The switch back to Criterion did EA's racing game veteran good. “The best Need for Speed of a generation” is Unbound, cheer reviewers. The hurdle is small, but the tenor after a few days is clear: Need for Speed is celebrating a comeback and can once again compete more in the genre.
In the big showdown, Need for Speed Heat's jump looks small. Press representatives rate a few points better on Metacritc, where Unbound scores 74 out of 100 points. In the user rating, the game climbs more clearly from 5.5 to 6.1 out of 10 points. Also on Steam there are still “predominantly positive” reviews. A closer look reveals significant progress compared to its predecessor.
Heat meaningfully improved
Unbound is, as is repeatedly emphasized, “Heat 2.0”, so it just develops the concept of the last game further. With a pause function, a separate multiplayer mode and the move away from graphic realism, however, Criterion breaks with the old traditions of the series. The previously skeptical art design with comic effects works. Eurogamer almost wants more of it, gamers can live with it.
I really don't know why every NFS today has to have such an ultimate cringe story.
“OPTIC_W4NDSCHR4NK”, Steam
Many negative ratings of the last few days relate to crashes, especially in connection with a starting price of around 70 euros, for which better quality is expected. The biggest single point of criticism, however, remains the story. Depending on the priority, however, testers can easily ignore this if their primary concern is driving. The handling, which relies on a full-throttle and nitro driving style, requires getting used to, but is mostly positively received – but there are failures.
Focus on driving
When driving, Unbound combines day and night missions, but above all it removes assured winning from its vocabulary – and thus slows down the game progress. Less money means fewer upgrades and therefore a slower car. At Eurogamer, this creates an intimate relationship with the starter car, which accompanied the site throughout the campaign. On the other hand, there is also some criticism of this orientation: 143 cars cannot be driven at all, is criticized on Steam.
But that's not what Heat is all about, Polygon throws in. Cars become companions, at the same time the question arises as to whether you really take the risk of restarting the race for fourth place, it's more about the races and driving itself, where Gamespot still sees some catching up to do with the AI.
it is so much more fun, and so much more worth my time racing and running from the law, that the game feels like racing's comeback player of the year.
Polygon
Overall progress
Unbound is more than just an “anime need for speed” for Polygon because Criterion is developing a coherent concept that improves the idea behind Heat with many minor changes. For Eurogamer, Unbound is not far behind Forza Horizon, even if Microsoft's approach is far removed from the arcade concept of the EA racing game.
But also more critical reviews on IGN notice progress. There, however, the focus is more on things that are still not quite successful. Why is the cut still hardly better? That explains PC Gamer: Unbound is better than all its predecessors, is the conclusion, but the competition is much stronger than at the peak of the series.