One Step Forwards, Two Steps Back | A Need For Speed Unbound Critique

3 years, a returning development team, and bucketloads of "hey kids" dialogue later, Need For Speed Unbound is out, after playing the game over the past month, I've got a lot of strong feelings towards the game. While some aspects have definitely seen a large improvement over Heat, It's impossible to ignore the many, many setbacks and strange directional choices Criterion has made. In the hopes of directing Criterion and Need For Speed as a whole I give you my critique of Need For Speed Unbound, Thank you all so very much for watching!
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Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:46 Visuals And Art Style
2:49 Unbound's Disappointing Car List And Customization
10:22 A Shamefully Lacklustre Campaign
23:19 The Downgrade In Lakeshore City's Police
27:23 The Map And Soundtrack
28:30 Summary And Conclusion

[@serperior2264]

Kind of late, but as of writing this comment, I have over 450 hours in this game and have collected every car, and would like to mention some more flaws I noticed while playing that we forgot to mention in this video Car specific bugs: - Along with the 488's mismatched rims, there's an even worse example in the Colorado's wing mirrors which are completely misplaced, and cannot be corrected through customisation, as all options are placed on the wrong part of the door - On top of this, the Ford Mustang GT Convertible has a weird blue lighting glitch in it's interior, very distracting and can very much clash with some liveries you'd might want - The worst offender in this category is that the AMG GTS, GTS Roadster and GTR all have the streams that come off the wing oddly misplaced to the right, no idea what's doing this and it happens to all 3 cars, and even happens when different wing options are attached, have no clue why -One small one in this category is that the Regera's rear OEM rim model 2 uses the wrong icon in the menu, using model 1 for some reason (and this only applies to the rear rims, not the front?) -Another funny one with the Regera, with the stock wing mirrors, they're placed so perfectly so that they completely block the camera during the end of race zoom in on your character, dunno how the missed this one - A patch which recently came out in order to balance specific cars completely missed the B class Ferrari Pista exploit... great job guys - Not a bug, but one of the race thumbnails shows the Bugatti Chiron to have it's light trail be the entire lightbar, which would have been sick, but that's not the case as the light trail is just 2 straight ones on the side which is very disappointing Other Bugs: - It's been sighted on some NPC car that they still have "Ghost" branded tires if you look close enough... 2 years of development time btw - The police countdown sucks and I can't tell if this is a glitch or not, but the countdown after ending a race, but then resuming the cop chase still gives you full control of the car, and just prevents you from pausing until the countdown is over, dunno if it was actually programmed to be this way or was a mistake but it's still annoying as hell - Sometimes after completing a race, I just straight up cannot press continue and am forced to restart, I dunno what causes it but it's very annoying each time it happens - Delivery missions are bugged so that I will never ever get the full payout after delivering the car, even at full health, I've tried repairing the car at a gas station, and just getting there taking no damage at all, both ways will show in the end UI I received the full amount, but after spawning back into freeroam, my balance has only gone up by the second highest amount, and this happens every single time. Super annoying and made grinding take longer - There's quite a bit of terrain that's visibly quite clear to clip through, A very obvious one would be a small bump right outside Rudiger's safehouse, there's more but if we were to list them we'd be here forever General Annoyances: - Turns out, the game will intentionally spawn cops on the routes you set, seriously, try going to your events without setting a route, you will run into less cops - We're on Gen 9 hardware and yet we still only have 100 wrap slots...? are you fucking serious? in a game with 143 cars. Not only that but simply repainting your car counts as a new "wrap" and there's no way to choose a different colour from factory, so I had to leave about 1/3rd of my garage with the stock paint from factory - On top of the previous point, a lot of cars are incorrectly coloured from factory, ones that come to mind are the AMG GTR and BMW M4, as someone who appreciates OEM colours a lot, this one really bothers me, especially in combination with the previous point - There's no way to pick carbon, or any specific material for that matter, when applying stickers in the livery maker - In Drift and takeover events, there's this massive bonus you get called a "Combo Bonus" the game doesn't tell you how this works, so I literally figured it out through trial and error, it goes like this: every time you reach 1000 points, you get your first combo bonus of 250, then once you reach 1500 points, you get a second combo bonus of 1250, and no more after that. These combo bonus's are essential to spam if you want high scores, and the game just literally doesn't tell you how they work - A lot of cars will take a little bit of air in races, which then for some reason leads into your car chaining bounces together making it impossible to control and usually leading you to go 200 MPH into a barrier or NPC car, this happens more than you might imagine on highway races -Lastly, why are there offroad bodykits and upgrade parts when there are hardly any offroad trails and zero offroad events? literally just a holdover from Payback and Heat and make zero sense to be in unbound Just want to reiterate that I didn't seek any of these out, they just happened as I was playing and I've either recorded or noted them down, and was stuff we were unaware of when making this video, can you tell why I don't like this game yet?

[@purwantiallan5089]

AMG GTS has the biggest problem.

[@rodriguezracer4567]

People act like Prostreet was the start of NFS' decline but I think NFS 2015 was the real start of NFS going downhill. IMHO: -ProStreet was underrated -Undercover was really a blip in the grand scheme of things -Shift 1 can be fun, idk about 2 -Hot Pursuit was amazing -The Run was underrated -Most Wanted 2012 is overhated -Rivals is really fun when you look past the jank. Basically NFS really started to seriously and consistently decline with NFS 2015 with Payback being rock bottom. Heat and Unbound are basically Ghost and Criterion 2.0's attempts to make something decent out of an inherently flawed framework. For NFS to truly be back on its feet, that 2015 framework needs to be completely scrapped and start from scratch.

[@pulstr_12]

@@rodriguezracer4567 exactly! we've had the same wacky physics for a long time now, same customization layout, same badly programmed ai's, and same optimization issues. all this started thanks to 2015.

[@Bruno-paparadizo]

Fortunately it was short to read.

[@rodriguezracer4567]

@mhmd Yup, the last four NFS we've had were built upon NFS 2015, which explains a lot. Payback, Heat, and Unbound are all just NFS 2015 repackaged in different colors. Like I said, for NFS to have a chance to really make a comeback, Criterion needs to purge all traces of 2015.

[@TigerChamp99]

Matt Webster and 4 other veteran Criterion developers left Criterion after Unbound launched.

[@serperior2264]

that makes sense

[@Ziimbiian]

Good Matt Webster fucking sucked

[@LAM_G80085]

Another studio dead Bravo EA 👏

[@TDog93]

And Geoff Smith from the Codemasters team is the new head of product development at Criterion. I want to believe the better grip handling is probably due to the co-development from Codemasters so I'm cautiously optimistic on the next title depending on how Unbound's support and fixes go.

