The popular racing game returns to your PC as a fan remake, and in a chic Unreal Engine 5 look.
At the beginning of January 2025, the YouTube channel NostalgiaNexus released a 20-minute gameplay video of a fan remake of Need for Speed: Underground 2 in the Unreal Engine 5.
A free demo of the project has now been released, allowing you to try out the game for yourself and relive your nostalgia in its current state.
A fan does what EA doesn’t want to do
The fan remake was created by 2Unreal5Underground
, who set out to recreate the acclaimed 2004 racing game in Unreal Engine 5 largely on his own. To go with the fast-paced gameplay video, he has also released a free demo that you can play now.
How to get the demo: To try out the fan remake, all you have to do is visit 2Unreal5Underground’s Discord channel However, you will need a Discord account
The remake doesn’t just get praise
But don’t expect a graphics masterpiece despite Unreal Engine 5. After all, the remake was made by just one person. In our opinion, it still looks better than the original.
There are no changes to the sounds of the vehicles. They come from the original version. For those who are nostalgic, however, this could be considered a plus.
You’ll probably have to do without the soundtrack, as it consists mostly of licensed songs. A member of the pop band Heaven 17 revealed the costs that such licenses can incur in relation to GTA 6.
In the comments section of the video, some viewers express disappointment because they had expected more, especially visually.
However, the majority are very positive and are looking forward to jumping behind the familiar Underground 2 controls with better graphics. For example, user imjakedeason
writes that he has already tried the demo and was convinced.
Now we can only hope that EA doesn’t step in and have the project canceled. Something similar happened in August 2024, when Activision shut down a fan project for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare one day before release. You can find more information in the box above.
