Need for Speed Unbound is a racing game developed by Criterion Games. The game was published by Electronic Arts and is the twenty-fifth installment of the Need for Speed series. It was released on December 2, 2022 for Playstation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Microsoft Windows.
Need for Speed Unbound Story
Need for Speed Unbound is set in Lakeshore City, a fictional version of Chicago, where the player and their friend Yaz spend a summer restoring a custom car out of Rydell’s Rydes, a mechanic shop run by their mentor Rydell. After a few street races things go sideways when Yaz falls out with Rydell over a car, and one night the shop gets hit and stripped of every car Rydell was working on. Rydell accuses Yaz of being involved. She denies it but drives off with the car, and that’s the last anyone sees of her for two years.
Two years later the shop is barely surviving and the player is making ends meet driving people around Lakeshore. Street racing has dried up too, until Yaz suddenly reappears. It turns out she has been behind a crew that stole cars across the city and is now responsible for bringing street racing back to Lakeshore. She announces The Grand, a massive city-wide race with a huge cash prize. A woman named Tess offers to bankroll the player’s entry into the qualifiers in exchange for a cut of whatever she can make betting on the races. The player agrees, and the hunt to qualify for The Grand and get the car back from Yaz begins, which means more time running from the cops.
The police in Lakeshore are no joke. I expected the usual Need for Speed cop chase but they come at you hard and fast, especially as your heat level climbs. Getting caught felt genuinely costly in a way that made every race feel like it had real stakes.
Tess turns out to be playing both sides, Alec, the person who originally put Yaz up to the theft, is pulling strings behind the scenes, and the player ends up having to decide who to trust and who to cut loose. The relationship between the player, Yaz, and Rydell is what gives the story its weight, and the reconciliation at the end feels earned.
Need for Speed Unbound Achievements
- The Bear Champ: Smash all bear collectibles.
- Most Wanted: Escape a Heat 5 cop chase.
- New Crew: Complete Qualifier 1.
- Oh, It's On: Complete Qualifier 2.
- Lake Better Watch Out: Complete Qualifier 3.
- Found Family: Complete the Grand.
- Hey Lakeshore: Complete the prologue.
- Adbusting: Break all billboard collectibles.
- Heaven Spot: Collect all street art collectibles.
- In The Zone: Get 3 stars on all Speed Run activities.
- Frequent Flyer: Get 3 stars on all Long Jump activities.
- Catch My Drift: Get 3 stars on all Drift Zone activities.
- Caught On Camera: Get 3 stars on all Speed Trap activities.
- Cleaning Up: Collect all collectibles and get 3 stars on all activities.
- Serious Guap: Bank $75,000 during one session.
- Cash Money Millionaire: Earn $1,000,000 in story mode.
- Flow Master: Score 250,000 during a Takeover event.
- In the Flow: Score 200,000 during a Takeover event.
- Rebel Without a Pause: Complete 30 street races in story mode.
- Style it Out: Complete 10 Takeover events.
- Rydell's Rydes: Fully upgrade your story garage.
- Escape Artist: Escape a Heat 5 cop chase in an A+ car.
- Public Enemy: Take down 5 cops within a single session.
- Untouchable: Escape 50 cop chases.
- Access All Areas: Fully upgrade your Lakeshore Online garage.
- Full House: Complete a Lakeshore Online playlist with 7 other players.
- B for My Name: Win a Tier B Lakeshore Online playlist.
- Bring Your A Game: Win a Tier A Lakeshore Online playlist.
- Teacher's Pet: Win a Tier A+ Lakeshore Online playlist.
- Superstar: Win a Tier S Lakeshore Online playlist.
- Top Billin': Win a Tier S+ Lakeshore Online playlist.
- Mixtape: Complete 25 Lakeshore Online playlists.
- #Blessed: Own 10 vehicles in your story mode garage.
- The Collector: Own 10 vehicles in your Lakeshore Online garage.
- Hey Speedie!: Reach 200MPH in story mode.
- 100 Miles and Runnin': Drive a total of 100 miles in story mode.
- Throwing up Tags: Customize your Driving Effects.
- Fashion Killa: Customize your clothing.
- Cool Whip: Apply a custom wrap to your ride.
- Kick it: Use max Burst Nitrous 5 times during Lakeshore Online events.
- Drop the Beat: Use max Burst Nitrous 5 times during story mode events.
