a while ago in a "catch-up pack" rather than just deliberately removing the free content permanently, or at least for a long time like how Fortnite does it with its item shop, once something is added, then it's gone, it either doesn't come back for a long time, or permanently. In which, after the Volume if you didn't buy it before the Volume ended, then the free cars and cosmetics are gone, that's FOMO. Oh and for the monetising part, I think they're paid after a Volume update just so Criterion, or Team Kaizen specifically, has the money to keep the licenses for the cars, and to increase their budget to deliver us a good update ahead of the current Volume. Oh and btw, the Volume. 8 update is a blast! It may be unbalanced and chaotic, but it's chaotic in a way that this update has gotten me addicted to NFS Unbound more than ever before! So I hope you get to play it because it has a Cop career to earn pursuit tech and cars, like in NFS Rivals, and the strategy and use of skill and the best cars possible for A Class, A+ Class, and S Class is so great that it's gotten me binging PVP since the update came out with barely any time played in free-roam! It's just so intense. I love it! 😂
First off, great video 🙏 I find Unbound to be a unique experience in a world of hastily slapped together festival racers or gran turismo-likes from any AAA studio. It's got its flaws but it pains me to see people write it off as "Heat but worse and anime." Criterion did some great stuff here and i wish people would give it more of a chance. Maybe not for 70 dollars... (even though I bought Palace edition 😅)
Great review. My issue with the game was more so (although somewhat mentioned) that after finishing the game, it doesn't feel worth playing anymore. Both the singleplayer and multiplayer modes feel very limited in terms of content variety. After finishing the game I ideally just want a selection of like 80 races, and being able to play any of them in the classes I desire. It's just not possible to enjoy it that much after the story's done and with how limited online events are in the game. It was an okay 10-15 hours worth of racing, with decent visuals, good racing and art though.
I admit I refused to play/buy Unbound when it first came out after seeing the anime/art style on the launch trailer. It came out this month on PlayStation+ so I was able to download for free. I overlooked this game big time. It’s simply great and I am very grateful for EA/a developer bringing a pure tuner racer game to next gen console ❤
NFS: Payback actually had pedestrians as well, they were just never out on actual roads/paths/drivable spaces, only behind metal or concrete rails and such, in various public places in the game world.
There has never been a DRIVING game that controls how this game does. Yes it’s more arcade than Forza or Gran Turismo but it doesn’t mean slightly tapping a car in traffic should completely ruin your momentum. If it’s arcade like than if you lose your control a little you should be able to readjust, but in this game, you can’t. You over or under steer just slightly and your whole race is ruined if there’s a traffic car in your sight. It’s ridiculous and inconsistent. And the manual mode makes no sense in most cars. The 88 Mercedes only has 7 gears and you have to be in 4th before you even get to 70 mph. This game fuckin blows
Regarding your point on the speedpass grinding: it isn't really that long. For instance, a new season with a new speedpass started last thursday. By Sunday, I already completed it. Took me about, idk, 6 hours, and I wasn't even doing it the most efficient way tbh. and it took like 1.5 to unlock the new free car, which is at a lower level of the speed pass
its lacking in story. thats my only problem with it. there needed to be more interaction between characters . just a weekly calls was too less. it felt like just weekly errands
Sir, if I may critique your criticism. When I played the always online thing was turned on with me… and the streets were FILLED with racers, meetups and other illegal shenanigans. That’s what actually sold the story to me, 15 NPc’s and what felt like 30 other players on the road with me at all times, me sometimes joining in on chases helping other players etc
Dude I was wondering why this game felt so familiar and it was cause it was the same studio who made most wanted 2012, which was the game I played almost all the later half of my childhood and also it shares the similar cop system as unbound..Criterion loves there dam roadblocks
Gonna be a long ramble, but you share a lot of thoughts, both good and bad, with me about this game and I feel like giving my two speed cards here or expand some points further. I personally ultimately feel that, a lot of important, smaller aspects bring the game up for me personally, like: - the new physics - the inclusion of burst NOS - the city having pedestrians and a higher density of tighter urban roads - the racers with personalities (this and the two above makes me nostalgic for Midnight Club) - the new cops, despite their braindeadness, creates some fun ways to escape, than Heat However, with those comes a lot of other aspects that made the game lose its potential and some fun factor later on, such as: - campaign progression system, which makes the game more tedious than it should be - the 'stealth mission' design which does not redeem how fun the cop chases feel to me - the fact that they could have done so much more with the story, or done some things better - the risk/reward system not feeling as engaging and dangerous in Heat Extra points: I do not know if it is worth it to return to Unbound online despite the new modes, I am turned off by the idea to grind a battlepass in it, and knowing I missed out on old speed pass content without forking extra cash. About the street scenes, I feel Heat could have done something more about the presence of the League, and what they do, outside of cutscenes and story missions. Though, the efforts to make a good atmosphere during night races was still better than what Unbound will ever do here. I am really gutted by how Unbound does nothing outside of the cutscenes, and the racers we know. In Payback's story, we have The Collector, whom bosses the primary antagonist of the game (Lina), whom we don't know much about, and we will never know because we aren't getting more Payback story content, or Payback 2, even if they teased bits of it in the ending sequences. In Unbound's, we have Alec. Also another figure behind the scenes that we do not know about, and because Yaz is not 100% an antagonist by the last race of the campaign, he's more egregious, and we will never know his deal, nor can we even theorise because IIRC, there's no "The House" or implications of a greater evil power overlooking Lakeshore's scene. And what kind of name is 'Alec'? 'The Collector' sounds much more mysterious and somewhat intimidating at least. And my ultimate factor to compare Heat with Unbound: Heat still would feel fun and satisfying to play night racing post-campaign to this day. There's something still so satisfying about going through the night, finding a path to work towards and get to the high heat races (which serve really well as a goal to accomplish every night, no matter how far you are into the game), evading the cops, and maybe going as long as possible or just go home, with a feeling of accomplishment despite not needing the rewards; the risk somehow still felt real. Due to the difference in progression design and other small aspects like races not being randomised every day post-campaign IIRC, 'stealth missions', and the lack of general tenseness, Unbound post-campaign does not feel like it can achieve half of that feeling.
the Art in my opinion is incredibly well and you can see the obvious inspiration from spiderverse in the intro. Its good but tbh if the anime effects were optional it would have been better. Some people might prefer it off.
