Electronic Arts will have had a hard time keeping the secret around Need for Speed Unbound. The publisher had probably planned to surprise us this week with a surprise announcement, but that was without counting all the leaks around this episode, which was long overdue. EA had given us an appointment tomorrow to find out what Need for Speed Unboundbut the editor doubles bad luck, the first images of the game are already in nature.
Game-changing art direction
First screenshots of Need for Speed Unbound via Japanese retailer Neowing, which listed it early: https://t.co/q23uM1Ol7b
Launches Dec. 2. Currently only listed for PS5 (this is Japan—no Xbox physical edition). No PS4 version listed. Possibly new-gen-only? pic.twitter.com/aCWhuAh2oW
—Gematsu (@gematsu) October 5, 2022
This time the leak comes to us from a Japanese reseller, who posted the page dedicated to Need for Speed Unbound with a little too much advance, as the Gematsu site was able to relay. On this page, we see the very first images of this episode, with the most amazing visual styleas you can see from the tweet above.
Unless we remember that Jeff Grubb had already indicated that this Need for Speed Unbound would have an art direction mixing anime/cel-shading with more photorealistic elements. The journalist was therefore telling the truth, and these first images present us with characters in cel-shading which contrast strongly with the urban environment and the cars, which are more realistic. The effects of collisions and skids also stand out in this landscape.
We are therefore necessarily eager to see all this in motion, while recalling that the first official trailer will be broadcast tomorrow at 5 p.m.