As a long-time Need for Speed fan whose played every title since the 90s Underground era, one of the most common questions I get asked when a new entry drops is: "how long is it?"
Well after blazing through Lakeshore City over the past week in my pre-release copy of Unbound, I‘m here to definitively breakdown how many hours you should expect to spend street racing depending on your playstyle.
Let‘s start with the key basics:
Average Story Length
Based on collated data from multiple player reports on forums like Reddit and reviews on sites like GameSpot, the average story playthrough of Need for Speed Unbound lasts around 16-20 hours.
This assumes you are:
- Only focusing on main story events required to progress.
- Driving reasonably well – few failed races needing retries.
- Exploring some of the open world in between races.
So if you just want to plow through the narrative beats, dramatic rival takedowns, and production value set pieces, plan for a 16-20 hour single campaign.
100% Completion Duration
For gamers like myself who must squeeze every last collectible, activity, and accomplishment out of a new Need for Speed, a full completionist playthrough takes approximately 30-35 hours.
This factors in considerable time spent:
- Finding all 250+ collectibles scattered about Lakeshore City.
- Tackling every optional activity like speed traps.
- Five-starring all story events.
- Participating in multiplayer playlists with the community.
As a comparison, this puts Unbound on par with previous entries lengthwise for completionists:
| Game | Main Story Length | 100% Completion Length |
|---|---|---|
| Need for Speed Heat | 15-20 hours | 30-40 hours |
| Need for Speed Payback | 12-15 hours | 25-30 hours |
| Need for Speed (2015) | 10-12 hours | 20-25 hours |
So rest assured, Unbound offers plenty of post-game challenges and rewards to keep diehard fans engaged for days on end. Casual players should also find Unbound respectful of their time.
Speed Run Duration
Now I don‘t usually advocate rushing through such a visual stunner, but for our lead-footed friends who asked how fast Unbound can be finished, top players are clocking speed run times around 7-9 hours.
This requires:
- Following an optimized route hitting only mandatory events.
- Utilizing the fastest tier 3 cars fully upgraded.
- Memorizing track layouts.
- Restarting immediately if a race loses instead of retrying later.
I managed a leisurely 11 hour playthrough this way while still gawking at the environments, so sub-10 hours is definitely realistic for seasoned experts.
My Take? Enjoy the Ride However You Want
As someone whose been plugging away at games for decades across multiple systems and genres, my best advice is always to play at a pace that keeps it feeling fun versus work.
Unbound strikes an impressive balance catering to both endings of the spectrum without time-gating or obstructing players who veer too far off the golden path.
Whether you‘re a tourist looking to casually cruise Lakeshore City taking photos along the way or a grizzled veteran chasing leaderboard glory, Unbound has something special to offer.
Just be sure to occasionally stop and admire Criterion‘s new visual masterpiece during your romp through its streets. I‘ll be spending a lot more time fine-tuning my custom anime-inspired rides well beyond the credits roll – care to join me?
Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions about Unbound‘s length or racing tips in general!