I've been enjoying Unbound quite a lot, but as you said, it deserved to be better. The structure could have been more fun and the nickle & diming mtx monetization is always sad to see. The driving feels nice and it looks and sounds lovely. I wish they'd been encouraged to try a sequel with more life to the city, with detail and spectators and fans etc and a more fun structure. As it is, Unbound feels both flawed but from seeing how people talk about it online, also deeply underrated/needlessly lambasted.
This game is a true gem if you are fond of online. Lot to do there. And the learning curve is huge it gives a lot of replayability. The single player though... it was really short and not really a memorable experience. Aside from this, great chill video going against the usual hate train. 👍
Rydel didnt lose HIS cars he lost HIS CUSTOMERS cars. Dont undersell it. Its something that affected him, the integrity of his buisness, and the people that lost their car. That hits way harder than it being his cars.
unbound after the hot pursuit update is probably the best NFS we've had since the 2010 hot pursuit I played this game so much, I can't imagine the next game without those anime effects
NFS needs to be competitive and have tournaments and a world NFS cup every year to be crowned NFS King, money, in game exclusive content, Have Solo Tournaments/Cup & Duos team play and a have a Build of the Year reward
This is an NFS that is often underestimated simply because of its art style and soundtrack that not many people like, such a shame! IMO the gameplay of NFS Unbound is very solid, some things are even better than NFS Heat, like the handling and the nitrous system for example. And let's not forget how beautiful NFS Unbound looks on current generation consoles, the game runs natively at 4K resolution with 60 FPS on PS5 and XBOX Series, and that's awesome for an NFS with the Frostbite engine!
I'm probably the only person who thinks Unbound's handling is a downgrade from Heat, at least in terms of functionality. Heat's handling may be a bit boring, but at least it's working. Unbound's handling seems to suffer more from uneven terrain to the point where my cars would literally twerk themselves off the road and crash into the trees.
You're ignoring the horrific clipping issues in heat that made some cars completely undriveable. Unbound does have issues with cars bouncing but it's not as bad as the clipping issues in Heat where your car hits the ground and rolls over for no reason
It’s nice to see someone have a positive/optimistic outlook with this game. Sure it’s not perfect by any means and there are some core features that can be frustrating but the smaller dev team has been killing it with these last few updates and it feels like that they actually care about the game and its community. I still have hope for this franchise for its future titles.
the things that i dislike the most and stop me from replaying are the player hp and the heat system. i dont realy like having a health bar in a game that is about crashing into cops and i also dont enjoy keeping my daytime heat in the night until i finish those 24 hours. that just makes it so i dont want to race in the lower classes at night because i might just loose everything because i start at like heat 3
I actually liked Unbound quite a bit, though it's clear it's a game one will play for the multiplayer content over the lackluster singleplayer content (at least until modding gets more advanced IG, since it's confirmed we're not getting a NG+ feature). Burst nitrous is a fun feature that sort of reminds me of Midnight Club's slipstream turbo, and I like the idea of giving faces to rivals in the same Midnight Club (and to a lesser extent, Tokyo Xtreme Racer) vein, though I wish they had more bite to them ala MC2 or Juiced.
Bought this when it came out, didnt like online progression, left it, went looking for how the game is now, and due to this well made video, I now see that online progression still sucks, so I won't return Thank you for this video
All the hate to this game makes this scene interesting and a little awful as Unbound pretty much is better than 80% of its competitors. But yeah, im happy that you took on every point of the game as well as the cop system, risk, and others like micro transactions…
The main problem with the cops is not that its easy or some times actually hard to get rid of, but rather the heat level that is too easy to get maxed and hilariously absurd and unrealistic amount of patrol cars and helicopters in search for you that have some sort of magnet that even if they didn't know you even exist they still some how go where you are, which makes it sooooo ANNOYING if you simply want to get to the next event (no fast travel available XD). Some times it looks like only cops live in this city! And as a bonus thers never any actual need to be in pursuits which makes them just a waste of time and eventually piss players off + in some cases even drop the game. I don't know what sort of masochists are working on EA but this is truly embarrassing. 14:57
The cops literally spawn right in front of you, the vision cones are way too wide, and the helicopter is insanely annoying, especially after you've escaped, it shouldn't have even been in the game tbh. Criterion really messed up with the police mechanics in this game, it feels weird and outdated.
@@Wol1427 Even old Nfs MW cop chase system was literally way better and much more fun, yet devs don't notice or care for examples and what players actually want. Maybe that's the strategy, to mess things up on purpose and then promise that the next game will be better.
