Here’s a familiar tale. A new Need for Speed comes out to zero fanfare and turns out to be pretty decent; decent enough, even, to feel like a return to form for EA’s long-running series after it had experienced a fallow spell.
The thing is, I’d understand if you weren’t aware: when it came out back in 2019 Need for Speed Heat received such a muted reception it barely registered beyond the series’ faithful. It’s a pleasant surprise, then, that it’s got a sequel in Need for Speed: Unbound, an open world racer that builds upon the foundations of Heat, and that heralds the return of the legendary Criterion as a lead studio. And it’s frustrating that EA seems to have doubled down on doing nothing to promote its latest Need for Speed, because Unbound is more than a return to form. It’s the best Need for Speed in a generation, and certainly the finest since Criterion began its first stint on the series with the sublime Hot Pursuit. It’s so good, in fact, that I don’t think it’s too far off giving the all-conquering Forza Horizon a run for its money.
They’re two very different series, of course, but it’s in the differences between Need for Speed Unbound and something like Forza Horizon 5 that you’ll find what makes this game so special. In Horizon it can feel like you only need to drive 100 yards down the road to be showered with trinkets and new toys; in Need for Speed: Unbound after a dozen hours I still only had a single ride, and could lose an entire evening running events in order to afford a new air filter. It’s miserly, but it also might be Need for Speed: Unbound’s masterstroke.
Source – eurogamer.net
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