[@VincentDeLuca2003]

WoW, wHaT a ShOcK, i HaVe No IdEa WhY tHeY’d EvEr Do ThAt…

[@Vulpes_Shinbi]

Worst part about the end.. if Jas gets knocked out before the final leg of the Grand, it's just silence.... HOW CAN SHE GET KNOCKED OUT AS THE FINAL BOSS?!

[@serperior2264]

delawarian devs

[@inplane9970]

That's actually hilarious. Yaz hyping herself up in front of her crew, just to get sidelined by said crew.

[@acethemain7776]

racing game ai is kinda hard. Use rubberbanding to make them keep up and it feels cheap. Just let them do their thing and you destroy them.

[@nikifalcon]

You're lucky in those cases Because those are the times you're freed of hearing her

[@brokenlava518]

To find out why Yas betrayed you, you're required to do all the OPTIONAL Car Deliveries for Tess just so that you can do once again OPTIONAL Car Deliveries but for Yas this time... Through this you also learn that you've been taking missions from Alek via Tess and that she only really cared about the money from the start. Lesson learned? Never hand Tess a blank check.

[@serperior2264]

ok that's a shake

[@MasterGaming234]

The reason why Yaz "betrayed you" if you want to call it that was due a force beef she had with rydell over some comments of how she should tune couple cars she had been working on and with him telling her "I should have never took you in" she said peace out. Thus you get the events for the rest of the game when it came to her missions of being a story dump of why Alec is a big guy even though we never meet the dude at all during the story. As for Tess did not really see the point for being in the story other then cringe dialogue and the so called twist they she knew Alec and she evil to turn out for her not to be evil because all she cares about is cash and is willing do anything to get it. Barry Keating is writer for unbound don't see any other writers listed in the end credits so this guy had a field day and just wrote whatever he felt like when he sat at the writing table for this game.

[@yol_n]

Wait she doesnt even tell you during the main story? And you're supposed to trust her again???? It really tells a lot to us about the writers. Friends don't matter only money does!

[@yittmashups]

Yo, brooo!

[@EricRamz]

Nice spoiler dumbass

[@antnation747]

At least you got a showdown with Yaz. For me, Yaz came dead last in the first round and was subsequently out before the finals.

[@serperior2264]

lol!

[@ilnoct]

The burst nos for me is a deeper learning curve. It will kill your race if you use wrong but if you learn how to use it properly you can burst from corner to corner with insane speeds.

[@serperior2264]

would you kiss burst nitro?

[@ilnoct]

@@serperior2264 nah

[@serperior2264]

@@ilnoct awwwww ok...

[@SeetheAutmon]

That's if it decides to work properly.

[@ilnoct]

@@SeetheAutmon it works if you know how to do it. I'd reccomend waterblob and quuub on KZbin if you want to see how absurd this shit can get.

[@andrewreid6867]

When it comes to the open world vs closed track suggestion, I'd argue that Carbon did the best job. The Canyon tracks were a place removed from your exploration, yet still fully relevant to the racing culture of Palmont City. The city itself was a place where literally every road was it's own section or landmark. The game's progression confined you to a very decent area where all the races take place, and it doesn't take long to learn the ins and outs of each city district like the back of your hand. Have somebody complete the career mode, put them somewhere on the map and ask them to get back to your first safehouse without looking at a map or GPS. Since literally every road is so unique, they most likely could. And to top it all off, the routes themselves were ever-so-slightly biased towards a certain type of car, just to showcase the differences in class. With the Unbound map, I spent what felt like a week driving around and I STILL found myself needing the map and GPS. I can't tell where the hell I am by looking at my surroundings. The city itself is mainly a grid, and I'd never find the right street to turn to so I could head underground or know where the nearest ramp is to jump onto the rails. I knew my way around the set pieces they showed off in the very repetitive races, but I'd be lucky to come across them in the middle of a pursuit. Oh, right, and there's a Ski Resort on the top of the hill/mountain/whatever. I have never HAD to go there, not during the story and not during my short time doing multiplayer.

[@Bloodhoven]

I'd argue that Underground 2 did a sliiiiiiightly better job when it comes to the open world vs closed tracks. you had some races take place in the city and some on usually unreachable parts of the city (like the airport landing site for example) or on actual racing tracks. PLUS: if you think people were good at remembering where they were in carbon... oh boy would you be surprised how many more people knew every corner of Bayview City in underground 2

[@CinoG2G]

Write a book about it

[@Bloodhoven]

🥴🤡wRiTe A bOoK aBoUt It 🤡🥴

[@CinoG2G]

@@Bloodhoven wasn't talkin to you but regardless... Play the game and have fun let's not over analyze EVERYTHING

[@drunkengrizzly1554]

@@Bloodhoven bayview had colorcoded shields to make navigatin easier tho

[@devandrasimanjuntak1646]

if they do make an NFS without open world, something like Pro Street can definitely work. Especially given how people are starting to warm up to Pro Street more these days. Focus more on the customisation. Pro Street lets you sculpt body kits for more aero for crying out loud, something we’ve never since before or since in ANY racing game.

[@serperior2264]

they did that with this game and look what happened

[@thesaintnoodle]

i loved prostreet when it came out, didn't understand why people didn't like it. replayed it years later, still love it and i'll play it again. i would honestly love it if we had a game similar to that with a semi pro vibe to it. even look at something like driveclub. not being open world allowed them to pack in some fantastic graphics and you were able to visit so many different vibrant locations all with life and character... i think it would work, variety is definitely the thing that nfs is lacking right now

[@prodigy84bg]

Well, I disliked Pro Street back in the day and all these years later, I dislike it even more.

[@grimreaper63151]

@@montanapharmaceuticals7881 well ghost is doing a shit job at making open world racing :/ so I will gladly welcome a prostreet style game if they can actually manage not to fuck it up

[@grimreaper63151]

@@montanapharmaceuticals7881 well ghost is doing a shit job at making open world racing :/ so I will gladly welcome a prostreet style game if they can actually manage not to fuck it up

[@TDog93]

Probably the best review I've seen of the game. There's definitely an actual framework to work with for the physics and handling now for the first time since the 2015 reboot, but there's still a lot of quality of life issues and glaring omissions (can't rebind controls for one) that I hope get addressed in the future.

[@serperior2264]

Julian...

[@yol_n]

You know something's wrong with the developers when the racing game doesnt come with key rebindings. Always gotta love that!

[@JRKudlick77]

Also wish there were leaderboards. I wanna know my fastest lap on The Big O or Turntable or what have you.

[@purwantiallan5089]

@@JRKudlick77 John, Setsuna Yuki also ever tried out NFS UNDERCOVER NINTENDO DS. Despite its annoying rubberband, the game gained its cult following due to open world based gameplay.

[@gordonsmontecarlo2493]

I would also like to see a refined version of nfs hp2’s cops where they can start off as a fairly tame challenge, but as the race goes on they get tougher and try more aggressive tactics to stop you for the next nfs game, also I think the closed tracks would be a great idea since that would give tracks the opportunity to be more unique and more memorable with their set pieces and style of racing.