Great video, agree with a lot of the things in the video, kinda just wish that you waited until the next update with it looking like a cops vs runners game mode coming out. But very good review nonetheless.
exactly in unbound a city where street racing is everywhere you are the only racer seen on the road it made it very dead in a way at least in payback and rivals you could see racers to challenge for an instant race
The only reason on why i play unbound is cus they added a Crown Victoria and a Bugatti..and that was basically it.... until Volume 8 came out...now i just play the game like its Payback aka...EVERYDAY
I personally love their art decision on stylized look in this NFS, which is a rarity today. The last thing similar I played was Auto Modelista and it was long ago. The only thing I dislike from this game is the car physics or maybe that because I'm not used to it. Also it's "Cel Shade", not "Anime" for god sake 😭
Though I also do not agree with unbound's monetization, it's a small team working to bring us updates and they do need some way to finance it, so we really can't blame them cos they are genuinely trying for us
Finally someone reviewed this game with sanity. Black panthaa bashing tdu sc for making a battle pass in a full priced game when praising nfs for literally doing the same. Hypocrisy!!!
Unbound should defintely be looked at as an Online game more than a Single Player game, as that's what it's all about. The Speed Pass progression is very fast, you level through it super fast. The Micro-Transactions do suck, I wish we could earn those Legendary Customs rather than having to pay for them. Other than that, Unbound is the best NFS game since MW2012, as the online mode is actually good, just like MW2012.
22:15 a new game mode that me and maybe others enjoy is the hot pursuit game mode. Probably the only way that police chases are actually be challenging and fun.
Damn was i the only one who thought it was boring. It was repetitive and it doesnt indulge you you continue playing the game. I uninstalled it after completing the first week.
Online is really enjoyable only things I can complain about are the challenges and the races. I wish every week the playlists would shuffle around either the races or the race tier, kinda annoying only being able to play 6-12 races on a specific tier car
Haha grinding and DLC prices bad 🤔 The Nfs Unbound DLC cars make buying DLC car packs for Forza Horizon 5 seem worthwhile, which is terrifying. As for the doodles on the screen, they add to the charm, but the approach to their implementation is kind of hesitant and underwhelming. Driving physics are better, but as long as EA is hellbent on Frosbite, I won't be holding my breath for any radical changes. As a game Nfs Unbound was enjoyable to play for a while, but as a product it's not even a joke anymore, it's just downright pathetic at best. I never bought and never intend to buy such a form of disrespect from EA (I played on my cousin's console). In short, another NFS concept effectively infected by EA's greed. 🤷♂
I really think this game didn't deserve the hate it got, I enjoyed it, it was by no means an amazing NFS game, but it was fun and I enjoyed it, and I'll replay it again in the future Criterion should take this game as a stepping stone and continue building
I played all nfs since the first the need for speed from eac (electronic arts canad) unbound with the original tire smoke effect is simply an amazing open world racing game. And it's my favorite racing game at the moment and I own forza , gran turismo and motorfest. Love the online mode and the cops ai is good. Not to weak like lots of people mentioned. 4k 60 fps and awesome graphics. Imo better then heat and all other nfs.
"Anime Effects" Me who wants to scream Cell-Shading: How Many Times Do We Have To Teach You This Lesson, Young Man !!! Edit: nvm, you did say cell shading. Still, I hate the fact that people mistaken this artstyle fr
I really had fun with unbound, I found the main story to be short, surprisingly The online at the beginning was way too barebones, but now with both PVP and freeroam, its a really fun experience, great to have quick sessions or mess around with friends Imo that's all NFS needs to be, just dumb fun and frenetic, and I think Heat and Unbound are great at that, even if UB has the tipical fomo bullshittery and stuff
From 11:16 to 11:32. Of course no one will do that bc its the story mode. Jump in the online mode and there you can find the true fun. Of course no one will do that in the story, in evry nfs f franchise
Bro i just got busted twice and lost 50,000 every time I’m mad I have 200 thousand some dollars but damn and it’s Friday at least I got 100,000 and all my cars are high tier
I have played a lot of racing games but I struggle to win races in this game. I have given up on it twice. I wish that had a better difficulty level setting.
I think the next game should way more new cars even if the car selection is smaller. I also think the class system of NF2012 should return that way it would much more balanced. Or like Midnight Club. Also I would to see benefits for grip driving because I like drifting but I don’t like the current meta of driving like a bat outta hell to build burst nos. Drifters go so much faster because of the burst nos that it’s not even funny.
I like the music in unbound, but for every car game, I prefer to use Spotify, but personally, I like Unbounds Playlist over NFS heat, which is mostly Hispanic music, which I can't understand at all. But has nice beats.
@DrPowerslide_ a complaint I had, which might be personal to me, is that my first play through was terrible, and I feel like not having a decent run within the first 2 weeks would probably screw you over. I wanted to restart, but I'm on PC, and I don't know how to scrub my progress clean. Also, a personal nickpick is that the start menu doesn't go with every song in existence, like the need for speed heat. I could listen to ANY song to NFS Heat, and it accidentally or secretly purposefully goes good with everything... or 100% of every song I enjoy. Also, would you ever make a video on the Burnout series and what car games could take and learn from it? Besides Need for Speed, most wanted 2012. That was just burnout paradise, but watered down.
@@carlbrown1000 Not a bad idea to restart your progress if you messed up a bit in the first few hours of the game. To reset your progress, go to the documents folder, then move the NFS Unbound folder away from it. Then launch the game offline, and connect to the internet while it's running. This will basically override whatever was on the cloud save beforehand. About the music, Unbound's start screen music is the same as the one in the garage, so it doesn't always fit that well. Heat had a different song for the start screen, garage, day/night races. I never actually played Burnout much, aside from Paradise. I don't know how well they would fit into a video, but I'll have to check the older games out lol.
