Steam sale: AAA racing game drops to $5 from $70
Need for Speed Unbound revolves around illegal street racing in Lakeshore City, a fictional metropolis inspired by Chicago. Players take on the role of an aspiring driver aiming to qualify for The Grand
, the city’s top tournament, by winning high-stakes races, earning money and upgrading cars. The day-night cycle adds an extra layer of strategy. Daytime races are safer but offer smaller rewards, while nighttime events come with higher payouts and a stronger police presence. The more aggressively you drive, the more relentless law enforcement becomes. However, not all players are happy with this mechanic. Many in the community find the police AI overly persistent and unbalanced, making chases frustrating and disrupting the game's flow.
With Lakeshore City, Need for Speed Unbound features an open world divided into distinct sectors. Alongside urban areas like the skyscraper-filled downtown and the sprawling industrial zone, players can race through winding mountain roads and high-speed highways. The game blends realistic environments with comic-style effects and cel-shading, creating a unique visual style. However, many players criticize the lack of an option to disable the colorful effects in the graphics settings. Beyond the campaign, Unbound includes a multiplayer mode where up to 16 players can race against each other.
Slow progression
The German gaming magazine Eurogamer praised Need for Speed Unbound for its lively open world and thrilling sense of speed. However, the unbalanced AI and slow campaign progression drew criticism. Each in-game day offers only a limited number of restarts for failed races and rewards are too low compared to the cost of new cars. This makes early progress feel unnecessarily slow. Another point of frustration is the mandatory installation of the EA app, even when launching the game through Steam, which has disappointed many players.
Need for Speed Unbound was developed by Criterion Games in partnership with Electronic Arts and launched in December 2022. Since then, it has received nearly 38,000 reviews on Steam, but with only 62% positive ratings, it sits in the "Mixed" category. The reception on Metacritic has been similarly lukewarm, with a Metascore of 73 and a user score of 5.9.
93% discount on Steam
Need for Speed Unbound is normally priced at $70 on Steam, but during the spring sale, it's 93% off until March 20, bringing the price down to around $5. The Palace Edition, which includes four extra cars and cosmetic items, is discounted by 85%, reducing the price from $80 to $12. The Ultimate Collection, which includes all released content, is available at an 80% discount for $17 instead of $85.
Disclaimer: Notebookcheck is not responsible for price changes carried out by retailers. The discounted price or deal mentioned in this item was available at the time of writing and may be subject to time restrictions and/or limited unit availability.
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