Need For Speed Unbound
Need for Speed Unbound, also known as NFS Unbound, is a racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts. Released in 2022, it is the twenty-fifth installment in the long-running Need for Speed series. This game marks the return of Criterion Games as the main developer for the series since their last major entry, Most Wanted, in 2012.
The game was officially announced by Electronic Arts on October 6, 2022. Need for Speed Unbound introduces a unique art style that combines elements of cel-shading and graffiti art with the more realistic visuals seen in previous Need for Speed titles. The open-world map is set in a fictional city known as Lakeshore City, which draws inspiration from the real-life city of Chicago.
Need for Speed Unbound was simultaneously released worldwide on December 2, 2022, for PlayStation 5, Windows (PC), and Xbox Series X/S. Upon its release, the game received generally positive reviews from critics. The gameplay mechanics, art direction, progression system, and graphics were praised for their quality. However, some critics expressed disappointment with the lack of innovation, a weak story, underwhelming soundtrack, and unremarkable characters.
Overall, Need for Speed Unbound offers an engaging racing experience set in a visually striking world, although it may not bring significant advancements to the series in terms of narrative or character development.
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Need For Speed Unbound Volume 3 Update
The Volume 3 update for Need for Speed Unbound was released on June 20, 2023, across all platforms, including PC (via Origin or Steam), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. The update introduced several exciting features and additions for fans of the game.
One of the notable additions in the Volume 3 update is the Speed Pass, which allows players to rank up and earn various customization items for their cars. By completing daily and weekly challenges, races, and objectives in Linkups, players can earn XP and unlock the Legendary Custom Dodge SRT Viper 2014 as they progress through the ranks.
The update also introduced 16 player online co-op Linkups, allowing players to team up with 15 others to tackle challenges spread across the map. These challenges include airtime and speed trap events, which must be completed together to earn rewards. Players should be prepared for police interference as soon as an event concludes, adding an element of urgency to the gameplay.
The new Linkups are available in seven locations on the map, featuring four rounds for each event, all of which are time-based. Winning at least 12 Lineups grants players access to the iconic DMC DeLorean from 1981. Additionally, the update includes new Drift playlists, where the focus is on achieving a high score multiplier rather than finishing first, allowing players to showcase their drifting skills and compete for leaderboard positions.
EA Play members receive special rewards in the Volume 3 update, specifically a Nissan Skyline GTR V-spec 1993. This exclusive car will be waiting in their in-game garage, granting them immediate access to drive and enjoy it.
Overall, the Volume 3 update brought exciting features such as ranking systems, multiplayer co-op challenges, new cars, and rewards, enhancing the gameplay experience for Need for Speed Unbound players.
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TRENDING
Need For Speed Unbound Volume 3 Update patch notes
Quality of Life Improvements
- Vehicles awarded via EA Play Membership, Purchased from the in-game Store, or awarded as part of Speed Pass, will be available to use in your Single Player garage after completing the prologue. Previously these were only available in Lakeshore Online
- Reduced the chances of getting into another chase immediately after a successful escape
- Screen Space Reflections are now enabled for cars on Ultra graphics quality on PC
- Intel XeSS 1.1 added as an Upsampler option on PC
- Improved road reflection quality by including distant buildings
- Improved CPU performance on PC
- Reduced VRAM usage on NVIDIA 40 series GPUs on PC
- Nvidia DLSS updated to version 3.1.11 on PC
- AMD FSR 2 updated to latest 2.2 on PC
- Increased the rewards for escaping and assisting in a cop chase.
- Different cop vehicles are now worth different amounts of cash when taken down in cop chases, instead of a single value that applied to all cop cars.
- Players who purchased the Deluxe Edition will be awarded $250,000 per volume update as a thank you cash boost!
