visual anime style, hand-drawn special effects, racer betting and support for 4K at 60 FPS

After three years of silence, Electronic Arts has announced a new installment of Need for Speed. The first pictures were met with mixed reviews, mainly because of the anime-style visual effects and the lack of information about at least some key innovations. But is everything so bad with the project? We have collected all known information about: Need for Speed ​​Untethered right now (mid-October 2022) and now let’s try to predict the game’s future success or failure.

About development

In February 2020, it was announced that the next part of the NFS will be developed by Criterion Games, which previously worked on Hot Pursuit (2010) and Most wanted (2012).

Initially, the project was supposed to be released in 2021, but was then delayed until 2022 as the development team was sent to help with Battlefield 2042.

In May 2022, EA announced the merger of Codemasters Chesire with Criterion Games, significantly expanding the Unbound development team.

In the past, Codemasters Chesire has worked on the DiRT 5 car simulator and the DriveClub race.In the past, Codemasters Chesire has worked on the DiRT 5 car simulator and the DriveClub race.

During the production process, the studio even contacted Saint Petersburg artist Azar Strato. He had to write the soundtrack and shoot the video. But after the closure of the EA office in Moscow, the cooperation ended. French DJ Brodinski is currently working on the game’s soundtrack.

Announcement

We saw the first gameplay footage in late August, when a Reddit user nicknamed TopRamanNoodl3s shared a three-second video.

Even then, one could notice the characteristic image of the project – painted wings appeared in a jump on the car, and after a failed collision, a drawing of a skull appeared above the car.

A month later, insider Tom Henderson (Tom Henderson) shared the first information about the project, revealing the new part’s subtitle, Unbound, and the release date. He also spoke about the participation in the trials of American rapper A$AP Rocky. All this happened a week before the official announcement, which confirmed the accuracy of the information.

The A$AP Rocky Skin is coming to the gameThe A$AP Rocky Skin is coming to the game

And since October 6, EA itself has been actively sharing material about the project.

Game engine and car physics

Like most games in the series, Unbound is being developed on the updated Frostbite engine. However, the developers plan to completely overhaul the physics of cars.

Given the size of the game world, the behavior of the same car will vary greatly depending on the track.Given the size of the game world, the behavior of the same car will vary greatly depending on the track.

The game runs on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X in 4K at 60 FPS. Prior to this, all the newest parts (except the remaster NFS: Hot Pursuit (2010)) only released 30 frames on consoles.

Thanks to the high frame rate, driving should feel different. This was made possible by not releasing the game on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The game supports VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) for a smoother and more seamless image without tearing.The game supports VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) for a smoother and more seamless image without tearing.

The developers promise the “deepest in the series” model of car behavior and really different driving sensations for different cars. Each model will have its own advantages and disadvantages, which will have to be taken into account during the races.

New location, story and multiplayer

In Unbound, the single player mode exists separately from the multiplayer, it does not require an internet connection.

The plot of the story is classic. The car repair shop of the main character’s friends has been looted, his favorite car has been stolen and now he must return the car to his heart. To do this, you need to win the “main street race”. The secondary characters also have their own storylines and personal unique cars.

The action of the game takes place in the town of Lakeshore, which is considered the center of illegal racing, and in the surrounding area. The developers even showed a map of the game world.

A significant portion of the map is made up of the Lakeshore area.A significant portion of the map is made up of the Lakeshore area.

They promise to make multiplayer easy – it is possible to enter the online mode with one button, the presence of other players in the open world can be adjusted and to participate in a series of races, you do not have to start from one. drive starting point to another, just make a track list.

One of the multiplayer modes is Takeover Scene, in which players must fight for control of parts of the city by participating in competitions. There are no details on how the mode works, but it is known that the A$AP Rocky mentioned above will appear there.

Betting system and “hype level”

To give the player a sense of risk, Criterion Games has developed a betting system. To participate in each race, you must pay a fee. Depending on the size of the bet, the reward for winning increases, but the risk of losing everything in general increases.

Therefore, you have to choose which races the player wants to participate in, what he wants to bet – the minimum entry fee in some races will be quite high.

Probably we will have a lot of animated cutscenes during the passage of the single player campaignProbably we will have a lot of animated cutscenes during the passage of the single player campaign

You can also bet on the results of the race itself. For example, the fact that a certain participant will perform worse than you.

From Need for Speed: Rivals return to the series and the session system. The longer the player is in the game world without driving into a garage or shelter, the more money he earns to race, but the police attention increases accordingly.

It is possible, as in Rivals, if the police catch a player with a high wanted level (what this indicator will be called is still unknown), he will lose everything he has collected during the session.

The police fleet will not be limited to one modelThe police fleet will not be limited to one model

Admittedly, the behavior of the police can be modified. There is also no specific information yet, but it is known that it will be possible to somehow study police radars (apparently their location) and find shelters where you can dump from the chase. Also, different police cars will have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Visual, technical requirements and content

They obviously want to make the feature of the project the visual one – we’re waiting for a mix of realistic graphics, animated characters and “drawn” visual effects. After a mixed response on the Internet, the developers assured that all effects can be turned off, they are not part of the car’s customization system.

Criterion Games explained that the inspiration for this style was street art and graffiti, as “the highest point of self-expression and freedom of the mind.”

In addition to the ability to disable animated effects, the developers also talked about a new way of customizing cars – it will be possible to discard some details, revealing the inside of the car.

The characters will be cartoonish, with an anime twistThe characters will be cartoonish, with an anime twist

They also promise thousands of tuning options, crossplay support, and free post-release updates.

The game will have 143 models, according to the official website. The list includes well-known brands such as BMW, Lamborghini, Nissan, Porsche and Ferrari.

As in all games in the series, the car can be both tuned and customized for yourself.As in all games in the series, the car can be both tuned and customized for yourself.

Became known and the compilation of the collector’s edition of the game. For €30, the player will receive a collectible box, a black balaclava, a steelbook, 24 stickers, 5 graffiti style stickers and 3 markers in green, yellow and pink. The game itself must be purchased separately… There are no details about the monetization system yet.

Composition of the collector’s editionComposition of the collector’s edition

After the Unbound page appeared in Steam, we learned the technical requirements of the new part of NFS. The game even runs on eight-year-old video cards.

There is no translation into Russian for the game, as well as the possibility to buy it in Russia.

***

It’s possible that Unbound’s visual novelty will really allow the project to stand out from other games in the series… and even become commercially successful. A lot depends on how Criterion Games and EA go about monetizing and tweaking the visual style. It seems to us that the latter can create both a powerful street racing atmosphere and a sense of speed, and can be seen as a blot that makes it difficult to follow what’s happening on screen.

It’s important to feel the edge and not turn the player’s screen into an artifactIt’s important to feel the edge and not turn the player’s screen into an artifact

Anyway, but the developers don’t consider Unbound to be a reboot of the franchise. According to them, Need for Speed: Heat (2019) was a successful race and now they have decided to shift the focus to the cars themselves and “street racing”.

Need for Speed ​​Unbound releases on December 2 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5.