@DrPowerslide_ The start menu thing I was referring to wasn't the music it was the visuals before you press start. When you see the cars racing or getting chased by the cops and whatnot in that promo video. The visuals go with any song you put to it. Via Spotify or iTunes.
Finally a proper, non bias review for Unbound, glad this video pop up on my recommendation
This video is full of bias, its his opinion alone on this video game.
@@FallenJustice 😅
@@FallenJustice His opinion sure, but he isn't mindlessly hating on things that people were at launch, the art style, story etc. He was fair on the game.
I liked playing this game. Writing was super cringe. Cool art style. Racing and customization was pretty fun. Seemed repetitive though or maybe I just didn’t unlock more tracks.
No, the game is really repetetive when you play a bit of the game but for me I enjoyed it. I didn't enjoy the cop spam in free world tho. Yeah and repetetive races are not good but OG Underground 1 is the same repetetive tracks for 111 times in the career but we call it the goat so why judge Unbound for that too.
MUSIC was super cringe as well.
@@opshredderytp I think a perfect NFS soundtrack should go something a little like: 20% rap, 30% nu-metal/rock, 40% electronic music (DnB, trance Rom di Prisco style), 10% chill
@@summitier22you know what, in 2024 it should be standard to give players the ability to import custom tracks and playlists.
0:00 - 0:02
We Are Unbound, Free, Unshackled
Need For Speed Rivals Reference
Was looking for this comment
Didn't realize it sounded similar to that game until I started editing the video lol. Decided to keep it anyways because it's a cool reference.
nfsr one of the best need for speed games obviously before hot pursuit 2010
Same tho @@madman0024
I got 300 hours in this game so far and it's pretty much the only thing I've been playing for the past year or so, I genuinely love it, It's just a shame they didn't get to fully flesh everything out, specially the single-player campaign. This seems to always happen when it comes to entries in the franchise, but the post-launch content is trying to make up for it and it's been lots of fun.
I wholeheartedly agree about the cops, Heat did it way better, though it does scratch my mind how there was a lot of fuss on social media about people struggling with the cops in here and getting busted all the time.
Yeah cops haven’t been good since most wanted. Their banter sucks. MW cops sounded like cops.
I wish the story had a similiar concept to NFS Carbon where you challenged crews and took their territory and can recruit drivers like Asap Rocky to be a drafter or somethin.
The whole "territory being taken by other crews" mexhanic was something I wouldn't have minded seeing either.
@@SamaraxMorgan26 fr, it added some replayability to it. Cuz what if some nfs fans only want a good single player experience they can keep coming back to
carbon is and was the goat
It's crazy how Carbon was rushed and incomplete but still ended up being a great game. @@ykmopopp3660
carbon was peak bro
To me, unbound is about family, second chances, brightness in a dark moment. Raydell is that brightness.
It's a nice theme, and I liked it. Its main issue was that most of the game is set up to be a revenge story.
@@DrPowerslide_prob cuz of the blacklist the wanna make it like most wanted
@@DrPowerslide_ I can't stand obi and Harlow always betting against them two but I do love unbound tho
*Vin Diesel entered the chat*
Did someone said.....family?
@@DrPowerslide_and done horrible
This dissection is really good, you deserve more subs and views.
Forgot about NFS Unbound. This video dusted a cobweb off of my brain.
I felt that way when he brought up shift, which was actually my favorite racing game at the time lol
Great review.
I knew Unbound was one of those titles that didn't fall on the best nor worst category. Not the perfect, nor the worst NFS title, I hardly believe most NFS 'fans' are actual fans when they forget Undercover and Nitro exists. Doesn't help when nostalgic doomers plague the NFS community.
I really liked Unbound having just finished it. Your review touches on all points I liked about it. Subbed.
Thanks for subscribing and I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Yo man! Great video!
I just want to point out something you said about the Speed Pass, and the involvement of the Audi R8 and Audi S5 Sportback being behind DLC. Those cars were originally part of the free Speed Pass as part of the Volume. 6 update. You didn't even need to grind that much to get them for free.
The real reason they're locked behind DLC is to prevent FOMO because if it weren't for these catch-up packs, then those Audi models wouldn't exist as a whole in NFS Unbound. Sure, the way they're priced isn't necessarily good.
But everyone seems to overlook the positive behind these catch-up packs. And it's to prevent FOMO, which is a thing that a lot of other video games that has implemented a battle pass system or an item shop like Fortnite for example. Usually once something is gone, it's either gone for a long time with little chance of return, or it's gone permanently. That is FOMO.
Another thing about the premium Speed Pass and these catch-up packs are because of another key reason. Criterion needs the budget to keep NFS Unbound releasing its content updates and changes. They're actually listening to us and the NFS community for once.
There is a "Player Council" where a large group of people that has compassion for the NFS franchise went to Criterion Games in Guildford, UK to provide them feedback on what they can improve on for NFS Unbound, and the next NFS game as a whole. And they've made a couple of Q&A livestream sessions to answer people's questions that Criterion had asked for when they asked for feedback.
Honestly, their communication is has been insanely great recently and I'm so glad they're finally listening to us.
Hopefully this added more knowledge about NFS Unbound that you not have mentioned haha.
P.S. Keep up the great content! I'm loving it! ❤
Hey man, thank you so much, and sorry for taking so long to reply to your comment!
I do, however, have to respectfully disagree with your stance on the online.
Those Audis should never have been locked behind a grind - they were present in the previous game, so why should I have to spend extra time to obtain them now? They should have been quietly dropped into the dealership, not locked behind a DLC if you weren't there to play the events.
