How to turn off all effects in Need for Speed Unbound

Need for Speed Unbound has a pretty bold new direction for the art style of the classic racing franchise. While driving around Lakeshore, players will see several over-the-top, cartoonish visual effects, and not everyone is particularly a fan.

Some aren’t a fan of the actual look, while others may be worried that this will reduce the performance of Need for Speed Unbound on their PCs. However, can you turn off all the effects in the game?

You cannot quite do that, but you can reduce their appearance in the game and make it so things look slightly more natural. Here’s how to disable the effects in Need for Speed Unbound.

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Disabling the specialized driving effects in Need for Speed Unbound

The art design of Need for Speed Unbound feels very much like graffiti, done in a dazzling, cartoonish style. It also has cell-shading and reminds many of an anime look. However, not everybody likes it.

Thankfully, you can turn off most of the effects. The trail lights and smoke that billow out cannot be turned off, but you can mute their colors, so they look less over-the-top. If you don't like all the bright visuals, you have a few options. Here's how to turn off most of these effects before you race.

Steps to turn off effects in Need for Speed Unbound

• Go to your Rides in the Garage
• Select “Style”
• Select “Driving Effects”
• Choose “Samples”
• Select “None”

Unfortunately, for gamers who aren’t a fan of these designs, you can’t disable the “Basic Tail Smoke” or “Trail Lights.” While this may change, there is an option that you can use in the meantime. Change those to “Cloaked” in your Driving Effects Tags, which will give them a gray color instead of the bright neon colors.

This will also disable the various symbols that would normally be visible, so it’s your best solution.

While this doesn’t 100% solve the problem, it’s the closest that gamers are going to get as of this writing. It's best to disable these effects in the game, whether you’re playing online, or just cruising around Lakeshore on your own.

Sadly, it is impossible to disable these effects, but you can mute them through these settings. Some see these effects are distracting and many simply dislike them.

This is the best you can get when it comes to disabling all effects in Need for Speed Unbound (Image via EA Games)

Although, it’s not required to disable these. If you’re a fan of bright, anime-style visuals, then by all means, leave them on. While playing, you will have no shortage of things to do while drifting around turns and speeding past the cops. There's plenty to see and do, and while you cannot completely turn off the new art design, you can disable much of it.

Players will take on many challenges as they speed through the fictional city of Lakeshore, such as Drift Zones, dealing with Speed Traps, and getting their passengers to a Safe House successfully in the Passenger Delivery Jobs.

Need for Speed Unbound launched on November 29, 2022, for those with early access, and will be made available to everyone else on December 2, 2022. At launch, there will be over 140 cars to collect, offering something for all styles of street racers.