Need for Speed Unbound

Need for Speed Unbound  (stylised as  NFS Unbound ) is a 2022  racing video game  developed by  Criterion Games  and published by  Electronic Arts . It is the twenty-fifth instalment in the  Need for Speed  series, the first for Criterion since 2013's  Rivals  with  Ghost Games  and the first as the main developer since 2012's  Most Wanted . Unbound  was revealed by Electronic Arts on October 6, 2022. The game features an art style that merges artistic elements like  cel-shading  and  graffiti art  with the more realistic art style of other  Need for Speed  games. The map is based in a fictional city inspired by  Chicago  called Lakeshore City. The game was released worldwide on December 2, 2022, for  PlayStation 5 ,  Windows , and  Xbox Series X/S . At launch, the game received positive reviews from critics, who praised the gameplay, art direction, progression, and graphics, while criticising the lack of innovation, story, and bland characters. In Lakeshore City, the Player (female player voiced by Elizabeth Grullon, male player voiced by  Ian Nelson ) and their friend and partner Jasmine/Yaz (portrayed by Ashleigh LaThrop) refurbish an old junker car in their mechanic shop owned by their mentor Rydell (Dwayne Barnes). After winning a couple of street races, Yaz has a disagreement with Rydell over a car and grows tired of being stuck in the same job daily, and wishes to do something better. She tells the player she was contacted by her friend in the foster system, Alec about some jobs involving delivering vehicles, challenging the authority of the city's police force under the control of Mayor Morgan Stevenson (voiced by  Debra Wilson ). One night after a couple of races, the Player completes a delivery mission but couldn't find anyone at the drop-off point and Yaz nor Rydell doesn't answer their calls. Instead, the alarm goes off at Rydell's Rides. In a hurry and assuming the worst, the Player races back to Rydell's Rydes to witness it being raided of all the cars Rydell was working on. Confronted by both Rydell and the Player, Yaz denies being involved but drives off with the car after Rydell accuses her of theft and expresses his disappointment. Two years later, street racing in Lakeshore had declined and Rydell's Rides have been struggling to remain open after the incident. The Player makes a living driving people, one of which is Tess (Jennifer Sun Bell), who the Player goes with to a street race meet-up. Just then, Yaz shows up and the Player discovers that she is part of the crew that stole the rides and is responsible for the resurgence of street racing in Lakeshore. She announces The Grand, a huge street race where the winner will receive a large amount of money. After hearing the Player's story and being introduced to Rydell, Tess proposes bankrolling the garage and rides as well as guiding the Player in their efforts to qualify and get revenge on Yaz and win the car back, in return for making money betting on and against them. The Player then does a number of deliveries for Tess, many of which they are suspicious of but doesn't question due to the money.