I don't think that this game should follow a battle pass system at all. Every game has one of those now, and Unbound fails in competing for our time or money with how little content is being offered. It is still FOMO that you have to pay for content that was available for free a while ago.
I do like how Criterion is listening to the community, but I don't think that we, the consumers, should have to spend more to "maintain the budget". EA is a multi-billion dollar company, I'm sure they can spend a little more to add more content.
The content being offered is simply too little. Two new cars might be enough for some people, but for me, it isn't enough for me to keep checking the Online.
I have nothing but respect for the developers at Criterion. They are doing their best with the resources that they are being given, it's EA that is mismanaging things.
Thank you for commenting, though, and I am glad you enjoyed the video!
I bought all the Audis that I missed, and I paid like $3 or $4 for all of them and I didn't mind, not expensive at all. This is one of those games I don't mind paying for the DLC because it's good content and cheap, unlike CoD.. almost $30 for a skin and some guns.
@@DrPowerslide_ You're welcome! I just wanna point out where you said it's "still FOMO if you have to pay for content that was available for free a while ago", it might be monetising FOMO.
But FOMO means fear of missing out, which NFS Unbound simply avoids because it's monetised things that were free from a while ago in a "catch-up pack" rather than just deliberately removing the free content permanently, or at least for a long time like how Fortnite does it with its item shop, once something is added, then it's gone, it either doesn't come back for a long time, or permanently. In which, after the Volume if you didn't buy it before the Volume ended, then the free cars and cosmetics are gone, that's FOMO.
Oh and for the monetising part, I think they're paid after a Volume update just so Criterion, or Team Kaizen specifically, has the money to keep the licenses for the cars, and to increase their budget to deliver us a good update ahead of the current Volume.
Oh and btw, the Volume. 8 update is a blast! It may be unbalanced and chaotic, but it's chaotic in a way that this update has gotten me addicted to NFS Unbound more than ever before! So I hope you get to play it because it has a Cop career to earn pursuit tech and cars, like in NFS Rivals, and the strategy and use of skill and the best cars possible for A Class, A+ Class, and S Class is so great that it's gotten me binging PVP since the update came out with barely any time played in free-roam! It's just so intense. I love it! 😂
First off, great video 🙏
I find Unbound to be a unique experience in a world of hastily slapped together festival racers or gran turismo-likes from any AAA studio. It's got its flaws but it pains me to see people write it off as "Heat but worse and anime." Criterion did some great stuff here and i wish people would give it more of a chance. Maybe not for 70 dollars... (even though I bought Palace edition 😅)
I still want a new Burnout Game
Criterion and EA need to wake up
@@12xenn45I agree
Great review. My issue with the game was more so (although somewhat mentioned) that after finishing the game, it doesn't feel worth playing anymore. Both the singleplayer and multiplayer modes feel very limited in terms of content variety. After finishing the game I ideally just want a selection of like 80 races, and being able to play any of them in the classes I desire. It's just not possible to enjoy it that much after the story's done and with how limited online events are in the game.
It was an okay 10-15 hours worth of racing, with decent visuals, good racing and art though.
Great review of nfs most wanted 2012 1.2 patch
Randomly appeared in my feed, so glad it did. Fire vid bro
Surprised by the sub count vs. the quality of video
No you arent fuckin bots
Your name seems like a gta trayhard name. @@Rose333X
I admit I refused to play/buy Unbound when it first came out after seeing the anime/art style on the launch trailer. It came out this month on PlayStation+ so I was able to download for free. I overlooked this game big time. It’s simply great and I am very grateful for EA/a developer bringing a pure tuner racer game to next gen console ❤
Based opinions specially after naming shift 2. Devs forgot sense of speed, shift 2 felt like I was driving a car that actually felt powerful.
NFS: Payback actually had pedestrians as well, they were just never out on actual roads/paths/drivable spaces, only behind metal or concrete rails and such, in various public places in the game world.
2:45 Yes, considering Need for Speed is an arcade racing game that is not realistic at all, I expect driving to be comfortable.
Yeah, Dr. Powerslide isn't very smart
There has never been a DRIVING game that controls how this game does. Yes it’s more arcade than Forza or Gran Turismo but it doesn’t mean slightly tapping a car in traffic should completely ruin your momentum. If it’s arcade like than if you lose your control a little you should be able to readjust, but in this game, you can’t. You over or under steer just slightly and your whole race is ruined if there’s a traffic car in your sight. It’s ridiculous and inconsistent. And the manual mode makes no sense in most cars. The 88 Mercedes only has 7 gears and you have to be in 4th before you even get to 70 mph. This game fuckin blows
Tbh the whole video could be taken as satire, pretty mediocre
I think the way sounds fly by is soo wel done in unbound.
Keeps me wanting to come back for more.
tomorow the vol8💪
Regarding your point on the speedpass grinding: it isn't really that long. For instance, a new season with a new speedpass started last thursday. By Sunday, I already completed it. Took me about, idk, 6 hours, and I wasn't even doing it the most efficient way tbh.
and it took like 1.5 to unlock the new free car, which is at a lower level of the speed pass
Now what we need is some singleplayer update
its lacking in story. thats my only problem with it. there needed to be more interaction between characters . just a weekly calls was too less. it felt like just weekly errands
Man, this video pushed my love for unbound even further
I love need for speed unbound. They put the speed pass into single player and now I play the game all the time.
Roming racers should have been in this game the same way as in Payback. It was really fun and helped breakup the downtime in between races.
