Need For Speed: Unbound Confirmed And Car List Revealed - Will It Be The New Underground?

The latest iteration in the Need For Speed franchise has just been announced, and it’s called Need For Speed: Unbound – that’s frustratingly close to the word ‘Underground’, but we can live with it. The game appears to have some interesting new visuals compared with previous NFS titles, which, in our opinion, had started to get a little samey.

This time around, Need For Speed: Unbound mixes photorealistic cars with cartoony (some are saying anime-like) touches – EA itself describes the style as drawing influence from street art. From the limited footage we have of the upcoming game, it appears tyre smoke will have an interesting look to it, as if doodled in a notebook with neon colours to the shading, plus on-screen anime-esque ‘speed lines’.

While it’s a look that could divide opinion, it’s easy to forget that the much-coveted NFS Underground games also used similar graphics (albeit limited to cut scenes) to tell the story. In some ways, then, the loud colours and reduced realism of Need For Speed: Unbound could end up sparking a sense of nostalgia for fans of the Underground games which also looked less realistic simply because they were released so long ago.

Unbound’s story centres around a family-owned autoshop in Lakeshore (a fictionalised Chicago). A robbery at the autoshop “tears two friends apart and sets a rookie racer on a journey to win the ultimate street race and reclaim the priceless car that was stolen from them.” We just hope the story lasts longer and allows for further playability than that of the slightly disappointing NFS Heat.

Unlike the Underground games, Unbound will include the cops and police chases long-time fans of the series will enjoy. There’s an emphasis on character customisation, too, with EA keen to point out the vast amount of fashion brands making an appearance in-game to customise your avatar.

The thing is, though, we’d give all of that a miss for the sort of car customisation we got back in 2004 with Underground 2, such as TV screens and massive speakers in the boot to score big points at the magazine cover shoot - remember those? That said, the customisation in Unbound does look pretty extensive, if pictures of one of the main characters’ Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 are anything to go by.

The good news is that you won’t have to wait too long to play Need For Speed: Unbound. The game will release on 2 December this year for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles (bad news for previous-gen players). EA Play and Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be able to trial the game for 10 hours on 29 November three days before full release – do you think the franchise’s new direction will be enough to entice players and rejuvenate the series?

EA has also released the full car list, which you can find below:

• Acura NSX
• Acura RSX-S
• Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
• Aston Martin DB5
• Aston Martin DB11 Volante
• Aston Martin DB11
• Aston Martin Vulcan
• BMW M3
• BMW M3 Evolution II
• BMW X6 M
• BMW M3
• BMW M5
• BMW Z4 M40i
• BMW M4 Coupe
• BMW M2 Competition
• BMW M1 1981 Excalibur
• BMW i8 Coupe
• BMW M4 GTS
• BMW M3 Convertible (E92)
• BMW M4 Convertible
• BMW i8 Roadster
• Bugatti Chiron Sport
• Buick Grand National
• Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
• Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible
• Chevrolet C10 Stepside Pickup 1965
• Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport
• Chevrolet Camaro Z28
• Chevrolet Corvette Z06 2013
• Chevrolet Camaro SS
• Chevrolet Bel Air 1955
• Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
• Chevrolet Colorado ZR2
• Dodge Challenger SRT8
• Dodge Charger R/T 1969
• Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
• Ferrari LaFerrari
• Ferrari Testarossa Coupé 1984
• Ferrari 488 GTB
• Ferrari F40
• Ferrari 458 Italia
• Ferrari 488 Pista
• Ferrari FXX-K Evo
• Ferrari 458 Spider 2011
• Ford F-150 Raptor
• Ford Mustang GT
• Ford GT
• Ford Mustang BOSS 302 1969
• Ford Mustang 1965
• Ford Mustang Foxbody 1990
• Ford Crown Victoria 2008 Excalibur
• Ford Focus RS
• Ford F-150 Raptor Legends Edition
• Ford Mustang GT Convertible (Facelift)
• Honda Civic Type-R
• Honda Civic Type-R
• Honda NSX Type-R
• Honda S2000 Ultimate Edition
• Infiniti Q60S
• Jaguar F-Type R Coupe
• Jaguar F-Type R Convertible
• Koenigsegg Regera
• Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4
• Lamborghini Huracán LP580-2
• Lamborghini Aventador S
• Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary
• Lamborghini Murciélago SV
• Lamborghini Urus
• Lamborghini Huracán Performante
• Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Coupe
• Lamborghini Diablo SV
• Lamborghini Huracán LP610-4 Spyder
• Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster
• Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster
• Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SV Roadster
• Lamborghini Huracán Performante Spyder
• Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR
• Land Rover Defender 110 Double Cab Pickup
• Lotus Exige S
• Mazda RX-7 Spirit R
• Mazda MX5
• Mazda RX-8 Spirit R (R3)
• Mazda MX5
• McLaren P1
• McLaren F1
• McLaren 570S
• McLaren 570S Spider
• McLaren 600LT
• McLaren P1 GTR
• Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16
• Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupe
• Mercedes-AMG G 63
• Mercedes-AMG GT
• Mercedes-AMG A 45
• Mercedes-AMG GT R
• Mercedes-AMG GT S Roadster
• Mercedes-AMG C 63 Convertible
• Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series
• Mercury Cougar
• Mini John Cooper Works Countryman
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
• Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX
• Nissan GT-R Premium
• Nissan Skyline GT-R V·Spec
• Nissan 370Z Heritage Edition
• Nissan Silvia K’s
• Nissan Z Prototype
• Nissan Silvia Spec-R Aero
• Nissan Skyline GT-R V·Spec
• Nissan 350Z
• Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-R
• Nissan Fairlady 240ZG
• Nissan 180SX Type X
• Nissan 370Z Nismo
• Nissan GT-R Nismo
• Pagani Huayra BC
• Plymouth Cuda
• Polestar Polestar 1 2020
• Pontiac Firebird 1977
• Porsche 911 GT3 RS
• Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 2.8 1973
• Porsche 918 Spyder
• Porsche 718 Cayman GTS
• Porsche 911 Carrera S
• Porsche 911 GT2 RS
• Porsche Panamera Turbo
• Porsche 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series
• Porsche Boxster 718 Spyder
• Porsche 911 Carrera GTS
• Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet Exclusive
• Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS
• Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Convertible
• Porsche Cayman GT4
• SRT Viper GTS
• Subaru Impreza WRX STI
• Subaru BRZ Premium
• Subaru Impreza WRX STI
• Volkswagen Beetle 1963
• Volkswagen Golf GTI 1976
• Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport
• Volvo 242DL 1975
• Volvo Amazon P130