[@serperior2264]

that would take effort from NFS tho

[@xUseTheForks]

Closed tracks would ruin one of the best part of nfs so no

[@systemcrasher7300]

Just make the map more unique, like most wanted or something. Also just miz mpst wanted, hot pursuit 2010, rivals, and heat cops and u get the perfect police force

[@gordonsmontecarlo2493]

@@xUseTheForks no it’s not, every game does open world maps at this point

[@gordonsmontecarlo2493]

@@systemcrasher7300 I was thinking more like Rivals since there are a lot of unique points of interests in that map, but might as well just make more closed tracks since having an open world map will more often than not have less unique races compared to making unique closed tracks that have more potential to be memorable unlike an open world map. I would not be opposed to map design that’s similar to fair haven, seacrest, or redview since those are the most unique maps you can find in the nfs franchise.

[@serperior2264]

I'm happy my clips are being put to good use

[@angelf2006]

I'm not

[@_mikkimoose_]

@@angelf2006 cry about it

[@angelf2006]

@@_mikkimoose_ you wish

[@youngg1601]

@@angelf2006 sounds like a you problem

[@angelf2006]

@@youngg1601 it's really not though

[@shreks_loins3963]

The last NFS game I genuinely loved was Rivals, such a cool system with all of the gadgets and being able to play as cops. The pvp was great, especially when playing as a cop and chasing down other players.

[@Otherface]

Rivals in general is criminally underrated. Last Nfs with a soundtrack I actually enjoyed

[@shreks_loins3963]

@@Otherface you’re not lying, that games soundtrack fit the atmosphere perfectly. Also even though undercover was a bad game, it had a great soundtrack

[@shreks_loins3963]

listening to benny benassi blasting down a coastal highway is incredible

[@luichinplaystation610]

You described Test Drive 5 and some Challenges and old NFS

[@Einfach_Ghetto_TV]

Rivals was crap

[@rodriguezracer4567]

I've always said that modern NFS has focused too much on customization and not enough on making the actual driving and racing the car(s) we customize fun. When people kept begging for Black Box era customization during the original Criterion run, it seemed that Ghost took that to mean "Customization is the only thing that matters".

[@serperior2264]

EXACTLYYYYYY THIS IS WHAT IVE BEEN SAYINGGG

[@shawklan27]

@@serperior2264 same

[@benn8793]

the same can be applied to other games. Everyone always wants a lot of customization. But what's the point of all the customization if the actual gameplay doesn't deliver?

[@rodriguezracer4567]

@@benn8793 Exactly. May as well just get rid of the racing part and make NFS be a game about building cars and showing them off.

[@rodriguezracer4567]

@@serperior2264 Interesting how the NFS games that I always come back to for hours of fun are also the same games that lack customization beyond paint jobs. I'm not calling for them to get rid of customization but rather to go back to it being just a cool feature rather than the one thing the game is built around.

[@giot2818]

Man, a new Burnout game is what i hope we get some time in the future with the design of Takedown or Revenge would be awesome with next gen hardware, the destruction, the speed, the amount of track design, the fact they don't have to worry about licensed cars but still pull inspiration from their real world counterparts, and the music...i feel like we haven't had racing games that go and find those up and coming artists mixed in with some classics and new stuff in a while. Great Vid!

[@serperior2264]

no bruh's located in this comment

[@renelite7181]

Man the new gen technology would make for amazing crashes

[@ihatethatyoutubedisplaysyo8106]

I can already see the dumbass journalists claiming that Burnout is damaging the minds of inpressionable youth by promoting dangerous driving.

[@DARamosYT]

Could imagine an experimental NFS x Burnout entry to shake things up with the brand. Though, unlikely given NFS uses real-world manufactured vehicles, while Burnout does not, due to manufacturers not wanting their cars in the bad light of a virtual wreckage.

[@AhmadWahelsa]

@@DARamosYT While NFS doesn't have damage models as crazy as Burnout, i think it's still can work, i mean it even has a health bar nowadays on these modern NFS, so if anything it has everything to become a Burnout, THO i think specifically only in Crash mode where you are forced to use non licensed cars. I wouldn't mind if they made spinoff NFS games with Burnout gameplay style without story and open world to save budget, having progression just as Burnout games + an online mode + and maybe car customizations?, to fill the gap on each NFS (3-4 years)

[@frogogogo]

Trying to figure out why they removed the numerical value for color adjustment, making it a lot harder to copy over wraps from Heat

[@serperior2264]

I KNOW RIGHT?????

[@mrbillcollector]

Another big problem is the fact that you cant sell engine parts like you could in heat and your cars dont share parts like heat did so you have to buy every part again every time your upgrading a new car

[@Jeremicoffee]

That ASAP Rocky horn killed me💀💀

[@JuanPablo-su6vw]

It hurts to be in stagnation phase of a franchise. The previous phase is doing random shit until something stick to the wall

[@davepianist84]

Absolutely agree, NFS should go back to the old days in where there was no story and no "cop" fast and the furious style game and ditch open world completly. One of the NFS games I enjoyed the most aside from the classics (underground, most wanted, carbon) was Need for speed the run. The game looked amazing with frostbite and it was mostly a "racing only" focused game. I wish they'd go for that approach

[@dfw4866]

The run is criminally underrated

[@davepianist84]

@@dfw4866 💯

[@MichaelJP]

Had been playing this for a couple days and saw your 2015/Heat reviews and KNEW you weren't going to like a lot of what Unbound does. We only really disagree when it comes to customization, my brother laughs at how much time I spend in NFS/Forza doing the cars up visually. 😄 The real killer for me with Unbound is that the map may seem different but actually look at it from above and it's very similar in layout style to the last few NFS's with only a palette change and unlike Horizon, the criminally underused roads/repetitive basic bitch layouts can't be rectified with creations by the community. Why have all those roads if less than a quarter are actually used in races?