Great review, and for those of you that are new or are coming back. The Hot pursuit updates drops on on 8/22 👀👀
Unbound is just another word for Limitless
*Need for Speed: No Limits*
Sir, if I may critique your criticism. When I played the always online thing was turned on with me… and the streets were FILLED with racers, meetups and other illegal shenanigans. That’s what actually sold the story to me, 15 NPc’s and what felt like 30 other players on the road with me at all times, me sometimes joining in on chases helping other players etc
Dude I was wondering why this game felt so familiar and it was cause it was the same studio who made most wanted 2012, which was the game I played almost all the later half of my childhood and also it shares the similar cop system as unbound..Criterion loves there dam roadblocks
It has ASAP Rocky enough said
Gonna be a long ramble, but you share a lot of thoughts, both good and bad, with me about this game and I feel like giving my two speed cards here or expand some points further.
I personally ultimately feel that, a lot of important, smaller aspects bring the game up for me personally, like:
- the new physics
- the inclusion of burst NOS
- the city having pedestrians and a higher density of tighter urban roads
- the racers with personalities (this and the two above makes me nostalgic for Midnight Club)
- the new cops, despite their braindeadness, creates some fun ways to escape, than Heat
However, with those comes a lot of other aspects that made the game lose its potential and some fun factor later on, such as:
- campaign progression system, which makes the game more tedious than it should be
- the 'stealth mission' design which does not redeem how fun the cop chases feel to me
- the fact that they could have done so much more with the story, or done some things better
- the risk/reward system not feeling as engaging and dangerous in Heat
Extra points:
I do not know if it is worth it to return to Unbound online despite the new modes, I am turned off by the idea to grind a battlepass in it, and knowing I missed out on old speed pass content without forking extra cash.
About the street scenes, I feel Heat could have done something more about the presence of the League, and what they do, outside of cutscenes and story missions. Though, the efforts to make a good atmosphere during night races was still better than what Unbound will ever do here. I am really gutted by how Unbound does nothing outside of the cutscenes, and the racers we know.
In Payback's story, we have The Collector, whom bosses the primary antagonist of the game (Lina), whom we don't know much about, and we will never know because we aren't getting more Payback story content, or Payback 2, even if they teased bits of it in the ending sequences. In Unbound's, we have Alec. Also another figure behind the scenes that we do not know about, and because Yaz is not 100% an antagonist by the last race of the campaign, he's more egregious, and we will never know his deal, nor can we even theorise because IIRC, there's no "The House" or implications of a greater evil power overlooking Lakeshore's scene. And what kind of name is 'Alec'? 'The Collector' sounds much more mysterious and somewhat intimidating at least.
And my ultimate factor to compare Heat with Unbound:
Heat still would feel fun and satisfying to play night racing post-campaign to this day. There's something still so satisfying about going through the night, finding a path to work towards and get to the high heat races (which serve really well as a goal to accomplish every night, no matter how far you are into the game), evading the cops, and maybe going as long as possible or just go home, with a feeling of accomplishment despite not needing the rewards; the risk somehow still felt real. Due to the difference in progression design and other small aspects like races not being randomised every day post-campaign IIRC, 'stealth missions', and the lack of general tenseness, Unbound post-campaign does not feel like it can achieve half of that feeling.
Only 4 need for speed games in the last 9 years?
the Art in my opinion is incredibly well and you can see the obvious inspiration from spiderverse in the intro. Its good but tbh if the anime effects were optional it would have been better. Some people might prefer it off.
I've been enjoying Unbound quite a lot, but as you said, it deserved to be better. The structure could have been more fun and the nickle & diming mtx monetization is always sad to see. The driving feels nice and it looks and sounds lovely. I wish they'd been encouraged to try a sequel with more life to the city, with detail and spectators and fans etc and a more fun structure. As it is, Unbound feels both flawed but from seeing how people talk about it online, also deeply underrated/needlessly lambasted.
This game is a true gem if you are fond of online. Lot to do there. And the learning curve is huge it gives a lot of replayability. The single player though... it was really short and not really a memorable experience. Aside from this, great chill video going against the usual hate train. 👍
Rydel didnt lose HIS cars he lost HIS CUSTOMERS cars. Dont undersell it. Its something that affected him, the integrity of his buisness, and the people that lost their car. That hits way harder than it being his cars.
unbound after the hot pursuit update is probably the best NFS we've had since the 2010 hot pursuit
I played this game so much, I can't imagine the next game without those anime effects
I can't wait for the hotpursuit update
NFS needs to be competitive and have tournaments and a world NFS cup every year to be crowned NFS King, money, in game exclusive content, Have Solo Tournaments/Cup & Duos team play and a have a Build of the Year reward
NFS Unbound is a solid 8/10
It would be higher if the singleplayer had MORE, the longer the game gets updated.
Bro I’ve been seeing this video on my duo for 2 weeks, I finally caved in and clicked on it😭😭😭
This is an NFS that is often underestimated simply because of its art style and soundtrack that not many people like, such a shame! IMO the gameplay of NFS Unbound is very solid, some things are even better than NFS Heat, like the handling and the nitrous system for example.
And let's not forget how beautiful NFS Unbound looks on current generation consoles, the game runs natively at 4K resolution with 60 FPS on PS5 and XBOX Series, and that's awesome for an NFS with the Frostbite engine!
I'm probably the only person who thinks Unbound's handling is a downgrade from Heat, at least in terms of functionality. Heat's handling may be a bit boring, but at least it's working. Unbound's handling seems to suffer more from uneven terrain to the point where my cars would literally twerk themselves off the road and crash into the trees.
