Another NFS game failure -.-

I had to log in just to respond to the part of your message about the game's sound design.

I’ve been playing Need for Speed for nearly 30 years. I’ve also played Forza Horizon 5 and Unbound. I haven’t had the chance to try many other racing titles, but when it comes to engine sounds, FH5 honestly felt like junk to me. Between the repetitive, “always-the-hero” gameplay, bad music, awkward camera angles, and uninspired landscapes — the poor engine sound was a major reason I didn’t enjoy FH5. In contrast, Unbound absolutely nails this aspect. Revving cars in this game feels alive, and it’s something I keep coming back to.

The game's music also feels great, though a larger tracklist would’ve made it even better.

Now, I’m not sure how many other titles you’ve tried, but Unbound did make one major misstep: its initial presentation. While most racing games highlight ultra-realistic graphics in trailers, Unbound leaned heavily on its animated aesthetic and stylized characters. And although the underlying graphics and environments were actually solid, many players — myself included — disabled the animated effects right away. That said, over time, I started to appreciate the unique visual flair they added.

On the positive side, one of Unbound’s biggest strengths is its drift mechanics. They’re so well-tuned that drifting often feels faster than traditional grip racing, introducing a new driving style to the genre. It’s a wild system that takes time to master, but it’s incredibly satisfying once you do. The reworked nitrous system and burst mechanics play a big part in making this possible — and they’re some of the most enjoyable features in the game.

If I have one real complaint, it would be about the new Kaizen handling model and some cars that perform unrealistically well on dirt and uneven roads compared to others. It feels unbalanced and strays too far from the classic NFS handling, which had a much more grounded and realistic feel.