To the window, to the wall. Need For Speed Unbound’s latest season of content, Vol 7 Drift & Drag, is now live.
The update makes it clear it’s inspired by Need For Speed Underground, the seminal NFS title that shifted the paradigm for the series from being about exotic cars in police chases to the, at the time, burgeoning import tuner car culture. That game was released in 2003, more than 20 years ago.
That inspiration comes clear with the addition of Drift and Drag racing modes, two of the four main modes of racing in NFSU 2003.
Drift events already exists in NFSU (Unbound), but with Drift Mode, there’s an overhauled handling physics tied specifically for this mode, similar to how NFSU had completely different handling physics just for drift events. The new drift events are referred as Drift Pro events in-game.
Also, the free update adds Drag mode. This is where acceleration and top speed matters, gear shifts are manual only, and also brings back lane switching. These drag races are done illegally on the streets so you have to dodge and weave through traffic like it’s 2003.
Both Drift mode and Drag mode comes in their own playlists available in multiplayer free roam and the newly introduced PVP lobbies.
Single-player fans can also try out The League, events available in free roam where players go head-to-head with a rival racer. It’s supposed to be a throwback to NFSU2’s Underground Racing League, though it’s actually a throwback to a simpler progression system where you simply just beat the next rival to climb the ranks. There’s 12 rivals to beat. And there’s a community challenge tied to it as players must work together to unlock the final boss, the 13th rival, and a new custom car.
Need For Speed Unbound Vol 7 New Cars
Speaking of cars, there’s two new cars added to NFS Unbound. Both have customisable exterior- three bodykits (two Rare Custom sets and a Speedhunters collab set) for each car.
Wagon fans, rejoice.
- BMW M3 Competition Touring 2023
- Ford Mustang Dark Horse 2024
The BMW M3 wagon requires progress in the free Speed Pass (battle pass) to unlock. You will need to purchase the Premium Speed Pass to unlock the new Mustang Dark Horse.
This is one car less than the previous free update, which added three.
There is also one throwback NFS car (Melissa’s Custom Mitsubishi Eclipse from NFSU) and four rival cars seen in Unbound’s campaign, but those aren’t exactly new cars per se.
The Speed Pass itself is full of cosmetics, likely a lot of recolours, but there’s one octopus-themed livery decal that is a tribute to Need For Speed Carbon’s Neville. The actor that played that character in the live-action cutscenes, Chris Gauthier, recently passed away.
You can check on the full patch notes here.
Need For Speed Unbound is out now on PS5, PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, EA Play) and Xbox Series. Check out our review of the game here.
Source: Need For Speed