So when EA announced Need for Speed Unbound, I hoped they would improve upon what was introduced in Need for Speed Heat but was wary at the same time because the development of Unbound was now with Criterion and not Ghost Games.

It is safe to say I enjoyed the game very much as I’ve spent over 100 hours playing it. While I have always been a fan of the franchise, I gave many of the games prior to 2019’s Need for Speed Heat a miss, even then I only bought the game in 2021 during a Steam sale. The only constant was the fact that the franchise was always an arcade racer, but even then Slightly Mad Studios turned it into more of a simulator targeted at hardcore racing fans with Need for Speed: Shift (2009) and Shift 2: Unleashed (2011). This is because the franchise has been passed around like a lukewarm potato from one developer to the next with each overhauling the game with different twists.

Electronic Arts’ (EA) Need for Speed franchise hasn’t had the best track record over the course of the last decade.

Need for speed unbound drift zones