[@serperior2264]

FOR REALLLLLLLL THESE TRACKS SUCKKK

[@MichaelJP]

@@serperior2264 Tbh though that's par for the course for most NFS games. Horizon isn't much better outside the Mountain Runs/Goliaths/community creations. All the kidz lose concentration after 5 minutes. 😂

[@Ruftinator]

Watching reviews like this honestly makes me glad that I didn't pick this up. I liked the art-style but going by the promotional material this game felt like so much more than it ended up being. It really felt like Need for Speed finally maturing and setting its own identity. I'm really not sure if I'd be willing to pick up this game when I can play it (as PC specs are also a bit of a problem for me atm). Sad to see this beloved franchise struggle to make something new that works well and sets itself apart from the rest

[@janosd4nuke]

Don't believe them! Or maybe do, games are pretty subjective. But this game gets more negativity than what it deserves. Would not have picked up either if it wasn't for the Steam free trial weekend 2 months ago, but maaan, it got me hooked. Sure it has its issues, but still NFS Underground 4 On Spider-verse Tides became my favorite NFS. Best handling model... sure the drift end is in a downgrade since Payback, but the overall package is great. The story has more to it if you pay attention though sadly most of it is buried in background dialog and side quests. Low event variety is really an issue. Cops IMO the best in tuner style games. Hot Pursuit/Rivals is a different vibe, there you duel a few really challenging cops. The Black Box/Reboot type is more about outsmarting a horde. Heat's was BS, either too hard early game, or laughably easy endgame, dunno why that gets praised. The day vs night there fit the sticking it to the cops theme. Keeping it the same would have been a mistake IMO. The new dawn is a fresh page, yet the weekly clock is ticking fits better here. OST is troublesome. Has a few absolutely trash, but the outrage is frankly overblown, and there are quite good ones among them. Also skip song function is available way more than at launch. One great thing about the mixed reception is that it goes on sale often. I think it's worth if if you can pick it up for 20 bucks.

[@TheCapitalWanderer]

read the reply above me

[@alphanite4280]

just wanted to say W thunderdome wizard profile picture

[@naturalborndylla]

I honestly would like to see something like The Run or Pro Street attempted in the modern age

[@dumbsville]

Great review, Mosey Wosey! My toes are wriggling with how good this video is UwU

[@serperior2264]

you need to explode

[@RAIN_2001]

UWU

[@ultraviolet_channel]

D O G, W H A T

[@ACDesertStorm]

But Duuuumbsviiiiille...

[@ilonaroecker1162]

What the heck is going on in here!?

[@wydua2049]

i think the worst thing in unbound is it's huge price also i think it wasn't made with passion

[@serperior2264]

it was made for theo

[@DV-ou1yu]

@@serperior2264 lmfao FACTS.

[@shawklan27]

@@serperior2264 definitely made for the tiktok generation

[@TheUltimateHacker007]

@@serperior2264 who's Theo

[@serperior2264]

@@TheUltimateHacker007 Blackpanthaa

[@ultracrazed2215]

Man. I vividly remember verbally saying, "What?" At Yaz's sudden hatred of Rydell. I was legit pissed at the end of the game when you and Yaz become friends again. I really wanted to leave her in the dirt like Eric from Tony Hawk Underground. That would have been WAY more satisfying of a conclusion than, "Sorry I turned on you guys and stole your car for no reason."

[@nikidelvalle]

You know, something I'm really sad about in modern arcade racing games is that there's no theme. These games feel basically indistinguishable from each other. I miss the older Need for Speed games where each one had a unique hook. You had games focused on running from the cops, games focused on the night racing scene, games based on being an undercover cop, games based on climbing the ladder, games focused on sim racing, etc. Sure not all of them were hits or even good sometimes, but each game pulled you in with a unique premise. Heat is the closest we've gotten but it's theme is something we've gotten so many times that it doesn't feel meaningful.

[@UpstageBeast]

You can actually use a full burst nitrous on a corner while turning and fly through it once you learn how to ease off the steering beforehand. The burst gives you a stronger grip onto the track and ironically makes it easier to control sharp turns without loosing much speed. One of my personal favourite mechanics in this game.

[@ashx2405]

You've probably made the most honest and informative video so far, I watch a lot of videos around cars and car games and stuff, And most people sometime become biased and just forget the community and instead of giving factual statements they make it way too personal. I am glad you aren't doing that and keeping it right to point with community,facts,information all in one video.

[@ultraviolet_channel]

Thanks Ash!

[@dr.sivavignesh664]

Went back to burnout , the earlier games, and I was surprised by the amount of variety in events. Race , road rage , time trails ( preview laps ) , drift challenge , near miss challenge , maniac events , crash mode , lap eliminator , time eliminator . Burnout revenge also had traffic checking events. Newer nfs games severely lack variety.

[@ArbitraryOutcome]

It's weird because going back here, I'm surprised why we don't just see older race types like Knockouts, Speedtraps, and Tollbooths return.

[@MndPalace]

Hats off. This is the best racing games channel that i've ever encountered, even though of course sometimes I strongly disagree with some of opinions, I can still easly understand basis - where the author comes from. Always fresh view, always to the point + your voice makes me feel that internal calm which really helps to fall asleep. When it comes to the video - lovely as always. Keep up the good work Mr.! I hope that you're gonna achieve these 100 000 subs ASAP!

[@ultraviolet_channel]

Cheers mate, that’s exactly what I want to hear, in the end if everyone agrees with me then what’s the point of even having discussion, thanks again!

[@TigerChamp99]

6:17 Looks like the devs don't respect the fact that we are now using faster CPUs and SSDs. These Level of Detail changes should be a thing of the past, even BB era NFS games running on HDD looked pretty good with unnoticeable LoD changes. The poly count didn't really increase from NFS Rivals/2015 to Unbound (not as much as we hoped) to justify these LoD changes.

[@shawklan27]

Word

[@akiplay312]

Bruh it's all the frostbite's fault. They should make a game engine specifically for nfs.

[@ak-jxrdy-7]

@@akiplay312 Exactly, lmao. Who would've thought that the Battlefield game engine is not the right fit for a racing game?

[@akiplay312]

@@ak-jxrdy-7 yea. Like they literally saw problems back in 2013 with rivals and they were still like : yeah let's keep making nfs games on this engine 😀. Rivals had problems with huge pop in and rendering the map. As you know most of the time in online lobbies the game would just completely lock itself and you will need to restart it. It's weird cuz that doesn't happen in single player. The most fascinating about frostbite 3 is that it's able to run on xbox 360 and ps3. Battlefield 4 and Nfs Rivals were on those consoles and both games look amazing. Does that mean we could've got the nfs 2015 on those consoles? Probably since 2015 doesn't feature any dynamic weather like rivals did so it would be easier for them to optimize the game for x360/ps3.

[@ak-jxrdy-7]

@@akiplay312 Fucking hell, sounds like a nightmare, lmao. I've only played Rivals a few times at a friend's place, never got the chance to actually scrutinise it. That is true, Frostbite 3 worked pretty well on last gen. I have no idea if NFS 2015 would've worked on last gen, but I remember being mad that it didn't come out on PS3 and I only got a PS4 in 2018, and only played NFS 2015 a couple of months ago, lmfao.

[@FastCarsNoRules220]

They should make another Hot Pursuit style game with a story to it, but instead of having two separate stories for both sides like in Rivals, have the main character be a cop and you get to choose between doing regular police work driving a cop car to take down street racers and going undercover as a street racer.

[@serperior2264]

critereon cant do that anyore cause they forgor

[@Supraifyification]

BIG facts on the customization, i dont get why its so praised. Limited amount of rims, only new rims are just stupid disc rims and the body kits are all very extreme looking.

