After playing the Beta extensively, I can safely say that the game kept getting better and better the more I understood the mechanics and unlocked new weapons/abilities. This is, after the initial gameplay already stood out.

The almost unlimited destruction is awesome, letting you alter how any round will turn out. It gives a large incentive to use the heavy build, however the emphasise on movement placed on medium and light builds are almost equally enticing if not more so in certain scenarios.

The hold and throw mechanic is also awesome, with the cannisters around the map allowing for light and medium builds to cause map altering scenarios on par to heavy.
Ultimately had an awesome time playing this game. I am slightly worried about longevity however. I am one of those people who will play a shooter like COD or Rainbow with my only real incentive being camos, however there doesn't seem to be much of a grind in the game other than the battlepass. This combined with the two game modes feeling extremely similar, cause slight concern for replay ability within the hundreds of hours.

My only other concern about this game is any changes going forward. I do think the three weight classes introduced are great, however it feels as though another class has to be introduced at some point in the future if they are planning to make this game last several years. With how the game is currently balanced, I have no idea what this would be or how it would balance, but I look forward to seeing what they come up with! Separately they could always go down the route of just adding more abilities and weapons to each class, however I feel as though another class is inevitable.

Need for Speed: Unbound is EA's latest attempt to restore this franchise to its former glory. While the game offers enjoyable aspects, it still grapples with the same issues seen in recent NFS titles.

The standout feature of Unbound is undoubtedly its visuals. The game seamlessly blends realistic graphics with cartoon elements. For instance, you'll control a realistic car, but as it accelerates, you'll notice the smoke is inspired by cartoons.

Ultimately, NFS remains a typical racing game, but it introduces some intriguing new elements to the gameplay. One notable addition is the calendar feature. To complete the game, you must win a special race that occurs once a week, but participation requires payment. Earning enough money involves participating in minor events, and you must carefully balance the risk to keep progressing before the day ends. Getting caught by the police results in losing all your winnings for that day.

The storyline is decent for a racing game. In all honesty, it surpasses the narratives commonly found in games of this genre, although it doesn't stand out as particularly special.

While I had fun playing Need for Speed: Unbound, I remain disappointed that the franchise hasn't returned to its former glory. I recommend giving this game a try if you have an EA Play subscription or can acquire it at a reasonable price.

Best Need for Speed in a hot minute. Builds upon Heat's strengths and shortfalls well. The story is a LOT better this time round, it's not masterpiece, but definitely an improvement on Heat's which seemed to just end out of nowhere. It does feel half baked in some parts, for example, we just never meet the main antagonist. This is the second game in a row with draconian police being a key story element and I don't really care for it. There's some funny background dialogue, but ultimately the heart of the story is between the player character, Rydell and Yaz. I think if they dropped the politics, or at least considered having some nuance in their approach it would be a lot better received. I like the visuals, I think the stylisation does bring something to the game. Customisation is great, as it was in heat, although the system for searching for community wraps is a lot more restrictive than Heat for some reason.

What was most refreshing was how challenging the game is. I did genuinely struggle at times to buy and upgrade my car AND have money for the Saturday events. The time pressure is real, and you have to weigh up the risk of police chases with earning more money. Police chases are gruelling this time round, I really struggled escaping police at max level tbh, I got busted a couple of times during the story. The tiered police is a great idea, having to change up tactics depending on heat level added something more than the standard outrun/confuse the AI. I do also like the added difficulty in races & limited retries. It does add an extra element of strategy when you're cash strapped and need to consider the cost of events, the heat gain, what profit you'll get if you don't place 1st.

Like others have mentioned, tracks are repeated quite often. I don't think it's quite as noticable as it was in NFS Heat, but it can get old in postgame, especially if you're grinding to buy/customise a car. It does shorten the games lifespan imo.

Ultimately, Unbound is stylish, challenging and fun, the best Need for Speed since it was brought back. All it is lacking is just more content race-wise and a little more nuance in the story.

Specs: RTX 3060 (12GB VRAM), Ryzen 5 3400G, 16GB RAM DDR4, game installed on a HDD
Played it on Ultra, for the most part game ran at 60fps, with occaisional subtle dips down to 50ish. Texture pop-in could be quite aggressive at high speeds, it could be worth installing on a SSD, but this could also be a result of my cpu bottleneck.