It’s rare for me to take the time to stop my regular routine to spare nearly three hours for gaming goals. In all fairness, trying out the new Need For Speed Unbound is more for review purposes but what seemed like it would be a five-minute session easily turned into multi-hours of gaming on the new title. It’s must-own. Forget just playing it.

Sure, there’s trials and GameFly opportunities available for new titles but from the opening sequence and hearing A$AP Rocky’s signature voice - and the pleasant curse words of ‘shit’ on a teen-rated game? It allowed me to quickly put aside my personal preference of playing only mature-rated games and seeing this new EA game packs as much punch as the promotion suggests.

The hype was built a few months ago when buzz ignited about a much-needed Need For Speed video game coming out for the next generation consoles. Let’s be honest - the last title, Need For Speed Heat, is still very much a thrill-seeking and adrenaline rush adventure but with it being a 2019 rollout, at best you’re going to experience a revamped and optimized version of a title made for the power of an Xbox One and Playstation 4.

Now enter Need For Speed Unbound - completely put together for 2022 and beyond but most importantly for the powerful systems of the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, specifically. Getting to play this on the PS5? Oh my goodness. Love at first play.

The game has the gritty and fun feel of the prior releases but the decision to go with a more comic-looking cutscenes and appeal gives it a vibe you’re going to simply love. Fast-forwarding a bit?

The clothing options are fucking insane.

Yes. I said it and if you know anything about me? I hardly ever curse - at least not outside of wearing a headset and playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 or catching feelings toward someone in Madden or NBA 2K23.

The rollout of clothes are the fuel you’ll instantly use to get you wanting to immediately start racing and getting your funds up.

Fila. Vans. Very fresh. But having my heart crushed at seeing the epic-looking Versace choices and seeing my character had zip-zero funds to purchase? You better believe I could not wait to get to the racing scene and start getting my money up.

The amount of customization in this release is breathtaking. You can honestly spend an hour alone in customizing your character. From the hairstyles, color arrangements and head shape to deciding just how much of a fashion drip you want with your fit? It’s all there for the taking.

This is probably the perfect moment to highlight some great key points for all you folks itching to give Need For Speed Unbound a chance:

Welcome to Lakeshore City: Your goal is to make enough Bank through the week to pay the buy-in for the weekly Qualifier, upgrade and customize your rides to enter The Grand and win it all to walk away with $1,000,000 Bank. To get those big rewards, you have to take risks. The more you race and win, the higher your Heat and the bigger rewards you’ll get in races and avoiding getting busted by Lakeshore’s police. Get caught and lose your hard earned cash. It’s all about risk vs reward. Check out the blog for more details and tips to get you started.
Lakeshore Online: No two races are the same in Lakeshore Online, the online multiplayer experience in Need for Speed Unbound. Party up with friends, challenge other racers on the server, make Bank, buy cars and upgrade them visually and performance–wise, and keep going. Cross-play is available in Lakeshore Online, the online multiplayer experience in Need for Speed Unbound.
Ride in Style: Need for Speed Unbound is all about expressing yourself. Personalize your character, customize and upgrade your ride, dial in your Driving Effects, and stand out with your Banner (Lakeshore Online only). Complete Events, Challenges, and Activities to unlock more items with which you can customize your ride and character with household names like Champion and Vans, footwear giants like PUMA and FILA, streetwear heavyweights like Palace and Born x Raised, and legendary houses like Versace.
Master the Art of Drifting: Drifting fills up your Burst Nitrous meter faster and lets you slide around corners with style. Choose how you initiate drifting between brake & throttle stab (on by default), brake only, and gas only to find the right fit. Take some time to go through the menu and experiment with these styles to see what feels best for you. Favoring the brake will give you a clean and distinct turn-in - reliable but not the fastest. Hitting the throttle is the smoothest way to go sideways and maintain the most speed into the corner but it takes more precision to pull off cleanly. Hit the handbrake to drift regardless of the option you have selected - It won’t be the fastest way to do it but will guarantee a sharp turn, perfect for when you’ve overshot your entry.
Risk vs Reward: Every race gives you Heat. Choose to take on less races and you’ll gain less Heat and get an easy ride home, but you’ll also earn way less cash. If you get busted by the cops, whatever Bank they find on you is theirs so make sure to bank your Bank. live on the edge, taking on more races and building their Heat before outrunning swarms of cops to get to the nearest spot to stash their big payout. Balancing risk with the rewards and keep these tips in mind: 1) Bank your Bank 2) Choose your escape - outrun, outmaneuver, outbattle 3) Every cop vehicle has a weaknesses - know what they are 4) Be unpredictable and consider sneaking as an option 5) Higher heat events with bigger payouts happen at night.
Adjusting Game Settings to your Preference: Need for Speed Unbound offers a ton of customization to help players customize their experience in Lakeshore City. Make sure to head to the Main Menu and check out Settings to view or change preferences for Accessibility, Controls & Driving settings, Graphics & Audio and more.

Is it too early to say I love this game? Nope. I really have fallen in love with the culture of racing games but what Need For Speed has done for decades? It’s like taking the beauty of Grand Theft Auto Online’s racing and just turning it into your own paradise.

You’ll instantly fall in love with your characters but the 4K resolution and crisp looks at the sights and sounds presented to you in this game? Insanely stunning. Much like Need For Speed Heat, having the cross-play feature back is very key. Having friends on both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, the most crushing thing about trying to get a Party Chat going is it’s non-existent when you want everyone connected. The problem fades away with Need For Speed Unbound.

Just a few hours into the game and I’m blown away. EA continues to push the culture forward with its releases and puts razor sharp focus on making sure the brand leads the way with new technology and enough bang to hang with all the big consoles.

If you’re still on the fence on whether or not Need For Speed Unbound is worth the dollar amount, rest assured - EA has you covered as well. How does free-99 sound? Well - sorta. 10 hours of trying out Need For Speed Unbound with no commitment? It’s the least you can expect from being an EA Play member.

Today, EA Play members can race to the top with a 10-hour Early Access trial - days before release - while EA Play Pro members can get unlimited access to Need for Speed Unbound Palace Edition. EA Play Pro members who play the game will also have access to four stunning custom cars, a clothing pack, driving effect, decals and license plate, as well as a character pose and banner artwork.
Early access to Need for Speed Unbound puts players in the driver seat of their own street racing fantasy as they outsmart cops and prove they have what it takes to win The Grand, Lakeshore’s ultimate street racing challenge. The game brings an all-new, unique visual style blending elements of street art with the most realistic looking cars in the franchise’s history. Built for the new generation of technology, Need for Speed Unbound features 4K resolution at 60 FPS for the first time in the series.
With EA Play’s 10-hour trials, players can get their hands on select new releases – like Need for Speed Unbound – and if they decide to buy, they can save 10% on their purchase of the full game (plus, their saved progress will carry over). Need for Speed fans score monthly with EA Play, with a selection of member-only rewards alongside a myriad of monthly rewards for several other fan-favorite games.

Buckle up and start your engine. December 2 can’t come soon enough for the world to pull up to the finish line and secure their own.