After spending most of the last decade as a Battlefront and Battlefield support studio, Criterion Games is back with a full-fledged arcade racing adventure. Need for Speed Unbound is a boldly stylised open-world racer, with graffiti-inspired particle effects and cel-shaded character models. Criterion Games' last full titles were the much-loved Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted, so is Unbound a worthy sequel - and are the new visual effects an impressive addition or unwelcome distraction? Plus, how does the game hold up on PS5, Series X and Series?
Let's get the basics out of the way first - resolution and performance. Series X and PS5 both target 4K while Series S opts for 1440p, but dynamic resolution scaling (DRS) attempts to keep a locked 60fps by dropping internal resolution in heavier moments. I counted as low as 1800p on PS5 and 2016p on Series X, but in general play PS5 is around 1944p and Series X is at full 4K (2160p). Meanwhile, Series S can be as low as 1080p, averaging 1296p, so you get a noticeably softer image than the 4K-like results on the premium consoles.
In terms of performance, the situation reverses. PS5 is more-or-less locked to 60fps, but Series X and Series S see one-off frame-rates drops fairly commonly and more occasional drops to 51-57fps during intense races. Given the higher average resolution on Series X, it's possible that the DRS could be tweaked to ease GPU load and iron out these heavier drops - and if there are other underlying issues they ought to be solved. Right now though, PS5 offers the best overall experience for NFS Unbound.