[@serperior2264]

I KNOW RIGHT?????

[@joshjmilli]

I played heat for 4 hours and never touched it again. I knew what I was getting, and I felt like I had experienced all the game had to offer. I’m tired of the same formula over and over. It feels like I’ve been playing the same game since 2015 with minor updates every 2/3 years.

[@serperior2264]

good

[@timiracko6317]

Must say i agree with all of the points in the video but still havent had this much fun with nfs since underground 2. The whole atmosphere just takes me back. Cant pinpoint why but it just does

[@jeremyodwyer9232]

Agree about the art style. I wish they'd gone all out on the cell shaded art style or jazzed up the city itself with some effects. Inertial Drift is an example of a recent racing game that went all in on the cell shaded art style and it looks great. (Highly recommended)

[@serperior2264]

but that would be too risky and EA needs money

[@GAMIR_SFM]

28:55 that meme is very true. Right before i watched your video. I saw a post comparing the best songs from the old games with the worst ones from the new game

[@serperior2264]

only nfs fans

[@dominik3677]

The next time im going to sleep, this is the video im putting on. Great voice and a great review.

[@serperior2264]

for what purpose?????

[@milo631]

Been waiting for this review

[@serperior2264]

ME NEITHER

[@JeremyBX]

Remember in Need For Speed The Run, you had to race against an avalanche And in NFS World, you were able to trigger events that added new threats to the course... remember when games made their environment actually feel interactable and distinct, instead of just being the backdrop for doing the same event over and over yeah maybe i'm being dramatic but all the games I've played feel like that now. Cyberpunk 2077, Sonic Frontiers, Halo Infinite, Pokemon Switch Games, & Need For Speed Unbound.... game maps feel so lifeless now outside of NPCs with samey animations, and i wish more people talked about it I remember in Driver San Francisco, there would be a ramp truck driving around, And you could launch your car off of it. And in Midnight Club 3, each race would be tailored to include some odd rare vehicle crossing your way, making every race stand out. Subtle moments like that enhanced the charm in the overall experience, soundtracks that would really put you into the mood to play hard, not dance hard, or the hidden collectibles that actually rewarded you with sensible content like a recreation of Back to the Future or a absurd car/gun that would break the game.

[@DustinEdenYT]

I think the problem with Lakeshore as a map is easily summarized as forgettable. There are little to no standout areas, it's either just generic city or generic outskirts. Even Heat had more variety with its beaches, industrial area, long bridges, abandoned warehouse, space shuttle launch area and more. If you'd drop me into any part of Unbound's map and ask me, without opening the map, where I am I'd be at a total loss.

[@serperior2264]

would you be interested in a few lucitik products?

[@ultraviolet_channel]

Right with you Dustin, it just kind of, exists, nothing really stands out or sticks in my head in the slightest, its just there. Thanks for watching by the way really appreciate it 🙏

[@ItzMo_895]

Love your vids bro!

[@serperior2264]

THANKS!!!!

[@luichinplaystation610]

Nice shoutout to Automodelista And the critique is sublime keep going years and years

[@ultraviolet_channel]

Thanks, will do!

[@obtainedlight4745]

I was waiting for this review!

[@serperior2264]

why?

[@youngg1601]

Probably because he wants to know if the game is worth the money

[@serperior2264]

@@youngg1601 ooooooooooooh, okay!!!!

[@csongorduka7125]

I heard that Criterion is searching people to work on a new NFS game in 2024. Now, to make it clear, this franchise turns 30 years old next year, I REALLLY hope that Criterion will make a NFS game with the original formula, how the franchise started, which will celebrate the 30th anniversary for NFS.

[@lexusdearmon9961]

Y’all already got the original formula 2015-2022 customization customization customization what else? …..customization is old junky and outdated and slouchy it makes it hard to focus on gameplay it’s boring. Today’s style is just a simple paint job and mad speed. 2010-2013🔥

[@lexusdearmon9961]

The roots of need for speed is letting the developers make the game, not the fans

[@csongorduka7125]

@@lexusdearmon9961 pretty sad tho, but after the news what I heard, i'm not expecting anything from nfs

[@pawnaw712]

Very good video, for me you make the best car game reviews on the entire youtube

[@serperior2264]

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!

[@MaximusOverdrive]

The car list in modern NFS titles has baffled me ever since we saw NFS Edge with its expansive roster. That game was built from Rivals, but used 2015's physics engine. I'm no game developer, but it feels like we should be seeing some of the interesting vehicles from that roster, even if they don't have expansive customization. Purge the bad models, but keep the good ones of course. I love your idea regarding a closed-track racer. Would love to see what they'd come up with these days, potentially a spiritual successor to Driveclub or The Run with awesome tracks and great atmosphere.

[@serperior2264]

nope, we get heat 1.5 (feat bugatti chiron)

[@davidmckenzie1695]

Criterion did a great job with Hot Pursuit 2010 I think we a game like that because that was dope! EMPs, fast cops with supercars, spike strips and even helicopters had spikes with them too. Lots of memories.

[@colestacks3235]

That’s because edge didn’t have to worry about licensing 🤡

[@luisortega8085]

@@davidmckenzie1695 And Rivals felt like Hp2010 but evolved. I wish there was another game like that. I keep replaying Rivals after beating it like 3 times this year

[@MaximusOverdrive]

@@colestacks3235 - Still, there are plenty of cars which they do have the rights to use. Though I would like to see the SmartForTwo.

[@nickblood7080]

With the cartoon art style they should have provided a lot more customizing options for the characters. There should be an endgame for single player. Oh and you don’t have to wonder what happened. The entire team spent time trying to fix battlefield 2042

[@yittmashups]

For me (so far) the whole flow of the game is too stressful and making me too worried about accumulating the most cash as possible in the strict amount of time, feeling like I don't make enough to do all the things I want to do. Like, I probably could have had 3 moderately built up rides in Heat at this point (with cash to spare), but in this one I'm struggling to upgrade my shop and build up my car to stay competitive while also making enough for the end of the week. It feels like a struggle to keep up, while in 2015 or Heat I was just moving along having un keeping my own pace. That with the annoying constant cringe dialogue and b.s. story.. I'm really not too compelled to keep playing this one to the end. Rather just play GT7 and do a little comfortable race grinding for money, or load up Heat and pick a random car to build up and race around in.

[@wiseguy240Winston]

For me Unbound and Heat are in the good, flawed but fun category. Certainly an improvement from anything since The Run overall. The biggest offense from Unbound honestly is the soundtrack 😆

[@ner-0]

Definitely the review of all time. I'll just wait til the game drops down to like 10-20 dollars.

[@Babylonian_Escapee]

it's like 14 bucks for a black friday sale, and after watching this review, I still think that's too much.