- Subtitles text size can now be changed from three presets. The backing opacity and colour can also be adjusted
- Players can now change their default time of day in Lakeshore Online. This setting only affects Free Roam – events in playlists have their own defined time of day
- Players can now teleport to Safehouses and Meetups when not in a cop chase. Perfect for quickly getting around map, or swapping cars before the next Linkup
- Players will receive $5000 in bonus cash for every rank they reached prior to the release of Volume 3 with the new Speed Pass ranking system
- Players can now view their whole character before purchasing clothing to see how it looks with their whole outfit
Campaign
- Fixed an issue that allowed the player to hide the UI in the campaign calendar, leading to a broken camera
- Fixed an issue that caused the player to lose campaign progress when the PS5 is forced shut
- Fixed a number of clipping issues with Vehicles
- Fixed an issue that caused the player to spawn inside the garage after the prologue
- Fixed an issue that caused the initial campaign car select vehicles to have coloured windows
- Fixed an issue that occasionally spawned the player in freedrive instead of the tutorial after selecting a car
- Fixed an issue that caused the safehouse description to not update after purchase
- Fixed an issue that allowed players to sell their first vehicle in campaign, leaving them with no cars
- Fixed an issue that caused the Milestone 1 meetup icon to appear during the qualifier races
- Fixed an issue that allowed the player to receive two starter vehicles if they close down the game immediately after car select sequence
- Fixed an issue that showed rivals as available to beat in the UI even if they have already been beaten
- Fixed an issue that caused police helicopters to run out of fuel whilst the game is paused
- Fixed a campaign exploit that allowed the player to replay the Week 3 qualifier
- Fixed an issue that occasionally caused no Audio SFX to be triggered when accepting a phone call mission
- Fixed an issue that caused AI rivals name cards to sometimes obscure the players view
- Fixed an issue that caused all collectable bears to reappear in the world when progressing to the next day
- Fixed an issue that caused Cop roadblock items to persistently show up on the map even when progressing to the next day
Client & Performance
- Added multiple stability improvements across both Campaign and Lakeshore Online
- Fixed an issue that caused the screen to freeze whilst recording with Nvidia Shadowplay on PC
- Fixed an issue that could cause the controller to not send any inputs if it was disconnected and reconnected
- Fixed an issue that caused vehicles using the brushed metal material to appear visibly dirty when they spawn
- Fixed an issue that caused certain HUD UI elements to be blown out by bright lighting courses when the game is run in HDR
- Fixed an issue that could cause vehicle input to become stuck whilst driving
Cops:
- Fixed an issue that caused the player vehicle to float during the busted transition screen
- Fixed an issue that caused cash rewarded from challenges to be treated as volatile cash if completed during a cop chase
- Fixed a number of issues that caused Burst Nitrous to work inconsistently with cop cars
- Fixed an issue that caused the button callout to route to patrolling cops to be invisible
- Fixed an issue that caused both “COP CHASE JOINED” and “COP CHASE STARTED” to appear one after another when assisting other players in a chase
- Fixed an issue that caused other cops to appear to be spotting the player at the start of a cop chase if 2 cops are near each other
General Fixes & Improvements
- Fixed an issue that rarely caused the character model to disappear whilst previewing hair customization
- Fixed an issue that rarely caused the camera to unfocus whilst previewing hair customization
- Fixed an issue that occasionally caused vehicle or character modifications to not save
- Fixed an issue that caused some players to be unable to boot the 10-Hour Trial via the EA app
- Fixed an issue that caused text to speech words to overlap the text box when enabled
- Fixed an issue that caused a broken camera once the user resets it in snapshot mode
- Fixed an issue that disallowed a child Xbox profile access to Lakeshore Online even when given access to multiplayer features by a parent
- Fixed an issue that caused the Banner Snapshot contrast to behave inconsistently
- Fixed an issue that caused car skid marks to flicker on pavement
Map & World
- Fixed an issue that caused checkpoints to be missing on the mini-map when the player is in an event
- Fixed an issue that caused some breakable assets to remain stuck under the car resulting in the car spinning uncontrollably
- Fixed an issue that caused Street Art and Bears to disappear from the main map when collected
- Fixed multiple issues that caused “i” icons to sometimes appear in lieu of safehouses, players, and cops
- Fixed an issue that caused a straight line to be drawn if routing from the player to a cops location in Lakeshore Online
Multiplayer
- Fixed an issue that caused the wreck reset transition to not display the fade animation
- Fixed an issue that caused volatile cash to be lost when accepting a playlist invite during a cop chase
- Fixed an issue that could block the player from opening the banner of other players in Lakeshore Online
- Fixed an issue that caused the banner sticker to disappear when in the “edit snapshot” menu
- Fixed an issue that caused 2 cars to be present in the Banner Snapshot after completing a playlist with a different car
- Fixed an issue that caused the currently equipped car to unequip after quitting the game and rebooting if the player doesn’t leave the garage
- Fixed a number of issues that caused daily challenges to refresh inconsistently
- Fixed an issue that caused the user to see both the enter garage and busted cinematics when entering the garage whilst almost busted
