According to the official Need for Speed Unbound Twitter account, while you may customise your driving effects, you can also opt not to use them at all. When Unbound was revealed in October, its distinctive street art-inspired aesthetics garnered notice, with some fans anticipating that when it was released, they’d be able to turn off all of the bright effects. While you may still race around in hyper-realistic automobiles in Unbound, you can also convert your experience into an art form through self-expression. This takes the form of being able to “tag the globe” while using your boosting abilities. Tags are obtained by doing activities such as drifting, jumping, and near misses. These effects are fully configurable, “paint the surrounding landscape,” and feature illustrative lines that etch around your car’s contours. The realistic-looking landscape and automobiles in Need for Speed Unbound serve to anchor the graphics. We artistically spoof the characters and visual effects, turning them into expressionistic representations of ‘you’ and ‘your activities,’ using influence from street art and other media. The game also includes a wide range of street art styles from artists such as Sentrock and JC Riviera. Each artist “painted” Unbound in their own unique manner. These artworks enhance the game’s backdrop and may be gathered as wraps to be fitted to your vehicle. Scraping rival car, skidding through a corner, or almost avoiding a cop in pursuit—your vehicle reacts to these little but significant actions with dramatic lighting bolts or intricate motion graphics.