Nah the handlings great. What you’re talking about is the physics of the Frostbite engine used in this game. It kinda sucks.
You're ignoring the horrific clipping issues in heat that made some cars completely undriveable. Unbound does have issues with cars bouncing but it's not as bad as the clipping issues in Heat where your car hits the ground and rolls over for no reason
That subtle NFS Rivals reference
NFSUB become hidden gem when it get full update on vol 9
It’s nice to see someone have a positive/optimistic outlook with this game. Sure it’s not perfect by any means and there are some core features that can be frustrating but the smaller dev team has been killing it with these last few updates and it feels like that they actually care about the game and its community. I still have hope for this franchise for its future titles.
For me Unbound is not perfect but its the best modern NFS because of online multiplayer support.
I can't see why people complain about the cartoon effects when a lot of car edits do that stuff.
the things that i dislike the most and stop me from replaying are the player hp and the heat system. i dont realy like having a health bar in a game that is about crashing into cops and i also dont enjoy keeping my daytime heat in the night until i finish those 24 hours. that just makes it so i dont want to race in the lower classes at night because i might just loose everything because i start at like heat 3
I actually liked Unbound quite a bit, though it's clear it's a game one will play for the multiplayer content over the lackluster singleplayer content (at least until modding gets more advanced IG, since it's confirmed we're not getting a NG+ feature). Burst nitrous is a fun feature that sort of reminds me of Midnight Club's slipstream turbo, and I like the idea of giving faces to rivals in the same Midnight Club (and to a lesser extent, Tokyo Xtreme Racer) vein, though I wish they had more bite to them ala MC2 or Juiced.
Bought this when it came out, didnt like online progression, left it, went looking for how the game is now, and due to this well made video, I now see that online progression still sucks, so I won't return
Thank you for this video
All the hate to this game makes this scene interesting and a little awful as Unbound pretty much is better than 80% of its competitors. But yeah, im happy that you took on every point of the game as well as the cop system, risk, and others like micro transactions…
The main problem with the cops is not that its easy or some times actually hard to get rid of, but rather the heat level that is too easy to get maxed and hilariously absurd and unrealistic amount of patrol cars and helicopters in search for you that have some sort of magnet that even if they didn't know you even exist they still some how go where you are, which makes it sooooo ANNOYING if you simply want to get to the next event (no fast travel available XD). Some times it looks like only cops live in this city! And as a bonus thers never any actual need to be in pursuits which makes them just a waste of time and eventually piss players off + in some cases even drop the game. I don't know what sort of masochists are working on EA but this is truly embarrassing. 14:57
The cops literally spawn right in front of you, the vision cones are way too wide, and the helicopter is insanely annoying, especially after you've escaped, it shouldn't have even been in the game tbh. Criterion really messed up with the police mechanics in this game, it feels weird and outdated.
@@Wol1427 Even old Nfs MW cop chase system was literally way better and much more fun, yet devs don't notice or care for examples and what players actually want. Maybe that's the strategy, to mess things up on purpose and then promise that the next game will be better.
Great video, agree with a lot of the things in the video, kinda just wish that you waited until the next update with it looking like a cops vs runners game mode coming out. But very good review nonetheless.
Vol. 8 updated the cop ai for the new Hot pursuit mode. And damn, the new mode makes them super agressive.
Thank you for this review fr
exactly in unbound a city where street racing is everywhere you are the only racer seen on the road it made it very dead in a way at least in payback and rivals you could see racers to challenge for an instant race
The only reason on why i play unbound is cus they added a Crown Victoria and a Bugatti..and that was basically it.... until Volume 8 came out...now i just play the game like its Payback aka...EVERYDAY
I personally love their art decision on stylized look in this NFS, which is a rarity today. The last thing similar I played was Auto Modelista and it was long ago. The only thing I dislike from this game is the car physics or maybe that because I'm not used to it.
Also it's "Cel Shade", not "Anime" for god sake 😭
haha cartoon effect bad is a great way to set the Table on this topic lmao
Hard to explain but I liked Heat way more in every way
Explain. Heat is great, haven't played this one.
Though I also do not agree with unbound's monetization, it's a small team working to bring us updates and they do need some way to finance it, so we really can't blame them cos they are genuinely trying for us
Finally someone reviewed this game with sanity. Black panthaa bashing tdu sc for making a battle pass in a full priced game when praising nfs for literally doing the same. Hypocrisy!!!
I enjoyed Unbound, it was a good grind. I usually talked to my friend in a party which made it less boring
Unbound should defintely be looked at as an Online game more than a Single Player game, as that's what it's all about. The Speed Pass progression is very fast, you level through it super fast. The Micro-Transactions do suck, I wish we could earn those Legendary Customs rather than having to pay for them.
Other than that, Unbound is the best NFS game since MW2012, as the online mode is actually good, just like MW2012.
22:15 a new game mode that me and maybe others enjoy is the hot pursuit game mode. Probably the only way that police chases are actually be challenging and fun.
I never played it till last week. I’m playing it every day now
"grip turn" is just hilarious
💀💀
Nfs unbound is a truly fun game man…
this is easily the best unbound review
Thank you!
Damn was i the only one who thought it was boring. It was repetitive and it doesnt indulge you you continue playing the game. I uninstalled it after completing the first week.
