After the release of “Need for Speed Heat”, the series went on hiatus. Producer, Ghost The game, was taken out of the series and turned into a supporting studio called EA Gothenburg. That puts former “Burnout” and “Need for Speed” developer Criterion back in charge of the franchise. What Criterion has put together is called “Need for Speed Unbound.” It came out in December, and it looks very interesting.
In many ways, it follows the classic “Need for Speed” story structure. Several events have made players need to push through the world of street racing to beat the top racer or the biggest racing challenge. This involves building highly tuned cars and dodging the police. It looks like the customization options will be just as powerful as other recent entries in this series.
What’s unique is the art style. Based on screenshots and reveal trailers, city and car images are highly realistic, with occasional overlays of graffiti and street art-inspired 2D graphics. Additionally, all the characters in the game have a shaded rendering to give them a cartoon-like look. There are several game modes hinted at by Criterion and EA that focus on style. One of them featured rap artist A$AP Rocky, who appeared in the game with Mercedes 190 E. We’re curious if some of these graphical flourishes play more of a role in some games.
The game launches on December 2. Customers who can pre-order the game will receive a variety of exclusive customization items and a $150,000 in-game bonus. A Palace Edition version of the game is also available, with Palace Skateboard-themed items and custom cars. The base version of the game costs $69.99 and the Palace version is $79.99. The game will be made available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. EA also notes that additional free content will be released after the game launches.
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