Need for Speed Unbound's graffiti-inspired effects can be turned off

Last week, EA and Criterion Games announced and gave a teaser trailer for the next Need for Speed game, Unbound, and today, the developer returned with even more gameplay and information regarding the new art style.

Being a Need for Speed title, car customization is once again a big focus here which has been the case for some of the previous entires in the franchise. In addition to the usual massive array of parts and options the franchise offers for players, Criterion is introducing collectable artwork wraps that can be applied to vehicles and even removable parts. The latter lets players show off their cars' mechanical innards by removing the exterior shells.

More interestingly, aside from the in-depth customization options for Unbound's "hyper-realistic" cars, and even player characters, Tags are what the studio is offering up as a brand-new avenue for personalizing the experience even further.

As seen in the new gameplay trailer above, these new graffiti-inspired artwork come to life when boosting, appearing as "dramatic, customizable effects that paint the surrounding world, including illustrative lines that etch around the curves of your car."

"Need for Speed Unbound’s realistic-looking world and cars really help ground the visuals," says art director Darren White regarding the art style. "Taking inspiration from street art and other media, we creatively subvert the characters and visual effects, turning them into expressionistic illustrations of ‘you’ and ‘your actions.’ It’s literally ‘graffiti-coming-to-life.’"

However, for those that don't want Tags blaring out whenever boost is applied, Criterion has confirmed the effect can be turned off entirely:

Need for Speed Unbound is out on December 2 across PC (Steam, EA app, and Epic Games Store), Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. Pre-orders are live now for $69.99. The complete car list can be found here.