Highlights

• The Need For Speed franchise sets itself apart by adding elements beyond racing, such as immersive open worlds and great stories, which attracts a diverse range of players.
• Need For Speed games like Hot Pursuit provide high-stakes police chases that add excitement and a fresh twist to the series, earning praise from fans and critics.
• Need For Speed games like Payback offer vast and diverse open-world landscapes, with off-road mechanics that allow players to explore and appreciate the beauty of the game.

Racing games usually don't have anything outside of putting players in races because there's not much else they can do. However, when racing games add other elements that expand the experience, it helps bring in all types of players. The Need For Speed franchise just does that, by making the games more than racing, which has made the series an iconic one. One of the main reasons why the Need For Speed games are so iconic is because not only do they have great stories, but many in the series put players in an open world, which gives the games a more immersive feel.

There are many NFS games that players can check out and get lost in, with Need For Speed: Unbound serving as the latest immersive open-world racing game in the series that fans can try out. Players love the idea of driving across a vast and engaging open world, and there are many racing games that provide the same kind of action in the Need For Speed universe. The best open-world games in the Need For Speed series are numerous and quite beloved in their own right.

Updated On October 16, 2023 by Mark Sammut: Each open-world NFS game's specifications have been added.

12 Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

Hot Pursuit continued the trend of the Need for Speed games rebooting their old classic titles that were revered for their own reasons. One such title is Hot Pursuit, a game that is a ton of fun to play through and makes police chases more fun and engaging than ever before, The stakes involved during these high-speed chases are absolutely massive and leave players sweating in their boots as they try to evade powerful cops who can take them out at a moment's notice.

The best part about this game is when players take on the role of the cops themselves and try to chase down and arrest racers who are giving them a hard time. It was a much-needed breath of fresh air from the usual vanilla racing that the series had relied on for too long, and its inclusion in Hot Pursuit was lauded by fans and critics alike. Suffice it to say, this Need for Speed game was a massive hit, and it helped that players loved the open world this game featured.

11 Need For Speed: World

The idea of playing a Need for Speed game with RPG elements may sound rather odd, but that's precisely what makes Need for Speed: World such an interesting anomaly. The game is the first high-budget NFS game to be completely free-to-play, trying to be a racing MMO in a valiant effort that rewarded progression steadily. The idea was great, but Need for Speed: World stumbled quite a bit when it came to the execution, leading to a game that was eventually axed before it could gain any more popularity.

However, clearly, the game did something right since a group of fans went so far as to bring it back from the grave after its servers shut down. Players who want to check this game out for themselves will like the work and effort that was put into the open world, even if the game's progression systems can be a bit of a pain to deal with. Regardless, the racing action is as fun as ever and one of the biggest reasons why many people give Need for Speed: World a pass despite some of its missteps.

10 Need For Speed: Payback

Most Need For Speed games are set in densely populated cities similar to Los Angeles, Miami, and others, the reason being that they can be diverse. Players can jump on a highway, then a moment later there in a major urban center, this gives players a chance to drive in different ways because of the location. Need For Speed: Payback does that, but to a degree, and with a setting that's like Las Vegas, players would think there's only so much they can do.

However, it's the opposite, the vast desert landscape that feels like it goes on forever has a lot of opportunities to give players a unique experience that they can only find here. Most Need For Speed games that have open worlds have the off-road mechanic, but it's not as big and as rich as Need For Speed: Payback's, which is why off-road locations are the best roads to see the real beauty of the game. Going to these locations isn't that hard, since Need For Speed: Payback is littered with high-quality off-road cars that can be taken anywhere and everywhere.

9 Need For Speed: Rivals

This Need For Speed game probably has the most distinct environments, players will be racing from coastal roads that overlook the ocean to rather windy roads of many mountain trails. Need For Speed: Rivals does a great job at getting the player fully immersed in the world since racing and just causally driving will change immediately due to how different each section is. Adding in cops plus a new weapons system makes players want to drive more aggressively.

While both those features allow players to do more, the open world can be their enemy or friend depending on how they use them. In Need For Speed: Rivals when players are more versatile, any road with any condition becomes drivable. On top of that, each area has its own characteristics, meaning the more flat-out roads with fewer turns can be handled by certain cars, whereas the more technical roads can be driven best by another class.

8 Need For Speed: Undercover

While not as popular as the many other games in the Need For Speed series, Need For Speed: Undercover brought its own flair to the mix and became a cult classic. Sadly, it went delisted, which is unfortunate, because of the world. Much like the many other Need For Speed games on this list, the open-world is primarily set in a dense city, however, even in a highly populated area players can see how the downtown core is different from the industrial area.

This helps make Need For Speed: Undercover much more immersive since players keep the same car but change how they race, which makes everything really fun. Just like in Need For Speed: Rivals, if players can change how they drive on the fly, every race and every cop chase becomes much more enjoyable. As mentioned before, Need For Speed: Undercover is delisted, however, fans have been calling for a remake or a remaster, so there may be hope for a new generation of players to try this game out.

