I’m controlling (a sadly non-talking) K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider toward an orange ramp when a 1971 El Camino rams into me that causes my DualSense controller to make a clanging sound and then I crash into a T-Rex that closed its jaws. I warp back onto the track and I’m suddenly behind a French fry truck hauling a giant burger and a decked-out “Quick Eats” delivery driver. It’s these moments that make Hot Wheels Unleashed a reminder of how ridiculous video games can be and how much potential the latest racer from Milestone S.r.l. has and, sadly, doesn’t always fully achieve.
The latest Hot Wheels video game is a third-person arcade racer with a promising premise of letting players live out some of their childhood dreams by driving around in extremely elaborate tracks that most kids couldn’t afford. The races here are pretty standard arcade fare: Cars can bounce off walls without slowing down all that much, drifting corned yields more boost, and ramming opponents without penalty is just part of the race. There are even some Mario Kart 7-style sections that use magnets to achieve vertical and even upside-down driving.
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The action is also always from a miniature scale as the tracks are built in decors that range from a customizable basement to a skyscraper and a neon-lit garage. It’s a fun conceit for a game and it winds up delivering some cool moments from time to time as a result, such as driving past an arcade machine in the background or ending a level by falling off a 50-story building.
But the one major issue with Unleashed is that the racing never ramps up beyond being serviceable. While there are boost areas to drive over to get an increase in speed, loops to go around, and some great reflections that give the game a stellar look, the actual driving doesn’t ever wind up being all that memorable. Courses can have some interesting moments, but they have a habit of being far too long and the sections are reused to the point where the novelty wears off. If the branding and window dressing were all stripped away, there would be little appeal here to anyone.
The appeal here is the Hot Wheels license and that winds up being the game’s greatest strength and in full display in its solid car lineup. My favorites are the licensed rides that include the Batmobile and Snoopy’s doghouse, but there are also some real-life cars that received die-cast models and a selection of Mattel’s most iconic custom designs — like Skull Crusher and Boneshaker — that are in there, too. These all look great and add a lot of visual variety to the races. The vehicles all have different stats that can be upgraded using in-game currency. Some are unlocked via the game’s story mode, but most have to be purchased via the store (which sells five cars for a limited time before refreshing) or in blind boxes. While it’s enjoyable collecting the game’s many vehicles, they don’t handle all that differently from one another, so players are likely to find a favorite early on and stick with it rather than changing cars depending on the course or race type.
Unlocking different course layouts for the game’s six areas is done via the career mode called Hot Wheels City Rumble. Events are spread throughout a cityscape, but they are mainly just standard races and time trials. This monotonous makes the process of unlocking more cars and track builder parts a drag. Even though each event is on a different track, those tracks are all made using the same pieces, so it starts to get overly repetitive pretty quickly. If there were events such as drifting challenges, eliminator races, and are other non-standard types, then it’d be a much more worthwhile mode than a necessary grind to unlock more stuff in a game that you’ve already had your fill of after a few hours.
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There is an in-depth track editor included that accurately conveys some of the real-life fun of putting together tracks. However, it’s also the type of behind-the-scenes look that reveals the reason why the tracks all feel a bit too similar as you’re racing the same sections just put together in different orders. It gives the player a peek behind the curtain and behind that curtain is just a lot of those samey orange track pieces.
While there are a few neat inclusions here such as a level with a volcano as the finish line and spiders that shoot webs that slow down cars, Unleashed never takes advantage of its licenses and the freedom that comes with being a video game. There are actual real-life Hot Wheels sets, like the DC Comics Batcave, that have a lot more creative ideas that could actually fulfill their potential, and it’s a missed opportunity that this game doesn’t have that same kind of ambition. Instead of letting players live out their craziest Hot Wheels fantasies, this game, contrary to its title, is very much leashed.
Hot Wheels Unleashed is a decent arcade racer with some great nostalgia that wears off after a few races. Unlocking a themed car, such as the Party Wagon from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, gives temporary relief from the monotonous gameplay, but much like any form of nostalgia, the short-lived fun of reminiscing eventually turns into sadness if there’s no substance backing it up.
SCORE: 6/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 6 equates to “Decent.” It fails to reach its full potential and is a run-of-the-mill experience