- Fixed an issue that caused the in-world AR pin of a routed player to only appear at short distances
- Fixed an issue that caused the player to clip through the garage wall if exiting a safehouse at the same time as multiple other people
- Fixed an issue that caused the player to appear as leaving a game when attempting to join a full multiplayer server
Playlist & Racing
- Fixed an issue that caused players to be respawned unexpectedly in certain areas of the City Viper race
- Fixed an issue that caused players to be respawned unexpectedly in certain areas of the Downtown Chaos race
- Fixed an issue that caused players to be respawned unexpectedly in certain areas of the Don’t Sweat The Technique race
- Fixed an issue that caused misleading UI prompts and directional arrows in the All Eyes On Me race
- Fixed an issue that caused players to be spawned unexpectedly in certain areas of the Meridional Mist race
- Fixed an issue that caused misleading UI prompts and directional arrows in the Industrial Action race
- Fixed an issue that caused the perfect start boost to carry over if the player left the race during the race start countdown
- Fixed an issue that caused the tier icon to be missing or incorrect in playlist cards
- Fixed an issue that prevented the player from spawning next to the nearest garage at the end of a playlist
- Fixed an issue that caused the player to be stuck in a Rumble event when it finished
- Fixed an issue that caused some car windscreens to open during playlist into cinematics as if it was a side window
- Fixed an issue that caused the timer to overlap the 8th player in the post-race results screen
- Fixed an issue that caused traffic in certain events to behave unexpectedly
User Interface
- Fixed an issue that caused sub-menus in the hair selection screen to be difficult to navigate
- Fixed an issue that caused players to lose input when navigating through the banner menu
- Fixed an issue that caused a number of inconsistencies with displaying breadcrumbs for newly unlocked content
- Fixed an issue that caused the playlist invite UI element to overlap in the car customisation, character customisation, and banner snapshot menus
- Fixed an issue that caused the platform icon for crossplay players to show as the players own icon in the player cop assist popup
- Fixed an issue that caused sorting by “most recent” in the community wrap screen to not function
Vehicle Customisation
- Fixed an issue that caused the old tag effect to play when equipping a new tag in the garage
- Fixed an issue that caused the Aston Martin DB5 wing mirrors to stick to the side of the car when damaged
- Fixed an issue that caused wrap corruption around the headlights of the Mercedes Benz AMG GT (2015)
- Fixed an issue that rarely prevented players from applying decals to their cars
- Fixed an issue that caused decals to overlap on the front window of the Honda Civic Type-R (2015)
- Fixed an issue that caused decals to display incorrectly on the rear fenders of the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 (1988)
- Fixed an issue that caused decals to overlap on certain side skirts of the BMW M3 (1988)
- Fixed an issue that caused the garage idle camera to show the undercarriage of the Mercedes 190E
- Fixed an issue that caused the default wrap on the Mercedes Maybach to be positioned incorrectly
- Fixed an issue that caused the wheels to clip through the bodywork on the Mercedes Maybach with air suspension applied
- Fixed an issue that caused the wheels to clip through the bodywork on the epic build Nissan Fairlady
- Fixed an issue that caused placeholder text to show when selecting certain side skirt sets for the Volkswagen Golf GTI (1976)
- Fixed an issue that caused the Toyo Tires Proxes R888R thumbnail to display the incorrect ‘Need for Speed’ picture
- Fixed an issue that caused the front canards to be selectable for the NISSAN Skyline GTR V-Spec (1993) when the front bumper is removed, causing them to float
- Fixed an issue that caused a section at the rear of the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster (2019) to not display decals
- Fixed an issue that caused some sections of the Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SV Roads to not display decals
- Fixed an issue that caused some sections of the Ferrari F40 to not display decals
- Fixed an issue that caused decals that were applied with 100% opacity to appear as having less opacity in the garage
- Fixed an issue that caused the Volvo 242 DL to have no trunk modifications available
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Need For Speed Unbound Plot
In Lakeshore City, the Player and their friend Yaz work at a mechanic shop owned by their mentor Rydell. After winning street races, Yaz grows tired of their routine job and wants something better. She gets involved in delivering vehicles as part of a plan to challenge the city’s police force controlled by Mayor Morgan Stevenson.
One night, the Player completes a delivery mission but finds Rydell’s shop raided. Yaz denies involvement and drives off with a car after an argument with Rydell. Two years later, street racing declines, and the Player struggles to make a living. They meet Tess, who offers to finance their garage and guide them in their quest for revenge against Yaz.
Yaz reappears, revealing she is part of the crew that stole the cars and organizes a massive street race called The Grand. Tess bet on the Player’s races without their knowledge. After winning the qualifiers, the Player challenges Yaz to a race for their stolen car.
Tess reveals her involvement and offers a deal to throw the race, which angers Yaz. Yaz warns the Player and proposes returning the stolen cars to their rightful owners. The Player reconciles with Yaz and wins The Grand, reclaiming their car. Tess confesses she was only after money and is now ruined.
The Player, Yaz, and Rydell reunite, ready for more adventures together.
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