Need for Speed Unbound’s big visual overhaul has Underground 2’s fingerprints all over it

If you’re a Need for Speed fan, you’ve probably heard a lot about how the franchise’s newest title set to release this year, Need for Speed Unbound, looks very different from the series’ previous entries. And yes, there are significant departures in the new game’s visual style, matching the gleaming, realistic cars with cell-shaded characters and a comic book vibe that doesn’t really look like anything the series has done before with its drivers, which have usually been animated in the same style as the cars, or the game has used live-action cutscenes.

Of course, there’s a notable exception in the series that has made use of comic book-style graphics in cutscenes to help tell an NFS story and move the plot of the game along: Need for Speed: Underground 2, a game that NFS feels like it’s trying to return to, yet again, with Unbound. 

Let’s start with Unbound, the newest game on the block. It’s got the comic book characters alongside the realistic cars. It’s got an abundance of modifications. It’s got A$AP Rocky, who has a new song released for the trailer (the hilariously titled “Sh*ttin Me,” featuring both A$AP Rocky’s musical sensibilities and Unbound’s censor really wanting to keep that T rating). These things all serve the dual purpose of maintaining the NFS formula while trying to switch things up for the game—and that’s a good thing. 

Of course, the visuals aren’t all Unbound has. In an interview with IGN, Criterion Studios revealed several new features coming to the game. In keeping with the street racing feel of the game, players will have to buy entry into races, facing actual risk to their bank if they lose. They can also make side-bets with other drivers, increasing their stakes. Police return, but specific units will have specific weaknesses and players will need to develop better tactics to outrun the cops as they ramp up in heat. The gameplay tweaks aren’t massive, but they seem meaningful.

While it’s clear that the NFS games have needed a shot in the arm over the last several titles, it’s been unclear exactly what that would be. Former studio Ghost Games tried street racing (Need for Speed 2015), then an action movie (Need for Speed Payback), then street racing mixed with an action movie (Need for Speed Heat), and found some worthwhile mechanics and changes along the way. But while each of the last three titles found an audience and made things interesting, particularly 2019’s Heat, EA still handed the keys to the series back to Criterion, who last made an NFS game with Most Wanted in 2012. Most Wanted itself was a spiritual reboot of the 2005 Need for Speed game bearing the same name, which was EA’s follow-up to Underground 2. 

It’s difficult not to see the DNA of games like Underground 2 and Most Wanted in Unbound. Underground 2 took the comic book inspiration even further than Unbound seems to, with its cutscenes featuring only still comic panels and voice acting. But if Unbound can find the secret recipe to combining what made Underground 2 so beloved and creating a modern game that people enjoy playing, the newest Need for Speed will be a success.