Online with friends makes it worth it
I'm just glad they still didn't apply any soft of anti-cheat so we can happily use mods without the fear of getting banned
As a nba 2k player. Y’all are lucky w the micro transactions compared to us
The cops being assholes while youre trying to hide is honestly making me wait for an even lower sale
Funny thing for me, don't know how it is in other versions, but in polish one ASAP Rocky talks in english, while every one speaks polish
Online is really enjoyable only things I can complain about are the challenges and the races. I wish every week the playlists would shuffle around either the races or the race tier, kinda annoying only being able to play 6-12 races on a specific tier car
7:34 apart from me being shitty i knew I wasn’t trippin on the structure of those corners
Haha grinding and DLC prices bad 🤔 The Nfs Unbound DLC cars make buying DLC car packs for Forza Horizon 5 seem worthwhile, which is terrifying. As for the doodles on the screen, they add to the charm, but the approach to their implementation is kind of hesitant and underwhelming. Driving physics are better, but as long as EA is hellbent on Frosbite, I won't be holding my breath for any radical changes. As a game Nfs Unbound was enjoyable to play for a while, but as a product it's not even a joke anymore, it's just downright pathetic at best. I never bought and never intend to buy such a form of disrespect from EA (I played on my cousin's console). In short, another NFS concept effectively infected by EA's greed. 🤷♂
I really think this game didn't deserve the hate it got, I enjoyed it, it was by no means an amazing NFS game, but it was fun and I enjoyed it, and I'll replay it again in the future
Criterion should take this game as a stepping stone and continue building
Criterion needs to get their shit together and revive Burnout
I played all nfs since the first the need for speed from eac (electronic arts canad) unbound with the original tire smoke effect is simply an amazing open world racing game. And it's my favorite racing game at the moment and I own forza , gran turismo and motorfest. Love the online mode and the cops ai is good. Not to weak like lots of people mentioned. 4k 60 fps and awesome graphics. Imo better then heat and all other nfs.
I tried several times to get into this game. Its just not for me 😞 with that being said its not the worst game I've ever played.
Love this game one of the best racing games out their at the moment
"Anime Effects"
Me who wants to scream Cell-Shading: How Many Times Do We Have To Teach You This Lesson, Young Man !!!
Edit: nvm, you did say cell shading. Still, I hate the fact that people mistaken this artstyle fr
This is my personal favorite of the new age of nfs.
I really had fun with unbound, I found the main story to be short, surprisingly
The online at the beginning was way too barebones, but now with both PVP and freeroam, its a really fun experience, great to have quick sessions or mess around with friends
Imo that's all NFS needs to be, just dumb fun and frenetic, and I think Heat and Unbound are great at that, even if UB has the tipical fomo bullshittery and stuff
I enjoyed this game. I have 5 days on it but it does feel repetitive and there isnt newer performance trims like zl1, trackhawk, raptor etc
From 11:16 to 11:32. Of course no one will do that bc its the story mode. Jump in the online mode and there you can find the true fun. Of course no one will do that in the story, in evry nfs f franchise
Probably the only game I've ever played where I've turned off the in game voices. Writing is honestly hard to even listen too, so bad
400+ hrs and multiple playthroughs... I have a personal beef with Justicia at this point
Bro i just got busted twice and lost 50,000 every time I’m mad I have 200 thousand some dollars but damn and it’s Friday at least I got 100,000 and all my cars are high tier
What I hate most is cars with the same model but different series... where's the Gallardo?
Bro played unbound in a spectator mode
they whole game should have had the animated artstyle. kinda like auto modellista on the ps2
I have played a lot of racing games but I struggle to win races in this game. I have given up on it twice. I wish that had a better difficulty level setting.
In my opinion, the lack of emphasis on cops is what made this game good but not great.
I think the next game should way more new cars even if the car selection is smaller. I also think the class system of NF2012 should return that way it would much more balanced. Or like Midnight Club. Also I would to see benefits for grip driving because I like drifting but I don’t like the current meta of driving like a bat outta hell to build burst nos. Drifters go so much faster because of the burst nos that it’s not even funny.
I like the music in unbound, but for every car game, I prefer to use Spotify, but personally, I like Unbounds Playlist over NFS heat, which is mostly Hispanic music, which I can't understand at all. But has nice beats.
Valid, both games have some bangers, not a fan of the daytime music in Heat either, but the nighttime has some really good songs.
@DrPowerslide_ a complaint I had, which might be personal to me, is that my first play through was terrible, and I feel like not having a decent run within the first 2 weeks would probably screw you over. I wanted to restart, but I'm on PC, and I don't know how to scrub my progress clean. Also, a personal nickpick is that the start menu doesn't go with every song in existence, like the need for speed heat. I could listen to ANY song to NFS Heat, and it accidentally or secretly purposefully goes good with everything... or 100% of every song I enjoy. Also, would you ever make a video on the Burnout series and what car games could take and learn from it? Besides Need for Speed, most wanted 2012. That was just burnout paradise, but watered down.
@@carlbrown1000 Not a bad idea to restart your progress if you messed up a bit in the first few hours of the game.
To reset your progress, go to the documents folder, then move the NFS Unbound folder away from it. Then launch the game offline, and connect to the internet while it's running. This will basically override whatever was on the cloud save beforehand.
About the music, Unbound's start screen music is the same as the one in the garage, so it doesn't always fit that well. Heat had a different song for the start screen, garage, day/night races.
I never actually played Burnout much, aside from Paradise. I don't know how well they would fit into a video, but I'll have to check the older games out lol.
@DrPowerslide_ The start menu thing I was referring to wasn't the music it was the visuals before you press start. When you see the cars racing or getting chased by the cops and whatnot in that promo video. The visuals go with any song you put to it. Via Spotify or iTunes.
The game itself is not bad, the storyline...kill me.