[@davidmckenzie1695]

I agree and disagree with Moses with the open world being ditch but it can be set up to be a track select open world type of game like Hot Pursuit 2010 (wasn't open world but has a free roam) and Ghost's own Hot Pursuit game Rivals.

[@gradientO]

Agreed 💯

[@serperior2264]

theyre forcing me to listen to nickleback

[@Betsbye1717]

A$AP Rocky saying “beep beep” was truly incredible dialogue. Also unrelated but the cops would probably tell me that I’m a poopdoop face and expect me to pull over and cry 😢😢😢😭😭😭

[@Letsbenumbforever]

I feel if this game gets updates it has potential to become so much better than what it is, more cars is a perfect start

[@serperior2264]

top 10 most iconic cheese

[@sheepfly]

😂

[@iqnore1446]

About the map situation, I think it would be really cool if there was an open world map, not as a place to race but as a main hub/lobby where everyone can either take pictures with their cars or casually talk and they could queue up for events and races via something like easydrive that would take them to a separate map but its still somehow connected like hot pursuit. It would be almost best of both worlds, having an open world to socialize and talk with other people, and an arcade style races being specific tracks not being fully connected to the main hub/lobby. And maybe adding something for map/course voting and/or randomizer. That way people can either vote for their preferred race or a completely random one so the tracks stay relatively fresh and not repetitive.

[@347SeibaDynasty]

As much as I do really like unbound, I'm glad I'm not the only one annoyed at the lack of new body mods and the fact a large majority of the cars are just a Ctrl + C/V. That's the main issue I find with unbound. But I'm just happy that it's an NFS game that isn't completely mediocre

[@serperior2264]

i disagree, this game is extremely medicore imo

[@347SeibaDynasty]

@@serperior2264 tbh, valid. it's got alot of issues though it has seen some improvements. Could it have been cooked more. Definitely no doubt. Hell, the random grip or loss of when going around a corner does get my nerves going. But personally, it's not bad. I'd say the better one compared to the previous. But I can see where you may come from.

[@griff2162]

I love how you are telling the goofiest jokes possible with such a serious voice 😅

[@GhostofNykr]

Thank you for talking about the mw2005 connections and just a bland story blanketed over

[@GhostofNykr]

And the day and night cycle frfr

[@TheBlackScatPack]

Kudos to you for using the Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit soundtrack as BGM. I’m watching a few reviews before I get this game. I haven’t played a NFS that I found fun since Hot Pursuit 2010.

[@dbsgames7802]

I'd love to see a retrospective on Ford racing 3. That game was my childhood

[@serperior2264]

uuuuuuh mose says we'll do it in approximately 2649 buisness days

[@dbsgames7802]

@@serperior2264 ill be there no matter what!!

[@serperior2264]

@@dbsgames7802 look forward to it!!!!

[@Chris_8]

10:08, I’d say that Unbound’s grip model is alright, some cars even with the grip model are too snappy or still lose traction. The best grip handling is the MW05 one, no snapping, no losing traction, just satisfying smooth driving at fast speeds

[@serperior2264]

would you be willing to eat a breadstick for 8 quadrillion dollars?

[@priyapepsi]

@@serperior2264 no

[@MirelRC]

They don't need to ditch the open world. What I would like them to do is add some requirements to progress in the "Story", like doijg some police chalanges (get x bounty, get x money, get x cost to state and so on). Then, if they really want to deliver an NFS game for the core fanbase, they have to do something with the soundtrack. Add some metal, add some good RAP, and basically copy and paste EA Trax from NFS MW.

[@DDxRaptor]

You have a good point. If you've played one of the mid 2000's titles or HP 2010, you can remember the most memorable songs almost instantly. NfS 2015 also had this vibe. In Unbound and also Heat on the other hand, it's just forgettable.

[@avnikastrati-rr2of]

thats what am talking bout most wanted 2005 bounty system would be god damn perfect , and imagine that with proper drift physics /events & drag /events

[@centurion7979]

As a drift lover this game actually has decent drifting imo, you need to build you car specifically for driving, grip cars struggle to drift very well obviously. Also the full burst nitrous works amazing for both drift and grip, you can use it as you exit a drift to immediately regain momentum and cancel any speed loss from the turn

[@domosno4912]

Good video! Entertaining, excellent points and well paced! For me I like the music selection overall, but I can see I am in the minority with that. I think it fits the vibe and cartoonist artstyle they try to go for. Also different music languages is a fun idea.

[@ultraviolet_channel]

Noted!

[@nicholasnunez6751]

Do you think NFS would ever go back to the stage select or they wouldn’t dare because of the undeserved backlash they think they would get because majority of these big nfs content creators and their followers are only set on open world/ customization and would go ballistic if they took that away from them? I’m 100% in agreement with you in that they could follow a similar style to hot pursuit 2010 and just give us stage select, massive long tracks. Idk what it is about games these days that everyone thinks every game has to have an open world slapped on to it when it’s not always needed. And I think the ricer theme has to take a step back, it’s been overused to death at this point. I would love if they went back to the old school emphasis on super cars

[@shahzaibfaisal5912]

If genz made a racing game

[@reddynamite4552]

amazing video moses! though i dont fully agree with stage select i think a mix between the two could be cool

[@serperior2264]

ok amercican

[@jevom]

NFS had a winning formula with Underground 1 to Carbon and instead of improving on that, they distance themselves from it with every new game. A new NFS with a blacklist system would be so good

[@Uchia18]

This channel needs a bigger following

[@serperior2264]

THANKS!!!!!!

[@PresidentDwayneEMDHComacho]

The cell shadedness combined with the "photo realism" of the cars is enough for me to not even bother with this game, unless they give out for free later on

[@gdottothegamer1001]

Ok so what's funny about the cops is that it was actually because of the community. Yes, apparently a lot of people hate Heat's super aggressive cops. I know, I was shocked too. The first time I noticed that it was from this NFS content creator (forgot his name) where he said that, and this is a paraphrase, "I do know that a lot of people dislike Heat's cop, but I actually really like it". From there I started to see more and more people giving their voice on Heat's cop in a negative way. Some of them dislike the high risk high rewards system, the cops being too aggressive and too hard to avoid, the 3 repairs per night system, and the inconsistent hit register. It seems like EA saw those comments and they dropped their balls by making Unbound's cop easier. If you ask me I think they should've combined the same cop from Heat with Unbound's 5 minutes repair system and much more consistent hit register. If people still hate it, then there should be a dedicated difficulty slider for each AI (cops and racers)

[@myfavoritemusic2428]

i have a strong feeling that Unbound was made almost as an experiment of sorts. as you said, it does feel like Criterion took Heat as a base and decided to add their own flavor to it and see if people like it, so that if they helm the next entry, they can REALLY embrace the new direction. at least that’s what im hoping for. In the end Unbound is my personal favorite NFS game to come out since Underground 2 and I have loved my time with it. It does get a bit boring though after the 30-35 hour mark, but to me if a game gives me that much consistent fun, it more than pays itself back in that time alone. I also do hope Criterion irons out the kinks with the handling and who knows, maybe even gives us some form of post-launch content for us wanting more after the campaign. As I said, this game does feel like it was a test to see if people responded to this kind of style. It is apparent that they do, so I am hoping that the next installment cranks it up to 11, because visuals-wise, I REALLY like what I see in Unbound. The handling, while very unfriendly towards drifters, is also something that IS very much something that Criterion can fix. To me, Unbound is a strong 8.3/10, the soundtrack is bad, the story is bad, post-campaign gameplay is boring, but all the things in-between, are amazing.

