NEED FOR SPEED UNBOUND: GRAFFITI ON THE GAS PEDAL

Name: Need for Speed Unbound
Item: Need for Speed Unbound
Rating: 7.5
Author: The Alpha

Need for Speed Unbound Steam header art with a car drifting through cartoon smoke and graffiti — Header art credit: Criterion Games and Electronic Arts, from the Steam store page the button points to.

7.5 of 10 bananas. Criterion gave street racing a fresh face with cel-shaded smoke and graffiti effects over realistic cars. The handling is good and the city is fun, but the story is cringe, the progression is grindy, and the series has gone quiet since.

By the Alpha. Steam listing. Updated Oct 21 2026.

Honest note: This is not a fresh hands-on playtest. I built this verdict from launch reviews, critic consensus, update history, and what is known about the game today. If I put real hours in on stream, I will update the score and say so.

Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Criterion Games and Electronic Arts, released December 2022). The button on this page is the Steam store page. I checked Amazon US on Oct 21: the PS5 disc buy box was a single used copy from a third-party seller, which is not a fair listing to send you to, so there is no Amazon button.

Racing Multiplayer

Get Need for Speed Unbound on Steam

Sit with me a moment. The troop and I have spent many nights on stream driving through Los Santos like gentlemen, which is to say badly. So when a racing game shows up with cartoon wings bursting from the wheels and graffiti on every boost, I wanted to know if style could carry speed.

What It Wants To Be

Unbound is an open world street racing game set in Lakeshore City, a fictional city inspired by Chicago. You build a car from scraps, race your way through weekly qualifiers, dodge police heat, and bet on races, all to win back a stolen car in a final event called The Grand. Lakeshore Online adds a separate multiplayer mode with its own progression.

What Works

The art style is bold and it works: realistic cars with hand-drawn smoke, sparks, and tags make every drift look like a music video, and post-launch updates let you turn the effects off entirely if you hate them. The handling rewards drift and grip in a satisfying middle ground, and Criterion knows how to build a police chase. Console reviews were generally favorable, and it earned a D.I.C.E. nomination for Racing Game of the Year.

What Breaks

Listen well. The story and dialogue try hard to be cool and often land as cringe. The weekly structure pushes you to grind races and risk your cash before you feel ready. PC reviews were more mixed than console. And EA has since shifted Criterion to Battlefield, so Unbound is still the latest Need for Speed and the series has gone quiet. Do not buy it expecting years of new content ahead.

Who Should Play

Play it if you want an arcade street racer with style and a decent police chase, and you can ignore a silly story. Skip it if you need a serious sim or a living online scene with a future.

STRENGTHS

Bold graffiti art style
Good drift handling
Tense police chases
Effects can be turned off

HONEST COSTS

Cringe story
Grindy weekly structure
PC reviews more mixed
No fair Amazon offer at my check

ALPHA VERDICT: 7.5 of 10. Wait for a sale. A stylish racer with a solid core, at a price that does not match its future. Get Need for Speed Unbound on Steam, then meet the troop on Twitch.

Watch on Twitch @gamermonkeydotcom TikTok @gamermonkeydotcom More verdicts

Store note: the troop still needs an Amazon referral for this one. The US PS5 disc listing had only a used copy in the buy box at my Oct 21 check, so Steam is the only button until a fair listing is real. This is not an affiliate link.