7 Need For Speed: Carbon

Building off the success of both Most Wanted and Underground 2, players had a lot of things to look forward to in Need For Speed: Carbon. First, the world of Need For Speed: Carbon has tons of mountains, which make not just races but driving in general really intense. If players are in a race or being chased by cops, so many bad things can happen at once, which is why they shouldn't be aggressive. If players love the idea of tough racing, then NFS Carbon is the game for them!

One of the reasons why players are calling for a remake of Need For Speed: Carbon is that the world makes everything over the top. The mountain pass, for example, stands out in this regard because the roads are very windy which forces the player to adapt faster, in turn, this makes them a better driver. Plus, when players start a sprint race in the canyons, this can be dangerous, but it highlights the vast world around the player in Need For Speed: Carbon. They can see how different a lot of the locations are from one another in a snapshot. This gets players even more into the game.

6 Need For Speed: Unbound

The first true next-gen Need For Speed game, and it shows a lot in this entry. Need For Speed: Unbound shares a lot of the same qualities of usual Need For Speed games, but its massive open world is much more drivable than the other games. The size not only gives players a chance to try the many activities offered but also helps players understand the scope of Need For Speed: Unbound. Plus being next-gen, players can drive and race in one of the most life-like settings in the series, which is great for immersion.

One of the best parts about Need For Speed: Unbound's world is that the inner city is very different from the outer parts of it. So races in the country or in less populated places will have players racing through forests and greenery. Then, when they go in more toward the city, the roads become wider, and the green becomes silver with sprawling skyscrapers that go on forever. This is great because it shows each area's personality.

5 Need For Speed (2015)

Not the best nor is it the worst, Need For Speed garnered a mixed reception at launch. However, Need For Speed had a good map with a bunch of different play styles, which can change gameplay quite a bit. Being online only gives the game a bad name, but, what players found is that it helped make racing with other players easy, and immersive.

Traveling in this massive open world with players and their friends driving around with their costume rides made this racing game a big deal. While The Crew did what Need For Speed did, the latter did the community experience a lot better, which in turn made Need For Speed the better game of the two. When players can drive in an open world with their dream car, with their friends, those are ingredients for a great open-world racing game. It helps that the city players explore looks drop-dead gorgeous at night and is one of the best parts of the experience.

4 Need For Speed: Underground 2

The first Need For Speed to go open-world, and by doing that it changed the course of the franchise, which is still being felt to this day. Not only is it the first open-world racing game, but also one of the most iconic racing games in modern gaming. Considered one of the best street racing games, Need For Speed: Underground 2 had everything in the genre, giving players a wide amount of options for car customization, and an open world that feels alive.

The reason why players want both Need For Speed: Underground:1 and 2 to be remastered, is because of how easy it is accessible for players who don't really get cars. Need For Speed: Underground 2 gave players a sense of uniqueness because not all cars are the same, and with the overwhelming customizations, players felt like they were the car they created was one-of-a-kind. This made Need For Speed: Underground 2 a personal game for many players, which is why it's such an important racing game.

3 Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2005)

After the massive success of Need For Speed: Underground 2, the follow-up took its open-world concept and dropped some classic Need For Speed elements, and in turn, continued the trend for great Need For Speed games. In the form of Most Wanted, players were happy the series was bringing its roots to a modern concept. First, rather than the nighttime with Need For Speed: Underground 2, Need For Speed: Most Wanted shifted to daytime, but still kept illegal street racing at its core.

On top of that, cops made a return to a Need For Speed game, which made gameplay a lot more exciting. Not just in races either as the cops could throw off the player even when they were exploring. This made Need For Speed: Most Wanted a very fun racing game at the time because most of the focus was on what else players could do, rather than the racing itself.

2 Need For Speed: Heat

When a racing game has a decent story, along with a rich and evolving world, it ends up being a very immersive experience for players. Need For Speed: Heat is a great example of that, which makes this racing game stand out from the rest. One significant change is that the day and night cycle impacts gameplay, and the world as well. During the day, Need For Speed: Heat feels like a safe and typical racer, where players can experience the open world and do typical races, this way players can learn and get upgrades consistently. But at night, Need For Speed: Heat takes a whole new light.

As mentioned before, day racing is legal, but at night, it's a lot more hectic. This is where the true Need For Speed energy shines, by throwing cops at players, making the races more chaotic, and turning everything on its head. Need For Speed: Heat is great a way for newcomers to get the best of Need For Speed because it takes a lot of the best aspects of the other games and puts them together, and the result is Need For Speed: Heat.

1 Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2012)

In 2012 when the latest entry at the time dropped in Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2012), players were confused as to what it was. Many thought it was a remake of the 2005 game, but it was a reboot, which borrowed a lot of the assets of the 2005 version of Need For Speed: Most Wanted. Having no story and primary player focus made Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2012) one of the best games in the series.

A bigger and much busier world allowed the game to be separate from the first one, which in turn, gave Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2012) an edge over the others. With little to no restrictions, the game immediately gives players the keys and lets them explore, race, and do what they like. This made the reboot a hit, more so over the original, but took away some other great things about Need For Speed: Most Wanted including the high-energy police chases, and told players to do things other than racing. This made the reboot and the original iconic games in the series.

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