[@serperior2264]

I disagree strongly

[@myfavoritemusic2428]

@@serperior2264 maybe add some reasons as to why? kind of annoying to see someone just write that without saying why

[@myfavoritemusic2428]

@Pathetic_Pal downgrade? i dont really see that

[@myfavoritemusic2428]

@Pathetic_Pal worse? in what planet are the graphics in Unbound worse than Rivals? that is just objectively bullshit.

[@myfavoritemusic2428]

@Pathetic_Pal those are actually just not answers. ”no day/night cycle” are you fucking serious? ”blurry af” yeah if you play on a potato PC or a last-gen console with a shit resolution and especially on PC, make sure your upscaling software is either turned off, or is set to DLSS Quality. The game looks gorgeous.

[@sneharashmi7553]

I was excited for this title after watching the trailers, & then watched some story mode gameplay footage afterwards. That killed it for me. I was done with this game completely. But still couldn't resist myself from watching your thoughts on this game. Great video!

[@paulwhiterabbit]

I guess the community is also partly to blame for what NFS has become now. Ghost games tried to pander to the loud part of the community too much that they almost lost all their liberty on what type of car game to make next. So it's highly likely that we'll be stuck on Underground-esque NFS for a few more installments. On the topic of closed-track races, I do hope that they make the next title a homage to the first classic NFS, especially since august next year is the NFS 30th anniversary.

[@marcellogiovannini9072]

I love the Carbon soundtracks in background!

[@serperior2264]

I dont

[@aussiekola2370]

I honestly hope that Criterion is given another chance and they learn from what went wrong. They can make decent NFS games, hell I just want them to make a Hot Pursuit 2 - as in a sequel to the 2010 game. Like you said, go by level selection or have a connected map with stages being various special routes through it rather than make the game go by the Open world schtick.

[@goofry_]

When this was originally leaked like a year or so ago, I thought it was NFS Heat with a Snapchat filter After someone gave it to me for Christmas, it was NFS Heat with a Snapchat filter

[@serperior2264]

actually, NFS heat with a snapchat filter is a perfect description lol

[@Carbonwmd347]

I spent most of my time searching whether this game was good or not (was planning to buy it discounted but i backed off). This Critique basically sum's it all up for me, despite the risk they took it wasn't enough for this game to be what it should of been. Now i see why EA let this game die from the start :)

[@serperior2264]

please do not buy this game ever

[@literally-nobody242]

@@serperior2264 Thats a shame i was just starting to get “back” into the nfs franchise and i was literally so close to buying this

[@BrndnNZT48]

Two gripes... Build alec up and then you never see him Second gripe, I didnt get to take ASAP to his safehouse cause I got busted but never got the chance to again ... Is this a glitch?

[@snuron]

I agree with your review, Moses. Good vid. I miss NFS Underground 1 without the open world around you, though I'm super skeptical of what Criterion would do with the upcoming NFS game project.

[@serperior2264]

THANKS!!!!!!

[@TonyBiggs_]

If they ditch the open-world, the game will sell less than it already has.

[@snuron]

@@TonyBiggs_ i think that'd be nice for a Need for Speed's spin-off game. Just saying As for the upcoming big Need for Speed game project, it'd be a stupid masochism having another open world game with a familiar story that Unbound, Heat and Most Wanted have done before.

[@TEDO02]

Imagine if they make nfs rivals like game or hot pursuit for the ps5, just imagine how breathtaking the tracks would be. Rivals and Hot pursuit had the best tracks and gameplay styles. I really wish they don't just make another need for customisation game.

[@serperior2264]

i would kiss that game if it ever released

[@lexusdearmon9961]

Customization is old, junky and outdated. It makes it hard to focus on gameplay, and it makes it bored very fast it is slouchy and is not today’s style 2010-2013 is the style of racing games customization is dead All you need is a simple paint job and MAD Speed

[@just_jj]

29:52 is i think a great idea. They even have Codemasters under their belt and could use some of the track designers from Grid, who albeit, haven't had many great designs, but they have potential. Need For Speed needs this, the franchise has mostly always succeeded by giving something new and taking bold steps. Like the Hot Pursuit series and 2010's, to how Underground was a bold step of its time, to Prostreet, which i think FH1 originally took inspiration in terms of the idea of Festivals and birthed the franchise.

[@TycoonMK]

i love all your videos about nfs, nice job

[@ultraviolet_channel]

Glad you like them!

[@aiden241]

Honestly, this game has a lot of shortcomings and a lot of uncertainty in the future. But I still hope that this series and even other racing game series continue to improve and launch new games, simply because today's racing games are really taking regression.

[@serperior2264]

sonic frontiers

[@somerandomdude2085]

@@serperior2264 sonic frontiers isn't THAT bad tho

[@aiden241]

@@serperior2264 Well, be specific, at least the racing games that include vehicles :)

[@serperior2264]

@@aiden241 I think sonic counts as a vehicle

[@mrbillcollector]

Heats and paybacks customization was dope I just wish they added on to it more instead of giving us the same exact cars and same exact builds

[@somerandomdude2085]

Not only that, but in some cases Criterion is limiting customization on select cars

[@moonrunner032]

I feel this game is for everyone except for people who cares about racing games. Either I am too old for this style (I'm 22) or the game isn't made for the people who, still prefering the supercar era games, enjoyed Underground, MW, Carbon, Pro Street, etc... But this is cheap fanservice because NFS fans can't move on from the 2000s era and think if it doesn't have the M3 GTR, is a bad game.

