The first trailer for the new game in the Need For Speed franchise, titled Unbound, dropped today.
Additional information can be gathered from yesterday's leak by Japanese store Neowing which published the product page too early.
We get confirmation the cartoon elements just apply to overlaying driving effects and the character models. Shaders tie the modern 3D graphics together with those by providing a rich, saturated color palette, for a surprisingly cohesive result when everything is set in motion, considering the initial premise of mixing drawings and photorealistic elements.
Matching the street art visual identity, hip-hop will be a major focus, with artists like A$AP Rocky (who can be seen posing in front of the cover car, his very own Mercedes 190E) being featured. Originally composed music by French artist Brodinski will also be featured, most likely in action scenes and police chases.
The Chicago inspired setting also finds an official name: players will evolve in Lake Shore, which could either be a city or a county. They will be able to do so in both single player and online multiplayer, as evidenced by a pre-order bonus, handing out a 150.000 $ in-game bonus exclusively for multiplayer, potentially hinting at a complete separation between offline and online modes.
In terms of gameplay, a feature named Burst Nitrous is advertised as being new. This hints to be an additional boost feature that would add up on top of regular nitrous, and with the new tyre smoke effects and such, might be tied to driving elements such as drifting, as past racing games such as older NFS or Burnout series have been doing - and with Criterion involved, imagining some mechanics have been borrowed from the later wouldn't be that much of a stretch. The whole physics engine appears to be new as well. It is said to have a higher skill ceiling, while still providing enough accessibility for the general public, with feedback from QA tester saying it's "the most fun game [they] worked on".
The single player career is said to feature a more carefully crafted storyline, with a deeper attention given to each character's personality. The heat system for police chases returns, with each race you take part in giving you gradually more unwanted attention from the police forces. The stakes will be higher this time around though, as all of it is coupled with a buy-in system for races, replicating a form of betting, brought into collective street racing folklore by the classic Fast & Furious movies. This means players will have to be careful with their investments and not get too greedy.
From a content perspective, the car list is pretty similar to Heat's, with a few new additions such as the new Nissan Z, gen 2 Mitsubishi Eclipse, the Ford Crown Victoria and the Bugatti Chiron. Toyota is still absent from the list due to licensing issues. The map seems to feature the classic array of varied elements, from fancy downtown to industrial areas, with a side of highways and mountain roads, and even what appears to be a race track. Customisation is obviously still present for cars, but will extend to your character, driving effects styling and more cosmetic details.
Need For Speed Unbound will release on December 2nd worldwide, with early access for EA Play Pro and a 10h trial for regular EA Play members opening on November 29th. The game focuses fully on next gen consoles and PC, releasing on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and for PC players, Origin, Steam and Epic Game Store. Regular version of the game will set you off 69.99$, with the Palace Edition giving you 4 custom cars and cosmetic elements for 10 more dollars. Pre-order bonuses may be store specific as they're not advertised on the official EA page.