[@ExeErdna]

To be forreal the game SHOULD be for you, yet it isn't for somebody like me who's in their mid 30s. Unbound feels like a bad Fast movie

[@ultraviolet_channel]

A Scottsdale State of Mind (The Men Hip Hop) By Asap Moseby A Rap Yeah, yeah Ayo, Alexis, it's time. It's time, Alexis (aight, Alexis, begin). Straight out the Frooty dungeons of rap. The map drops deep as does my Furry. I never Kiss, 'cause to Kiss is the Menlian of flurry. Beyond the walls of Canadians, life is defined. I think of Froot when I'm in a Scottsdale state of mind. Hope the hurry got some slurry. My scurry don't like no dirty flurry. Run up to the curry and get the worry. In a Scottsdale state of mind. What more could you ask for? The Gay map? You complain about Gamecube being a furry. I gotta love it though - somebody still speaks for the trap. I'm rappin' to the Men, And I'm gonna move your ken. Drake Esque, Namekian, American, like a cesar Boy, I tell you, I thought you were a teaser. I can't take the Gamecube being a furry, can't take the map. I woulda tried to Escape I guess I got no rap. I'm rappin' to the ken, And I'm gonna move your Men. Yea, yaz, in a Scottsdale state of mind. When I was young my Menlian had a caesar. I waz kicked out without no squeezer. I never thought I'd see that teaser. Ain't a soul alive that could take my Menlian's geezer. A Femboy Julian is quite the julian. Thinking of Froot. Yaz, thinking of Froot (Froot).

[@azi9_ity]

that idea at the end is the greatest most ingenious thing ive ever heard

[@JRKudlick77]

Really need to see codemasters really take the reigns on the handling model. Their touch is definitely felt on this game, just need more.

[@renelite7181]

When you said closed track racing, I would be praying criterion pulls a ProStreet (which is an incredibly good game)

[@serperior2264]

exactly!!!!

[@doppelkupplungsgetriebe]

i would kill for another fully cel-shaded racing game

[@serperior2264]

tbh yeah, just anything other than this hyper realistic style everyone is going for nowadays

[@matthewvalenti1348]

There’s a soundtrack? Every time I played the game I’d hear a song for like 20 seconds and then it would just disappear. I never changed the volume settings. It just straight up stopped playing.

[@Commander_Xalamander]

Great review! I’m going to wait for the game to get updated before I buy it. What I would change is being back challenge series. That would be your “stage” mode for more creativity and more unique cop modes. Then for the actual game I would leave it Open World but bring more things into the game to justify it, like, roaming rivals. When you race them you get a chance to go to Race Wars and claim a section of the map. For the story, I would make it a regular guy/girl who just wants to race and as time goes on the characters and story becomes more intense as your illegal activity starts to have an effect on your life. You realize that you need to take a stand and maybe something bad happens that makes you guilty so you need to leave town but the rivals won’t let you so you have to break out by taking over and becoming the “kingpin” yourself, you become the villain slowly throughout the whole game. And when you beat everyone and kick them out, that’s when the cops take their final stand and try to take everything from you. That’s when you flee, when you felt like you were at the top of the world you loose your kingdom and run away. That’s when the game would end and then you go into the “end game” where you can do several new game types and events with cop chases mixed in there. The “end game” would kinda be a free for all and have no story tied to it so that it still makes sense to play after the story.

[@serperior2264]

I lost my hat

[@ihatethatyoutubedisplaysyo8106]

I like the story in Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2010 the most. Because it's not a story at all. It's a setting.

[@nismomo23]

I like the mixture/ contrast of the realistic characters and realistic environments/ cars idk it just works for me haha

[@reggiemoore21]

Right i dont think i would have liked it if they made the cars and the world cartoon the contrast is great imo

[@NeoTechni]

I had to mute the "music" immediately as it started with rap. Then I had to mute the voices causes it's all crappy slang and poor grammar. And why are the devs obsessed with drift mechanics? They aren't fun. You know what was fun? The weapons in NFS Rivals. Bring those back please

[@GeneralFuyu]

😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@gunman8452]

One downgrade I don't see a lot of is the engine sounds. They're way too quiet compared to other games, especially 2012

[@serperior2264]

I had to play my game on silent due to the soundtrack lol

[@MaximusOverdrive]

Glad somebody else noticed this. It sucks that I can barely hear my car amidst the racing action, when it should be the loudest element. The Run had a similar dynamic, but when you hit the NOS, the car audio would peak and sound incredible. Not to mention, it feels like they ripped most of the car sounds straight from Heat. If we're going to recycle car models and sounds, why not reuse audio from all the games from the past decade (**cough** MW12 *cough*).

[@c01onel]

Apparently this might be a bug Ive seen some posts saying that car sounds are for some reason tied to the sound effects setting not the car sound effects setting, so if you lowered sound effects that might be why the car sounds are so quiet

[@miguel.5787]

i really hate how this game was obviously made to try and scratch some sales by trying to appeal to the average BlackPedoo subscriber who thinks that NFS underground was the first game in the franchise by once again sacrificing the chance to have genuinely good gameplay and mechanics in favor of "car customization" and a "unique artstyle". sure there are a lot of games with unique artstyles which are good, but NFS unbound's is just underground taken to another more cartoonish level. unbound with absolutely no special effects is just heat, with a new map and maybe some new cars. they need to take advantage of the positive things that Ghost left over the years and use them on their favor to make an excellent or even revolutionary racing game, that doesnt sell only because it appeals to the NFS redditors but because it is a genuinely good and enjoyable game. criterion has the potential to do that, who knows if that might happen, especially after some of the directives with the most experience just left. edit: almost forgot to mention, but you should renember that in 2021, EA in an useless attempt to save battlefield 2042 from failing, they forced many of their studios to work on it (we know how that ended up 💀) so the development of nfs unbound was delayed from 2021 to this year. my point is that unbound didnt get 3 years of development... maybe it didnt even get 2, but that would explain a lot. (correct me if im wrong with this)

[@serperior2264]

could Mr Bean defeat Superman?

[@Daykazzi]

Let’s just hope the first update provides a good range of improvements

[@poetdepression]

I agree whole heartedly with the VA being dog water but the female protag def has the best voice acting

[@MickLMZR]

Man it's so frustrating to have a series as long going as this, with as much issues and inconsistencies as it has to have the last 2 installments have so much potential, Heat was genuinely fantastic imo and I'm severely disappointed they didn't bother updating it for the next gen (now current gen) consoles, plus with all the positives it had ending support after 6 months was disgusting. Seeing that some of the things that made Heat great gone here is really disappointing and it's only made worse with how good the game can be at times. Great critique and I found myself agreeing with you on pretty much everything here.

[@serperior2264]

I strongly agree with this comment

[@thatralphy476]

Heat was still very disappointing - people only find it ‘great’ because every modern Need for Speed game has been awful.

[@Zevox144]

@@thatralphy476 only game i cared for in the previous period was Rivals because it was a batshit demolition derby. 2015 returned to when I actually loved NFS channeling Underground with a silly ass story. Payback's the only true disappointment, being a downgrade in almost every possible way from 2015. until further patching on color numerical values, handling, effects customization, and some others, I'll just be fucking around in Heat

[@ak-jxrdy-7]

@@Zevox144 What platform do you fuck around on?

[@FlyXcur]

The reason for the support being ended is because EA(doing this AGAIN) ripped the game away from the studio. I feel like it's malicious at this point. EA is trying to kill the NFS series.